JP3278171B2 - Color image data 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 a color image data processing system for communicating color image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus is a typical example of this type of apparatus. After a manuscript is read by a transmitting apparatus, the read manuscript image data is encoded by various methods (hereinafter referred to as "compression"). The compressed data obtained here is transferred (transmitted) to another receiving apparatus via a communication line. Then, on the receiving side, it is general to sequentially perform processing of decompressing the transmitted compressed data and outputting it visually. Further, as a conventional facsimile machine, an integrated device including all of a scanner, a printer, an image processing function unit, a communication function unit, an error display unit, and the like is known. Compression, transmission or decompression, and reception of image data have been performed.

[0003]

When the processing as in the above-mentioned conventional example is sequentially performed, an instruction for an arbitrary processing is issued, and the processing cannot be shifted to the next processing until the processing is completed, so that a waiting time is generated. There was a disadvantage. In particular, when processing color image data, the amount of data becomes extremely large, and efficient processing is desired.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided:
Divides the color image data of the page into multiple blocks,
By executing block data input processing by the input means and block data compression processing by the compression processing means in parallel, it is possible to process color image data at high speed.

Further, the present invention achieves the above objects while
It is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration capable of accurately and in detail grasping the progress of compressed data of each block obtained by the high-speed processing when the compressed data is transmitted. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system for compressing and transferring color image data to a communication line by effectively utilizing the operation of the first central processing unit which includes a reader and a printer. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide the above system by connecting an image processing device such as a personal computer having a communication function and controlled in operation by a second central processing unit to a display device such as a so-called CRT.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the above embodiment.

The color image data processing system body 20
Is a reader / printer interface 21 and an image compression unit (hereinafter referred to as “ICU”) 2
2 and a program memory (hereinafter referred to as “PMEM”) 2
3 and an image memory (hereinafter referred to as “IMEM”) 24
A video RAM (hereinafter referred to as “VRAM”) 25;
A central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 26 and a bus 2
9 and a communication control unit (hereinafter referred to as “CCU”) 30.

[0009] The ICU 22 compresses or decompresses data. In order to increase the coding rate and the data resilience, this time the AVQ (Adaptive Vec) is used.
A tor quantization (adaptive vector quantization) method is adopted. The PMEM 23 has an OS program and an application program memory area for controlling input / output devices provided around the image data processing system main body 20 and each unit in the image data processing system main body.

The PMEM 23 has a memory management unit (MMEU), and also has a work area as a buffer of transmission data for transmitting data from the hard disk via the CCU 30 and storing data from the CCU 30 to the hard disk. I have. The buffer is used for adjusting the speed of a disk, a line, or the like. Also, the code data of the sentence by the keyboard 61 is stored.

The IMEM 24 has 2 Mbytes and stores an image from the reader 10, temporarily stores an image to be compressed or expanded by the ICU 22, and stores an image to be output to the printer 70.

The VRAM 25 stores image data to be displayed on the CRT 60 in a bitmap code.

The reader / printer section 40 includes an image memory IMEM 42 for storing image data from the input / output devices, a reader / printer interface 41 for communicating with the color image data processing system main body 20, and a reader / printer interface 41. CPU 43 and ROM 4 to control
And 4.

The reader 10 reads a predetermined document and outputs an electric signal. In addition, a printer 70 is provided.

A hard disk device 50 and a floppy disk device 51 are provided as external storage devices. These devices are nonvolatile memories, but a backup memory may be used as the nonvolatile memory.

The keyboard 61 is used to input characters and the like and to designate a position on the CRT 60 using a cursor. 62 is a pointing device.

In this embodiment, the present system performs high-speed data communication with image data read by performing apparently parallel processing of data compression / decompression and data transfer on the transmission side and the reception side, respectively. Is what you do.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the CPU of this embodiment.
It is a flowchart figure which shows the control operation of 26.

