JP3478560B2 - Facsimile apparatus and control method of facsimile apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine having a function of transmitting image data to a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus having a function of transmitting and receiving image data to and from a computer is known. In this type of facsimile apparatus, when transmitting the image data stored in the image memory to the computer, the image data stored in the image memory is transmitted as it is.

[0003]

Therefore, when displaying or editing the image data received from the facsimile apparatus, the computer side compresses / decompresses the image data by software or hardware, and changes the image size. It was necessary to perform processing and resolution conversion processing.

For this reason, when the measures are taken by software, there have been problems that the software is increased, it takes a long time to develop the software, and the processing speed of the computer is lowered. In addition, when it is dealt with by hardware, there is a problem that the cost of the computer is increased.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting image data to a computer in a data format that does not burden the computer.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention includes an interface unit for sending and receiving image data between the computer, the facsimile apparatus having a storage unit for storing the image data , when transmitting to the computer the image data stored in the storage unit via the interface unit, the full
The computer registered in advance in
Determining means for determining the consistency of the data format and the data form suitable for the computer of the image data to be sent in the storage unit based on the information to the determination result by the previous SL discrimination means a mismatch between both the data form In the case shown, there is provided output control means for converting the form of the image data to be transmitted in the storage unit into a data form suitable for the computer and outputting the data form. Further, the present invention includes an interface unit for sending and receiving image data between the computer, the control method of a facsimile apparatus and a storage unit for storing the image data, the image data stored in the storage unit Upon transmitting to the computer via the front SL interface unit, the facsimile instrumentation
Based on the information about the computer previously registered in
Then, the data form of the transmission target image data in the storage unit and the data form suitable for the computer are determined to be consistent, and if the two data forms do not match, the transmission target image data in the storage unit The data form is converted into a data form suitable for the computer and output.

[0007]

When the image data stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the computer through the interface unit, the determining unit determines, for example, whether the data is in a compressed / uncompressed state (whether the data is compressed facsimile code data, Or, it is uncompressed raw image data), data size such as image size, resolution, etc., based on the information about the computer registered in advance in the facsimile apparatus, the data form of the image data to be transmitted in the storage unit. And the data form suitable for the computer are determined .

[0008] Then, the compression / non-compression state of data, image size, if the data form of resolution or the like is determined not to match, the data form of the image data to be sent in the storage unit to the computer Convert it to a suitable data format and output. In other words, the image data is sent to the computer in a data format that does not burden the computer.
It

The storage unit stores image data received from another facsimile machine or computer, or image data read by the present facsimile machine.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of a facsimile apparatus according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present invention.
This facsimile apparatus performs various types of facsimile processing with the microprocessor 1 as a core, and the microprocessor 1 has an operation panel control unit 2 and a scanner control unit 3 via a bus BUS including a data bus and a control bus. The printer control unit 4, the storage control unit 5, the buffer memory 6, the encoding / decoding unit 7, the image conversion unit 8, the communication control unit 9, and the interface control unit 10 are connected.

The operation panel control unit 2 has an operation panel 11, the scanner control unit 3 has a scanner 12, the printer control unit 4 has a printer 13, the storage control unit 5 has a non-volatile memory 14, and In the control unit 9, another communication device such as another facsimile device via the NCU 15 and the line 16,
Computers 18 are connected to the interface control unit 10 via external interfaces 17, respectively.
The microprocessor 1 includes a ROM preset with various programs and a RAM for temporarily storing data necessary for various controls.

The operation panel 11 is provided with a dial and various operation switches, and the operation signals of these dials and operation switches are converted into a predetermined signal format under the control of the operation panel control section 2 and then converted to the microprocessor 1. Given. Under the control of the scanner controller 3, the scanner 12 optically reads a document and photoelectrically converts it to form an electrical image signal. The image signal (image data) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 such as a hard disk or a flexible disk under the control of the storage controller 5. The printer control unit 4 controls the printing operation of the printer 13 to print the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 in the dot pattern format. It should be noted that the storage control unit 5 sets the image No. for the image data stored in the nonvolatile memory 14. It manages image size, resolution, encoding method, data size, storage location, etc.

The communication control unit 9 controls data communication with other communication devices such as facsimile machines via the NCU 14. The interface control unit 10 also controls the transmission and reception of commands and data with the computer 18. At this time, the image data to be communicated is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 6 under the control of the microprocessor 1. The encoding / decoding unit 7 encodes and compresses the image data to be transmitted as necessary, and decodes and expands the received image data related to compression. The image conversion unit 8 converts the resolution, the image size, etc. of the image data to be transmitted according to the capability of the transmission destination device.