In step S1 of FIG. 3, it is determined whether data is to be received or transmitted. Since the apparatus automatically enters the data reception mode, the operator sets the data transmission mode by using the keyboard 61 or the pointing device 62 when transmitting data. In the case of data reception, the process proceeds from step S1 to step R1, and in the case of data transmission, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3. In steps S3 and S4, the entire image to be transmitted is read from the reader 10, and the color image data is stored in the IMEM 42 on the printer side. Next, in step S5, I
The color image data is divided into a plurality of blocks and transferred in block units from the MEM 42 to the IMEM 24 on the main body side (hereinafter, this transfer method is referred to as block transfer, and the divided data transferred in block is referred to as block data) IM.
The EM 24 block data is then transferred to the ICU 22 for compression on the transmitting side. The ICU 22 compresses and encodes the data. Various methods of this compression processing are conceivable. For binary images, MH (Modified Huffman) coding, MR (Modified Read) coding, MMR (Modified Modified Read) coding In addition, for the color image, there is the above-mentioned AVQ method, but in addition to this, the ADCT method (Adaptive Discrete C
osin Transform method). In this embodiment, the AVQ method is adopted.

Next, the data compressed by the ICU 22 is transferred to the line through the communication line 80. The line at this time is preferably a high-speed digital line such as an ISDN network. Further, the protocol of the data communication is determined separately and conveniently.

This processing is performed even if an ISDN line is used.
Since it is Kbps, it takes about 12.5 seconds even if the block data is about 1 Mbyte. Therefore, in this embodiment, this processing is performed in a time-division manner, so that the next block is
From the device to the IMEM 24 on the main unit side and apparently can operate in parallel. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation of transferring to the communication line and taking the next block into the main body are performed in parallel, thereby increasing the total processing speed. This process is continued until all the blocks are on the communication line 80. When all the blocks have been transferred, the system enters the next reception mode again in steps S6 and S7.

On the other hand, on the receiving side, these processings are reversed, and in step R1 of FIG. 4, data is received for each block from the communication line 80, the data is expanded by the ICU 22, and furthermore, via the IMEM 24, I of the printer section
Transfer to MEM42. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing of receiving data from the communication line 80 and the processing of transferring data from the IMEM 24 to the IMEM 42 of the printer unit are apparently performed in parallel, thereby increasing the processing speed. Next, in step R2, it is determined whether or not all blocks have been transferred to the IMEM 42. If all blocks have not been transferred, the above-described processing is repeated. If all blocks have been transferred, the entire image is processed in steps R3 and R4. The combined data is output from the printer 70, and returns to the receiving state.

In FIG. 1, the VRAM 25, the PMEM
23 and the IMEM 24 are shown for each functional block, but these memories may be configured as one memory. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory map when configured as one memory. In the figure, a reader / printer unit 40 is shown.
1 block of data (1
(M bytes) in the area 100. When storage of one block of color image data is completed, area 101
Transfer one block of data in area 100 to I
The MEM 42 stores the data of the next block in the area 100. During this time, one block of data in the area 101 is sequentially compressed (encoded) by the ICU 22, and the compressed data is stored in the area 102. And area 10
2 is transmitted to the ISDN line 80 via the CCU 30.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a format of data to be transmitted to the ISDN line 80.

First, information of an image header is transmitted by a protocol before the encoded compressed color data. This information includes information 110 indicating the number of pixels (vertical, horizontal) of all the images to be transmitted, information 111 indicating the document size, information 112 indicating the resolution, and information 11 indicating the number of divided blocks.
Information 11 indicating the size (vertical, horizontal) of 3, 1 block
4, information 115 indicating the type of output sheet, information 116 indicating the number of output sheets, information 117 indicating the output position on the recording sheet on the receiving side, output type (data is stored on the hard disk or printed out on the receiving side) ) And information 119 indicating whether or not the color image data is to be rotated and output on the receiving side.

The data compressed in block units by the above-described block processing is sequentially transmitted. The transmission / reception of block data is confirmed by a communication protocol every time one block is transmitted.

Next, detailed flowcharts of this embodiment are shown in FIGS.

FIG. 9 shows the main flow of the CPU 26. In step S10, a main menu screen (see FIG. 28) is displayed. According to the display of the main menu screen, designation of any one of F1 to F6 in FIG. 28, input of the transmission destination, and setting of the transmission mode are performed using the keyboard 61.