The coding / decoding unit 7 is a one-dimensional coding system using the MH code, an MR system as a two-dimensional coding system, a predictive coding system such as an intraframe / interframe predictive coding system, and the like. It is configured so that it can be encoded by various encoding methods. Further, when the computer 18 requests the facsimile apparatus to transmit the image data in the non-volatile memory 14, it transmits a data transmission request command, and the parameter of the data transmission request command relates to the transmission. Image No. of image data. , Output data format, image size, resolution, etc. are added. In this case, the output data formats of the requested image data include raw image data that is not compressed by encoding and facsimile code data that is compressed by facsimile encoding. , Specify the encoding method.

[First Embodiment] Next, the operation of transmitting image data to the computer 18, which is peculiar to the first embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the first embodiment, the computer 18
It is assumed that all the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 by a command or the like from is stored in the state of raw image data that has not been compressed (encoded).
For example, when a command from the computer 18 instructs the image data received from another facsimile device to be stored in the non-volatile memory 14, the image data related to the receiving ( (Facsimile code data) is expanded by being decoded by the encoding / decoding unit 7, is returned to the state of raw image data, and is stored in the non-volatile memory 14.

In FIG. 2, at least the image No. is sent by the transmission request command from the computer 18. When the output data format is designated and the transmission of the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is requested, the microprocessor 1 first follows the predetermined application program preset in the ROM and first sends the image number of the transmission request command. ． , Check parameters such as output data format,
It is determined whether it is normal (step S21).

As a result, if the parameter of the transmission request command is abnormal, the process ends. On the other hand, if the parameter is normal, it is determined whether or not the parameter corresponding to the output data format indicates facsimile coded data, that is, compressed data (step S22). As a result, if the compressed data is shown, the encoding / decoding unit 7 converts the raw image data related to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 into a facsimile code by the encoding method according to the request and compresses it. Then, the facsimile code data related to the compression is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 together with the corresponding raw image data (step S23), and the process proceeds to step S24. At this time, for the facsimile code data related to compression,
Image No. different from the corresponding raw image data. Assign On the other hand, if the parameter corresponding to the output data format does not indicate the compressed data but the raw image data, step S
23 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, the image data relating to the transmission request (or the facsimile code data of the processing result when the processing of step S23 is performed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 1.
4, the data is stored in the buffer memory 6, and sequentially transferred to the interface control unit 10 to be transmitted to the computer 18.

Next, when the facsimile code data is transmitted to the computer 18, the facsimile code data in the non-volatile memory 14 is erased (step S2).
5) and end. As a matter of course, when the raw image data is transmitted, the erasing in step S25 is not executed and the process ends.

[Second Embodiment] Next, the operation of transmitting image data to the computer 18, which is peculiar to the second embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the second embodiment, the computer 18
Image data is sent to the non-volatile memory 1 by commands from
When the data is stored in 4, the data is stored in the state in which all the data is input. For example, when a command from the computer 18 instructs the non-volatile memory 14 to store the image data (facsimile code data) received from another facsimile apparatus, the received facsimile code data is stored as it is. When the image data read from the document by the scanner 12 is stored in the non-volatile memory 14 by a command from the computer 18,
Raw image data read by the scanner 12 and given from the scanner control unit 3 is stored as it is.

In FIG. 3, at least the image No. is transmitted by the transmission request command from the computer 18. When the output data format is designated and the transmission of the image data accumulated in the nonvolatile memory 14 is requested, the microprocessor 1
First, according to a predetermined application program preset in the ROM, first, the image N of the transmission request command is displayed.
o. The output data format and other parameters are checked to determine whether or not they are normal (step S31).

As a result, if the parameter of the transmission request command is abnormal, the process ends. On the other hand, if the parameter is normal, the output data format indicated by the parameter is compared with the data format of the image data relating to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to determine whether the data in the volatile memory 14 is stored. It is determined whether or not the image data relating to the transmission request is expanded (step S32).

The determination as to whether or not to expand is performed as follows. That is, when the output data format indicated by the parameter and the data format of the image data relating to the transmission request accumulated in the volatile memory 14 are completely the same including the encoding method, and the storage is performed. If the data format according to (1) is raw image data, it is determined not to be expanded, and if not, it is determined to be expanded.