In step S11, it is determined whether or not a communication request (incoming call) has been received from the line 80, and if there is a communication request, the process proceeds to a reception routine shown in FIGS. If the transmission is designated (the designation of F1 shown in FIG. 28) in step S12, the process proceeds to the transmission routine of FIGS. Also, in step S13, designation of telephone directory registration (F5 shown in FIG. 28)
), The process proceeds to a telephone directory registration routine of FIG. In step S14, when a report output is designated (designation of F3 shown in FIG. 28), a communication report as shown in FIG. 34 is displayed on the CRT 60 or in the printer 70 of the reader / printer unit 40 in step S15. To record and output. Also, in step S16, if there is designation of printing of the color image data stored in the hard disk 50 (designation of F6 shown in FIG. 28), first, a list screen of the image data in the hard disk as shown in FIG. Then, the process proceeds to the reprint routine.

In step S17, when the storage of the image data read by the reader 10 of the reader / printer unit 40 is designated on the hard disk 50 for transmission to the memory, the process proceeds to the scanning routine.

Next, the transmission routine will be described.

In step S20, it is determined whether there is a designation for transmission using the telephone directory (designation of F4 shown in FIG. 28). A telephone directory screen as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed. And
When the destination is specified by the keyboard 61 or the pointing device 62, in step S23, the paper size (A3, B4, A4) and the resolution (100 dpi, 20 dpi) are set.
0 dpi, 400 dpi), auto-redial, presence / absence of transmission source information, memory transmission selection, and memory reception selection change input. If there is a change input, the display of the CRT 60 is changed to the display of the environment setting dialog shown in FIG. 35 in step S24, and the setting of the transmission mode is changed according to the change input by the operator. Then, when there is an input of a transmission instruction (input of F1) in step S25, the process proceeds to step S26 in FIG.

If transmission of the telephone directory is not specified in step S20, in step S21, the destination telephone number, sub address (need not be specified), destination name (need not be specified), After accepting the input of the source user name (which does not need to be specified) and the input of the source telephone number (which does not need to be specified), the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not an input for changing the setting information of the communication mode such as the paper size and the resolution has been made.
The process proceeds to 24, where an environment setting dialog shown in FIG. 35 is displayed on the CRT 60, and a change input of the communication mode is accepted. Then, in step S25, it is determined whether or not a transmission instruction has been input (designation of “F1” shown in FIG. 28). If a transmission instruction has been input, the process proceeds to step S26. If no transmission instruction has been input, step S23 has not been performed. Return to When transmission is instructed by the operator in this way, it is determined in step S26 whether or not the memory transmission mode is designated. If the memory transmission mode is designated, the process proceeds to step S82, and if the memory transmission mode is not designated. For example, the process proceeds to step S27 and onward to perform direct transmission.