More specifically, when the stored data format is raw image data, it is determined that the image data is not always expanded regardless of the output data format. On the other hand, when the stored data format is facsimile code data, it is determined that the output data format will be expanded if it is raw image data, and if the output data format is facsimile code data, the encoding method related to the output is stored. It is determined that the expansion is performed only when the encoding method of the facsimile code data according to the above does not match, and it is determined that the expansion is not performed when both encoding methods match.

In this way, when it is determined that the data is to be expanded, the nonvolatile memory 1
The image data (facsimile code data) relating to the transmission request stored in 4 is expanded by the encoding / decoding unit 7 and decoded into raw image data, and the raw image data is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 together with the facsimile code data. It is stored (step S33) and the process proceeds to step S34. On this occasion,
For the raw image data related to the decoding, the image No. different from the corresponding facsimile code data is used. Assign on the other hand,
When it is determined that the expansion is not performed, step S33 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the nonvolatile memory 14
It is determined whether or not the image data relating to the transmission request in the inside is compressed. This determination is performed as follows. That is, when the data format of the image data to be output related to storage is raw image data and the output data format is facsimile code data, and the data format of the image data to be output related to storage is facsimile code data. And
When the output data format is facsimile code data and both encoding methods are different, it is determined that the compression is performed, and in other cases, it is determined that the compression is not performed.

In this way, when it is determined that compression is performed as a result of determining whether or not compression is performed, the nonvolatile memory 1
The image data (raw image data) according to the transmission request accumulated in 4 is encoded by the encoder / decoder 7 and compressed, and the encoded facsimile data is stored in the non-volatile memory 14 together with the corresponding raw image data. Then (step S35), the process proceeds to step S36.

At this time, for the facsimile code data related to compression, an image N different from the corresponding raw image data is used.
o. Assign In addition, the image data to be compressed at this time is the raw image data related to the decompression process when the decompression process is performed in step S33, and the raw image data related to the decompression process is after the compression process. Non-volatile memory 1
Erase from 4. On the other hand, when it is determined not to compress,
Step S35 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S36.

In step S36, the image data relating to the transmission request is read from the non-volatile memory 14, stored in the buffer memory 6, and sequentially transferred to the interface control unit 10 to be transmitted to the computer 18, and the transmission data is transmitted by a facsimile code. If it is the data, the facsimile code data is erased from the non-volatile memory 14, and the process ends. If the facsimile code data related to the compression processing in step S35 exists in the non-volatile memory 14, the facsimile code data is deleted.

[Third Embodiment] The operation of transmitting image data to the computer 18, which is unique to the third embodiment, will now be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

In the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, all the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 by the command from the computer 18 is not compressed (encoded). It shall be stored in the state of raw image data.

In FIG. 4, at least the image No. of the output (transmission request) data is transmitted by the transmission request command from the computer 18. When the image size is designated and the transmission of the image data accumulated in the non-volatile memory 14 is requested, the microprocessor 1 first follows the image No. of the transmission request command according to a predetermined application program preset in the ROM. The output image size and other parameters are checked to determine whether or not they are normal (step S41).

As a result, if the parameter of the transmission request command is abnormal, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the parameter is normal, the output image size indicated by the parameter is compared with the image size of the image data of the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to determine whether or not the scaling is performed. Yes (step S42). That is, if both image sizes are the same, it is determined that the scaling is not performed, and if they are different, it is determined that the scaling is performed.

When it is determined that the scaling is performed, the image size of the image data of the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is scaled by the image conversion unit 8 to the output image size of the request, and the scaling is performed. The image data related to scaling is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 together with the corresponding image data (step S43), and the process proceeds to step S44. At this time, for the image data relating to the scaling, an image No. different from the corresponding image data. Assign On the other hand, when it is determined that the magnification is not changed, step S43 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S44.

In step S44, the image data related to the transmission request (or the image data related to the scaling process when the scaling process in step S43 is performed) is read from the non-volatile memory 14 and stored in the buffer memory 6, and the interface is read. It is transmitted to the computer 18 by sequentially transferring to the control unit 10.

Next, when the image data related to the scaling process is transmitted, the image data related to the scaling process in the non-volatile memory 14 is erased (step S45), and the process ends. When the image data that has not been subjected to the scaling processing is transmitted, the deletion in step S45 is not executed, and the processing ends.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, the operation of transmitting image data to the computer 18, which is peculiar to the fourth embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Incidentally, also in the fourth embodiment, the first and third
Similar to the embodiment, it is assumed that all the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 by the command from the computer 18 are stored in the state of raw image data which is not compressed (encoded).

In FIG. 5, at least the image No. of the output (transmission request) data is transmitted by the transmission request command from the computer 18. , The resolution is designated, and the transmission of the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is requested, the microprocessor 1 first follows the predetermined application program preset in the ROM, and first transmits the image No. of the transmission request command. , Resolution and other parameters are checked to determine whether or not it is normal (step S5).
1).

As a result, if the parameter of the transmission request command is abnormal, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the parameter is normal, the resolution indicated by the parameter is compared with the resolution of the image data relating to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to determine whether or not the resolution is to be converted (step S52). That is, if the two resolutions are the same, it is determined that the resolution conversion is not performed, and if they are different, the resolution conversion is determined.

When it is determined that the resolution is to be converted, the resolution of the image data related to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is converted to the requested resolution by the image conversion unit 8, and the image related to the conversion is converted. The data is stored in the non-volatile memory 14 together with the corresponding image data (step S53), and the process proceeds to step S54. At this time, for the image data relating to the resolution conversion, an image No. different from the corresponding image data. Assign On the other hand, when it is determined that the resolution conversion is not performed, step S53 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S54.

In step S54, the image data related to the transmission request (or the image data related to the conversion process when the resolution conversion process in step S53 is performed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14.
It is read from, stored in the buffer memory 6, and sequentially transferred to the interface control unit 10 to be transmitted to the computer 18.

Next, when the image data relating to the resolution conversion processing is transmitted, the image data relating to the resolution conversion processing in the non-volatile memory 14 is erased (step S55),
finish. When the image data that has not undergone the resolution conversion processing is transmitted, the erasing in step S55 is not executed, and the processing ends.

[Fifth Embodiment] Next, the operation of transmitting image data to the computer 18, which is peculiar to the fifth embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Incidentally, in the fifth embodiment, the first, third, fourth
Similar to the embodiment, it is assumed that all the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 by the command from the computer 18 are stored in the state of raw image data which is not compressed (encoded).

6, at least the image No. of the output (transmission request) data is transmitted by the transmission request command from the computer 18. When the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is requested to be transmitted with the specified image size and resolution, the microprocessor 1 firstly transmits the image of the transmission request command in accordance with a predetermined application program preset in the ROM. No. The output image size and other parameters are checked to determine whether they are normal (step S61).

As a result, if the parameter of the transmission request command is abnormal, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the parameter is normal, the output image size indicated by the parameter is compared with the image size of the image data of the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to determine whether or not the scaling is performed. Yes (step S62). That is, if both image sizes are the same, it is determined that the scaling is not performed, and if they are different, it is determined that the scaling is performed.

When it is determined that the scaling is to be performed, the image size of the image data of the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is scaled to the requested output image size by the image conversion unit 8, and the scaling is performed. The image data related to scaling is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 together with the corresponding image data (step S63), and the process proceeds to step S64. At this time, for the image data relating to the scaling, an image No. different from the corresponding image data. Assign On the other hand, when it is determined that the scaling is not performed, step S63 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S64.

In step S64, the resolution indicated by the parameter is compared with the resolution of the image data relating to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to determine whether to convert the resolution. That is, if the two resolutions are the same, it is determined that the resolution conversion is not performed, and if they are different, the resolution conversion is determined.

When it is determined that the resolution is to be converted, the resolution of the image data related to the transmission request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 is converted by the image conversion unit 8 into the output resolution according to the request, and the conversion is performed. The image data is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 together with the corresponding image data (step S65), and the process proceeds to step S66. In this case, the image data that is the target of resolution conversion is
If there is any image that has been subjected to the scaling processing in 63, it becomes image data relating to that scaling processing. In addition, the image No. of the image data relating to the resolution conversion. If there is any image that has undergone the scaling process in step S63, the image data relating to that scaling process is erased and the one assigned to the image data relating to that scaling process is reused. When it is determined in step S64 that the resolution conversion is not performed, step S6
Skip 5 and proceed to step S66.

In step S66, the image data related to the transmission request (the image data related to the scaling processing or the resolution conversion processing when the resolution conversion processing is performed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 1.
4, the data is stored in the buffer memory 6, and sequentially transferred to the interface control unit 10 to be transmitted to the computer 18.