First, in step S27, an open command is output to the reader / printer section 40 via the reader / printer interfaces 21 and 41. The open command is a signal for starting communication with the CPU 43 of the reader / printer unit 40. In step S28, it is determined whether communication with the CPU 43 of the reader / printer unit 40 is possible. If communication is not possible, a display indicating an interface error is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S29 (C
(Indicating that communication between PUs is not possible) is performed, and the process returns to the start. The CPU 4 of the reader / printer unit 40
3 can communicate with the CPU 4 in step S30.
3, a "REMOTE" command (command for shifting the reader / printer unit 40 to a remote mode for operating the reader / printer unit 40 by remote operation from the main body 20) is sent. And
At step S31, the CPU 43
It is determined whether or not a K signal has been received. If an ACK signal has not been received, the process proceeds to step S32, where an error is displayed on the CRT 60 and the process returns to the start. When the ACK signal is received, an "INIT" command is sent to the CPU 43 in step S33 to cause the CPU 43 to initialize the reader / printer unit 40. Then, in step S34, INIT
It is determined whether or not an ACK signal has been received from the CPU 43 for the command, and if no ACK signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S35.
After displaying an error on the CRT 60, the process returns to the start. If an ACK signal has been received in step S34, "INITBIT" is sent to the CPU 43 in step S36.
A command is sent to cause the CPU 43 to initialize the IMEM 42. Then, in step S37, INITBI
It is determined whether or not an ACK signal has been received from the CPU 43 in response to the T command.
After displaying an error on the CRT 60 at step 8, the process returns to the start. If an ACK signal is received, the source of the color image data to be transmitted is the reader 10 or the SV at step S39.
The system 45 is determined. This SV system 45
The color still image data is temporarily stored in a floppy disk in the system, and the color still image data is transmitted from the floppy disk. If it is determined in step S39 that the source of the color image data is the SV system 45, in step S40, the input of the image of the floppy disk in the SV system 45 is accepted.
If it is determined that the source of the color image data is the reader 10, in step S41, data indicating whether the source of the color image data is the reader 10 or the SV system 45 is set in the "SSEL" command, and the SV system In this case, data indicating the number of the image on the floppy disk is also set in the "SSEL" command. And step S
At step 42, a “SSEL” instruction (CPU 43
Is a command for selecting color image data to be sent to the main body 20. For example, if data indicating the reader 10 is set in this command, the CPU 43 sends the color image data read by the reader 10 to the main body 20. . )
Is transmitted, and in step S44, A
It is determined whether a CK signal has been received. A from CPU 43
If the CK signal has not been received, the CRT
After displaying an error at 60, return to START
If the K signal is received, in step S46, the information of the paper size and the resolution set in the environment setting dialog shown in FIG. 35 is read, and the receiving side calculates the print area of the color image data to be printed on the recording paper. Then, a print area where color image data is printed on the designated paper is calculated. Then, the data designating the output position and the data amount of the paper in accordance with the information of the calculated print area is described as “SAREA”
Set to the command and SA to CPU 43 in step S47
Send REA command. In step S48, the presence / absence of an ACK signal from the CPU 43 of the reader / printer unit 40 is determined. If no ACK signal is received, in step S49,
An error is displayed on the CRT 60 and the process returns to the start. or,
If an ACK signal has been received, an "SMODE" command in which resolution data has been set is sent to the CPU 43 in step S50, and it is determined in step S51 whether or not an ACK signal has been received. In CR
An error is displayed at T60, and the process returns to the start. Also ACK
If a signal has been received, a "SCAN" command (a command to start input scanning of color image data) for storing color image data in the IMEM 42 is issued in step S53.
Send to PU43. Then, in step S54, AC
The reception of the K signal is checked, and if an ACK signal is received, the process proceeds to step S56. If no ACK signal is received, an error is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S55, and the process returns to the start.

At step S56, the CPU 43 causes the IMEM 42 to store the color image data from the reader 10 (or the SV system 45). Then, step S5
At 7, a call is made to the ISDN line 80 with the telephone number of the other party specified by the operator. In step S58, it is determined whether or not the line is connected to the called party. If the line is not connected, in steps S59 and S60, redial processing is performed, for example, N times (three times) at 2-minute intervals, for example. If the line is not connected even after the N number of redialing processes, a message indicating that the line connection has failed is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S61, and the process returns to the start. When the line is connected to the called party, a block storage area 100 is secured in the RAM area shown in FIG.
In step S 63, the information of the image header shown in FIG. 8 is transmitted to the destination via the ISDN line 80. In step S64, it is determined whether or not the transmission of the image header is successful. If the transmission of the image header fails, the transmission of the image header is retried a predetermined number of times in steps S65 and S66. If the transmission fails, a message indicating a communication failure is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S67, and the process returns to the start. If the transmission of the image header is successful, step S6
8. At step S69, a response signal (response header) from the destination to the image header transmitted is received, and at step S70, it is determined whether the response header has been successfully received. If the reception of the response header fails, in steps S71 and S72, even if the response header is retried a predetermined number of times, the reception of the response header fails in step S73.
Displays a message indicating communication failure and returns to the start. If the response header is successfully received, it is determined whether or not the image header transmitted in step S74 matches the response header.
The process proceeds to step S100, and if both headers match, the process proceeds to step S75.

In step S100, the leader /
It is determined whether or not the power of the printer unit is turned off. If the power is not turned off, it is determined in steps S101 and S107 (FIG. 17) whether or not the recording paper size of the destination is equal to or larger than the size specified for transmission. If is larger than the designated size, the process proceeds to step S75, and if the recording paper size is smaller than the designated size, the process proceeds to step S108.