Next, when the image data relating to the scaling processing or the resolution conversion processing is transmitted, the nonvolatile memory 1
The image data related to the scaling processing or the resolution conversion processing in 4 is erased (step S67), and the process is ended. When the image data that has not been subjected to the scaling processing or the resolution conversion processing is transmitted, the deletion in step S67 is not executed, and the processing ends.

As described above, in the first to fifth embodiments, when the data form of the request from the computer 18 and the data form of the image data of the request stored in the non-volatile memory 14 are different, The facsimile apparatus converts the data into the requested data format and transmits it.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, all data formats such as compression / non-compression of image data, image size, and resolution, or any of these data formats can be used. It is also possible to convert and output the combination so that it is suitable for a computer.
In this case, when the compression / non-compression is combined with the image size or the resolution, the compression / non-compression process may be performed first, and the image size conversion (magnification) process or the resolution conversion process may be performed later. .

Further, the data format suitable for the computer can be determined based on the data format registered in advance in, for example, the ROM of the facsimile apparatus, without determining based on the command from the computer. Further, the non-volatile memory may store image data transferred from another facsimile machine or a computer, and the image data may be transmitted in a suitable data format. Further, instead of transmitting the image data in response to a request from the computer, it is possible to voluntarily transmit the image data in response to an operation on the operation panel of the facsimile apparatus.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the image data can be transmitted to the computer in a data format that does not impose a burden on the computer, it does not take a long time to develop the software of the computer or reduce the processing speed of the computer.
It is also possible to avoid increasing the cost of the computer .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to first to fifth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a transmission operation of image data unique to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a transmission operation of image data unique to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a transmission operation of image data unique to the third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of transmitting image data unique to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of transmitting image data unique to the fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Microprocessor 5 ... Memory control unit 7 ... Encoding / decoding section 8 ... Image converter 9 ... Communication control unit 10 ... Interface control unit 14 ... Nonvolatile memory 15 ... NCU 16 ... Line 17 ... Interface 18 ... Computer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-1-98370 (JP, A) JP-A-1-236764 (JP, A) JP-A-1-305479 (JP, A) JP-A-3- 139962 (JP, A) JP-A-3-283970 (JP, A) JP-A-4-181862 (JP, A) JP-A-4-185157 (JP, A) JP-A-4-239261 (JP, A) JP-A-5-14580 (JP, A) JP-A-62-249560 (JP, A) JP-A-63-48048 (JP, A) JP-A-64-24561 (JP, A) Actual development JP-A-63-56856 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 H04N 1/32-1/393

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A an interface unit for transmitting and receiving between the image data with a computer, a facsimile apparatus having a storage unit for storing the image data, the interferon image data stored in the storage unit
In transmitting to the computer via the source unit,
The computer previously registered in the facsimile device
Images to be transmitted in the storage unit based on information about
Data format of data and data suitable for the computer
Determining means for determining the consistency of the form, when the determination result by the indicates a mismatch between both the data form prior Symbol judging means, suitable for the form of the image data to be sent in the storage unit to the computer A facsimile apparatus comprising: an output control unit that converts the data format and outputs the data format. 2. The discriminating means discriminates, as the data form, whether or not the data is in a compressed / non-compressed state, and the output control means discriminates in the compressed / non-compressed state of the data. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the image data is not to be transmitted, the image data to be transmitted in the storage unit is converted into a compressed or uncompressed state suitable for the computer and is output. Wherein said determination means, as the data mode, to determine the consistency of the image size of the data, the output control means, when it is determined that the image size of the data does not match with the judgment means , facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the for converting the image size of image data to be sent in the storage unit to the image size suitable for the computer. 4. The discriminating means discriminates whether or not the resolution of the data is the same as the data form, and the output control means, when the discriminating means discriminates that the resolutions of the data do not coincide. any resolution of image data to be sent in the storage unit according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that for converting a resolution suitable for the computer
Facsimile apparatus described in Crab . 5. The storage unit stores image data received from another facsimile machine or a computer, or image data read by the present facsimile machine, according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The described facsimile machine. An interface unit for transmitting and receiving between 6. The image data computer, the control method of a facsimile apparatus and a storage unit for storing the image data, the image data stored in the storage unit before When transmitting to the computer via the interface section,
The computer previously registered in the facsimile device
Based on the information on the above, it is determined whether the data form of the image data of the transmission target in the storage unit matches the data form suitable for the computer. If the two data forms do not match, the transmission target of the storage unit A method of controlling a facsimile apparatus, which comprises converting a data form of image data into a data form suitable for the computer and outputting the data.