On the other hand, if the power of the reader / printer unit of the other party is turned off in step S100, step S1 is executed.
At 03, a message indicating that the power of the reader / printer unit of the other party is off is displayed on the CRT 60, and at step S104, it is determined whether or not the operator has instructed the memory reception. Then, when there is a memory reception instruction, the output type 118 of the image header in FIG. 8 is changed to the hard disk in step S106, and the process returns to step S63. If there is no instruction for memory reception, a message indicating transmission stop is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S105, and the process returns to the start. If the recording paper size of the other party is smaller than the designated size in step S108, the reduced transmission to the CRT 60 is performed in steps S108 to S112 (the reduced transmission is automatically performed according to the recording paper size).
Is displayed (see FIG. 36) to inquire whether the data is to be received, to receive the data in the memory, or to stop the transmission (see FIG. 36). The process proceeds from step S112 to step S63.

Steps S75, S78, S79 in FIG.
Then, the color image data of the IMEM 43 is transferred to the block storage area 100 of FIG. 7 one block at a time (1 Mbyte), and when one block of data is stored in the block storage area 100, the data of one block of the area 100 is stored in the area 101. Transfer and, when the transfer is completed, IMEM4
The data of the area 101 is transferred to the ICU 22 while the data of the next block from
The compressed data from area 22 is stored in area 102, and the compressed data in area 102 is transmitted to ISDN line 80 in S form.
Thus, the operation of storing the block data from the IMEM 43 and the operation of compressing the block data and transmitting the block data to the destination are executed in parallel. And line 8 of all block data
When the transmission to 0 is completed, the ISDN line 80 is released in step S80, a message indicating that the transmission is successful is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S81, and the process returns to the start.
On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S26 in FIG. 11 to step S82 in FIG. 15 in the memory transmission mode, the transmission data of the hard disk 50 specified in advance is selected, and the process proceeds to step S83.
A call is made to the ISDN line 80 with the telephone number of the other party specified by. In steps S84, S85, S86, and S87, steps S58, S59, S60, and S61 described above are performed.
The same processing as described above is executed, and when a line is connected to the destination, the image header shown in FIG. 8 is transmitted to the destination in step S88. In steps S89 to S92, similarly to steps S64 to S67 described above, it is confirmed that the image header has been successfully transmitted. If the image header has been successfully transmitted, in step S93, a response header is received from the other party. , S90, S91, and S92, the reception of the response header is confirmed in the same manner as in steps S70 to S73 described above. If the response header is successfully received, the color image data stored in the hard disk 50 is stored in steps S95 and S96. Is transmitted, and when transmission of all block data is completed, step S8 is performed.
Go to 0.

Next, the case of performing reception will be described.

If it is determined in step S11 in FIG. 9 that the reception process is to be performed by detecting an incoming call, the process proceeds to a reception routine in FIG.
In steps S120 to S125, the reception of the image header from the transmission side is confirmed. If the reception of the image header is not successful after retrying the reception of the image header a predetermined number of times, step S
The communication is terminated at 124, and the CRT 6 is
A message indicating a communication error is displayed at 0, and the process returns to the start. If the image header is successfully received, the fax-chk routine of step S126 (FIGS. 25 and 26)
Proceed to.

In step S126-1, it is determined whether the use of the hard disk 50 is prohibited.
If the use of the hard disk 50 is prohibited in the RAM in step S126-3, the process proceeds to step S126-3.
In step -3, data indicating that the use of the hard disk 50 is prohibited is set in the RAM, and the flow advances to step S126-4. If the use of the hard disk 50 is not prohibited, it is determined in step S126-2 whether the remaining memory capacity of the hard disk 50 is 3 Mbytes or more.
If the remaining memory capacity is 3 Mbytes or more, step S12
The process proceeds to 6-4, and if less than 3 Mbytes, the process proceeds to step S126-3.

In step S126-4, it is determined whether the use of the reader / printer unit 40 is prohibited (failure or power off).
At -15, data indicating that the reader / printer unit 40 is prohibited is set in the RAM. If the reader / printer unit 40 is usable, the CPU 43 of the reader / printer unit 40 sends “REMOT” to the CPU 43 in step S126-5.
E ”command (command for shifting the reader / printer unit 40 to the remote operation from the main body CPU 26) is sent out. If an ACK signal is not received from the CPU 43 in step S126-6, the process proceeds to step S126-15, where the ACK signal is output. When it is received, the process proceeds to step S126-7, in which a "SENSE" command for checking the state of the reader / printer unit 40 is sent to the CPU 43, and a response signal from the CPU 43 is sent in step S126-8. It is determined whether or not the reader / printer unit 40 is usable.If the reader / printer unit 40 is not usable, the process proceeds to step S126-15, and if the reader / printer unit 40 is usable, the process proceeds to step S126-9.
"SENSE" for checking memory capacity of 2
The command is transmitted, and in step S126-10, the CPU 43
Proceeds to step S126-11 if an ACK signal arrives from step S126-1, and otherwise proceeds to step S126-1.
Go to 5. In step S126-11, the IMEM42
Is set in the designated area of the RAM, and in steps S126-12 and S126-13, the recording paper size of the reader / printer section 40 (the printer section 70 is provided with two cassettes, an upper cassette and a lower cassette). CPU 43 issues a “PPRREQ” instruction to detect
When the ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, the paper size is set in the designated area of the RAM. Thus, fa
When the x-chk routine is completed, step S in FIG.
In step 127, information indicating the state and function of the receiving device is set in a response header (having the same format as the image header in FIG. 8) in accordance with various information set in the RAM by the above-described fax-chk routine.
At 28, a response header is sent to the transmission side. Then, in step S129, if there is no recording paper larger than the paper size specified by the transmission side and the remaining memory capacity of the hard disk 50 is smaller than 3 Mbytes, the process proceeds to step S130.
To end the communication, display a communication error message on the CRT 60 in step S131, and return to the start.
If the reception specified by the transmitting side can be performed in step S129, the CRT 60 is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S132.
0 is displayed, and it is determined in step S133 whether or not memory reception is specified. If memory reception is not specified, steps S134 to S151
Proceeding to (FIGS. 21 and 22), real-time reception recording is performed, and if memory reception is designated, step S152
The process proceeds to S158 (FIG. 23) to perform memory reception.

First, in step S134, the RA in FIG.
Block storage areas 100 and 101 are secured in the M area,
In step S135, a REMOTE command is sent to CPU 43, and in step S136, ACK from CPU 43 is transmitted.
If no signal is received, communication error data is set, and the flow advances to step S159 (FIG. 18). Also, ACK from CPU 43
When the signal comes, the INI is sent to the CPU 43 in step S138.
If a T command is sent out and an ACK signal is not received from the CPU 43 in step S139, communication error data is set in step S140, and the flow advances to step S159. Also, CPU
When the ACK signal is received from C.43, in step S141, C
An INITBIT instruction is sent to the PU 43, and step S1 is executed.
If no ACK signal is received from the CPU 43 at 42, communication error data is set at step S143, and
Go to 159. When an ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, a "CREATE" command (a command for securing an area for storing one page of color image data to the IMEM 42) is transmitted to the CPU 43 in step S144, and the ACK is transmitted from the CPU 43 in step S145. If no signal is received, communication error data is set in step S146, and the flow advances to step S159. When an ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, reception of image data is started in step S147. Then, in steps S148 and S149, the compressed data of the area 102 is transmitted to the ICU 22 while storing the received color compressed data in the compressed data storage area 102 of FIG. 7, and the decompressed data from the ICU 22 is stored in the area 101. . When one block of decompressed data (1 Mbyte) is stored in the area 101, the decompressed data of one block of the area 101 is transferred to the area 100. When the transfer to the area 100 is completed, the area 100 is decompressed.
Transfer one block of decompressed data to the IMEM. At this time, the operation of receiving the compressed data of the next block and the operation of storing the decompressed data in the area 101 are executed in parallel. When the reception of all block data is completed, the communication is terminated in step S150, and the last block data is transferred to the IMEM 42 in step S151, and the IME
The block data divided and received in M42 is combined, and when one page of color image data is completed, the process proceeds to step S159.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S133 to step S152 in FIG. 23 in memory reception, step S152
The received image header is stored in the hard disk 50 to create a received file in S154. And
In step S155, reception of color image data is started. In steps S156 and S157, the received color compressed data is stored in area 102 of FIG.
02 to the hard disk 50. Thus, the compressed data is received in block units and sequentially stored in a file created on the hard disk 50. When the reception of all block data is completed, the communication is terminated in step S158, and the process proceeds to step S159.

In step S159 of FIG. 18, it is determined whether or not there is a communication error. If there is a communication error, it indicates in step S160 that a communication error has occurred in the CRT 60 or an error has occurred in the reader / printer unit 40. Display a message and return to start. If there is no communication error, it is determined in step S161 whether or not memory reception has been performed. If memory reception has been performed, the process returns to the start. In the case of real-time reception recording, steps S162 to S190 (FIG. 1)
(9, FIG. 20). In the case where printing of data on the hard disk is designated in step S16 of FIG. 9 and a file to be printed is designated,
The compressed data read from the hard disk 50
After decompressing the print data at 22 and storing the decompressed data in the IMEM 42, the process proceeds to this print routine.

First, in step S162, a REMOTE instruction is sent to the CPU 43, and in step S163, the CP
Confirm receipt of the ACK signal from U43. When the process proceeds to step S162 due to the real-time reception, the CPU 43 of the reader / printer unit 40 is already in the remote state, but in steps S162 and S163,
The printer 70 of the reader / printer unit 40 is locked. If no ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, a message indicating an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S164, and the process returns to the start.
When the ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, the process proceeds to step S163-1 in FIG. 24, and based on the received image header information, the sender information (date and time, sender's telephone number, abbreviation, page number, etc.) on the recording paper. It is determined whether or not there is a space to add a character string. If it is determined in step S163-2 that there is an additional space, the sender information is expanded in step S163-3 according to a binary black and white font, and a reader / printer unit is used. 40 to the designated area of the IMEM 42. Alternatively, the sender information may be separately recorded as a one-page cover, and then the color image data may be recorded. In this case, steps S163-1, S163-
At 2, it is determined whether or not page recording of the sender information is designated, and if page recording is designated, step S
In step 163-3, the sender information is expanded using a monochrome binary font and transferred to the IMEM 42.
First, the source information is recorded by the printer 70.

Then, when the flow advances to step S165, the CP
A "DSEL" command for selecting data in the IMEM 42 as print data is sent to U43, and a step S16 is executed.
At 6, it is determined whether an ACK signal has been received from the CPU 43.
If no ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, step S16
At 7, the error of the reader / printer unit is displayed on the CRT 60, and the process returns to the start. Further, when an ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, it is determined in step S168 whether or not to rotate the color image data of the IMEM 42. If it is to be rotated, a "ROTATE" command (step S169) in which data such as a rotation angle is set An instruction to rotate the image is transmitted, and the reception of the ACK signal is checked in step S170. If the ACK signal is not received, step S171 is performed.
Displays an error in the reader / printer section and returns to the start. When the ACK signal is received, in step S172, a "DAREA" command for designating the printing position of the color image data of the IMEM 42 and the printing resolution is sent to the CPU 4.
3 and if no ACK signal is received in step S173, an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed on the CRT 60 in step S174, and the process returns to the start. When the ACK signal is received, the "DMO" for designating the print size of the color image data of the IMEM 42 in step S175.
A DE "command is sent to the CPU 43, and if no ACK signal is received from the CPU 43 in step S176, the process proceeds to step S1.
At 77, an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed, and the process returns to the start. When an ACK signal arrives, the process proceeds to step S178.

In step S178, a PPRREQ command for checking the recording paper size of the upper and lower cassettes of the printer 70 is sent to the CPU 43.
If the ACK signal is not received from the CPU 43 in step 9, an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed in step S180, and the process returns to the start. When an ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, in step S181, which cassette is to be selected is determined based on the information on the paper size of the upper cassette and the paper size of the lower cassette set in the received ACK signal. Then, in step S182, the CPU 43 issues a "PRSEL" instruction for designating a recording paper size.
ACK from the CPU 43 in step S182.
If no signal is received, an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed in step S184, and the process returns to the start. Also, the CPU 43
When an ACK signal comes from the CPU 4 in step S185
A REMOTE command for releasing the locked state of the printer 70 (the CPU 43 remains in the remote state) is sent to the CPU 3 and an error of the reader / printer unit is displayed in a step S187 if an ACK signal is not received from the CPU 43 in a step S186. Then return to start. When the ACK signal is received, the IME is sent to the CPU 43 in step S188.
A “PRINT” command for causing the printer 70 to record the M42 color image data is transmitted, and the process proceeds to step S189.
Checks the ACK signal from the CPU 43.
If no ACK signal is received from the CPU 43, the CRT
After displaying the error of the reader / printer unit at 60, the process returns to the start.

If telephone directory registration is specified in step S13 of FIG. 9, the process proceeds to a telephone directory registration routine of FIG.
In step S200, a telephone directory screen as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed on the CRT 60, and processing such as new registration, correction, and deletion is executed according to a manual operation by an operator.

When the transmission destination is designated by the telephone directory, the designated destination area is highlighted as shown in FIGS. 29 and 33.

When the transmission of the color image data is started in step S75 of FIG. 14 or step S95 of FIG. 15, the dialog of "transmitting" is displayed as overlapped as shown in FIGS. The display of the bar graph changes sequentially in synchronization with the transmission of the block data, and the transmission process can be recognized. Also, at the time of broadcast transmission, as shown in FIG. 32, each destination and the destination number are displayed at the same time as the "transmitting" dialog. In addition, when the destination number is input using a numeric keypad or the like, the display shown in FIG. 31 is displayed.
The "Sending" dialog is displayed below the other party's telephone number, so that the called party can be confirmed without displaying the other party in the dialog.

Step S1 in FIG. 18 of the reception routine
At 32, when the reader / printer unit 40 is unusable, the display shown in FIG.
Is specified, the communication is terminated without performing memory reception. If no instruction is given by the operator, memory reception is automatically performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the data to be transferred is a color image, but is not limited to a color image.

In this embodiment, the image data is printed out. However, the present invention is not limited to the printout such as when outputting the image data to a monitor.

The input color image data may be input from an external storage device in addition to reading from the reader unit. Further, the image data to be output may be stored in an external storage device in addition to being printed out.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, when performing data communication of color image data having a very large data amount,
One page of color image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, and block data input processing and compression / transmission processing are performed in parallel, so that high-speed color image data communication can be performed.

Further, it is possible to provide a configuration in which the progress of the transmission of the compressed data of each block obtained by the high-speed processing can be grasped accurately and in detail. Further, it is possible to provide a system for compressing and transferring color image data to a communication line by effectively utilizing the operation of the first central processing unit which includes a reader and a printer. In particular, the system can be provided by connecting an image processing device such as a personal computer having a communication function and operation-controlled by the second central processing unit to a display device such as a so-called CRT.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image data communication device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a reception routine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing timing on a transmission side.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing timing on the receiving side.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a memory map in the present example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format of an image header.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a detailed control operation in this embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a display example according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a display example in the embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a display example according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a display example in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 main body of image data processing system 30 CCU 80 line 21 main body side reader / printer interface 22 ICU 23 PMEM 24 main body side IMEM 25 VRAM 26 main body side CPU 29 bus 40 image input device 10 reader 41 input / output device side reader / printer Printer interface 42 IMEM on input / output device side 43 CPU on input / output device side 44 ROM 70 Printer 50 Hard disk device 51 Floppy disk device 60 CRT 61 Keyboard 62 Pointing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Naohiko Takemoto 3-11-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Sales Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-2-205175 (JP, A) JP-A Sho JP-A-62-176374 (JP, A) JP-A-2-304486 (JP, A) JP-A-1-256888 (JP, A) JP-A-1-198865 (JP, A) A) JP-A-1-174060 (JP, A) JP-A-2-70167 (JP, A) JP-A-1-105660 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) ) H04N 1/46-1/64 H04N 1/00 107 H04N 1/41-1/419

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A reader / printer comprising a reader / printer and a first central processing unit, and a communication unit and a second central processing unit for a reader / printer device operation-controlled by the first central processing unit. An image processing apparatus whose operation is controlled by the apparatus is connected, a display device is connected to the image processing apparatus, and color image data obtained by reading a document with the reader / printer apparatus is converted to the image processing apparatus. A color image data processing system for compressing and transmitting to a communication line, wherein the image processing device is
Input means for dividing and inputting color image data representing the entire image to be transmitted into a plurality of block data, compressing the block data and transferring the block data to a communication control means; Communication means for sequentially transmitting each block data to the communication line by confirming transmission / reception of each block data with the receiving side every transmission of one block, wherein the system comprises: The data input processing, the compression processing of the block data by the compression unit, and a part of the transfer processing of the plurality of block data by the communication unit are executed in parallel. A dialog indicating that the block data is being transmitted, and in synchronization with the progress of the block data being sequentially transmitted, A color image data processing system for performing display in which a bar graph in an alog is sequentially changed.