JP4037060B2 - Image processing apparatus and image processing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing system for processing acquired image data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing apparatus (such as a digital multi-function peripheral) having an image input / output function and / or a facsimile communication function efficiently stores and manages a large amount of image data and various information (all additional information) related to the image data. Therefore, these pieces of information are stored under the same directory as the image data, or are stored in association with the same directory structure as the image data. Specifically, file name, access right, storage position information, image offset information, image rotation information, color information constituting the image, user information, time information, current access status information, paper information, compression information, various Matrix information, expiration date of image data, stored application information (included in data type), size information, resolution information, gradation information, extracted document information, password, number of pages, number of pixels information, image processing information, image quality Mode information, keyword information, etc. are stored.
[0003]
When the image processing apparatus and an external apparatus such as a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer) are connected via a network, the image data stored and stored in the image processing apparatus is transferred from the external apparatus. In order to operate, a part of the various information is used. Specifically, a file name, user information, time information, size information, data type, keyword information, and the like are used.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the various information is scattered in the file system of the image processing apparatus, specific information (information necessary for image operation) is extracted from the various information, and image data sorting processing is executed using the specific information. When trying to do so, there is a problem that the processing time becomes longer than other processing.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing system suitable for improving such problems and reducing the processing time required for image manipulation.
[0006]
[Means for solving the problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least image storage means for storing a plurality of image data, all related information storage means for storing all information related to the image data, and external information among all information related to the image data Partial related information storage means for storing partial information required for operation of the apparatus corresponding to each of the plurality of image data, communication means used for data communication with the external apparatus, and the image data When storing in the image storage means, all the additional information for the image data is held and managed in the all related information storage means in a structured data format, and some information required by the external device from all the additional information Only the extracted partial information is held and managed in the partial related information storage means in a format that can be formatted into structured text information, and An image processing system provided with a control means for shaping and providing partial information into structured text information and the external device connected via a network, wherein the image from the external device When the processing device is requested to refer to the additional information regarding the accumulated image data, the long-term ID number based on the upper limit number of image data that can be stored in the all related information storage means and the all related information storage The additional information corresponding to a short-term ID number based on a part of image data that can be stored in the means is acquired from the partial related information storage means, and the acquired additional information is notified to the external device. There is.
[0007]
At the time of an operation request from an external device, some related information storage means (operation is performed without extracting some information necessary for image operation from various information (all additional information) scattered in the file system of the image processing device. By extracting necessary information from an information memory or the like, the processing time required for image manipulation can be shortened.
[0009]
Among various information (all attached information) related to image data stored in all related information storage means (for example, HDD), only information required by an external computer (for example, personal computer (client PC)) is obtained. Since it can be held and managed by some related information storage means in a format that can be easily extracted and formatted into structured text information, additional information (partial information) of image data can be presented by an application program from an external computer When requested, the additional information can be immediately shaped and presented to an external computer.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 2, Oite to claim 1, wherein the part-related information storage means is characterized in that a non-volatile memory.
[0011]
For example, by holding extracted information from all additional information in a nonvolatile memory such as NVRAM, the image processing apparatus can cope with a sudden power interruption. Further, by using NVRAM or the like, it is possible to access only the additional information (part) necessary for image operation with an external device at a higher speed than when accessing all additional information (various information), and it is necessary more quickly. The operation can be executed.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the invention, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion related information storage hand stage is characterized by storing the time information indicating a storage time of at least the image data.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system according to the present embodiment captures image data, performs necessary image processing, and stores an image processing apparatus (digital copying machine) 101 for storing the image data. A personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer) 102 having functions for referring to image data (documents) stored in the machine 101 and operating instructions is connected to the LAN 103 so that data communication is possible. The digital copying machine 101 is connected to a LAN 103 while being connected to a public line network (not shown) such as ISDN or PSTN. Here, the above-described image processing system may be constructed not only on the LAN 103 but also on a network such as the Internet. Alternatively, the image operation function of the personal computer 102 may be provided in an external operation device connected to the digital copying machine 101 via an interface, and the interface may be used as a communication unit instead of a network such as the LAN 103.
[0019]
The configuration of the digital copying machine 101 is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the CPU 11 executes software (control program or the like) stored in the ROM 12 to control the operation of the entire apparatus including the scanner 21 and the plotter 22, and executes a program stored in the HDD 15 to execute this embodiment. The operation information extraction operation, storage operation, and the like are controlled. The RAM 13 is a memory for temporarily storing data necessary for facsimile control and performing protocol processing for network control. The operation information memory 14 is a non-volatile memory that can be accessed at high speed for storing operation information extracted from the additional information of the image data (information necessary for operating the image). The operation information may be held in the HDD 15 or other non-volatile memory. The ROM 12 is a read-only memory for storing facsimile control procedures and network control procedures. The HDD 15 stores a program for realizing the image processing function of the present embodiment. Also, the facsimile image data from the network 103 or the public line network, the image data read by the scanner 21, and various data related to the image data. This is a mass storage device for storing information (all additional information). The scanner 21 is a data reading unit for reading an image necessary for a facsimile data transmission operation from a paper document. The plotter 22 is a writing unit for printing out read data or received data stored in the HDD 15 on a recording sheet.
[0020]
The MODEM 18 performs modulation for enabling binary-coded image information to be transmitted to a public line such as PSTN after data reading, and based on the code of the modulated image information from the other party. Demodulation is performed to restore the binary code. A network control unit (NCU) 19 is a detector for detecting and analyzing a DTMF signal from a partner. The encoding / decoding unit (DCR) 20 compresses and encodes the binary image read by the scanner 21 and also decodes the compressed code sent from the other party into a binary image so that it can be printed by the plotter 22. To do. The coding / decoding unit (DCR) 20 may be included in the image processing unit (IPU) 16 or the like. The operation display unit (operating panel) 23 includes a key group such as a numeric keypad and a start / stop key, an operation screen or a display (for example, LCD) for displaying an operation mode, and the user operates the digital copying machine 101. It is an input / output unit used for this purpose. A LAN controller (or network interface card (NIC)) 17 connects the personal computer 102 (or external communication terminal) and the digital copying machine 101, decodes data received from the network (LAN) 103, and A network control LSI that encodes data to be transmitted to the network 103 and buffers transmission frames and reception frames. The image processing unit (IPU) 16 performs image processing on the image read by the scanner 21.
[0021]
On the other hand, although not shown in detail in the personal computer 102, at least a CPU that controls the entire apparatus, and necessary data are temporarily stored during network control and image operation, or protocol processing is performed during network control. And an input device for instructing the digital copying machine 101 to perform image operations and the like, a CRT, a RAM for storing the CPU control program, a network control procedure, etc. And an interface (corresponding to the LAN controller 17) for connecting the personal computer 102 (or external communication terminal) and the digital copying machine 101 to perform data communication.
[0022]
Here, a method of storing the operation information stored in the operation information memory 14 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0023]
In FIG. 3, the short-term ID number is an ID number based on a part of image data that can be stored in the HDD 15, and the long-term ID number is an ID number based on the upper limit number of image data that can be stored in the HDD 15. Incremented in the order of accumulation (according to the accumulation time). The short-term ID number and the long-term ID number are associated with each other. The short-term ID number may be an ID number based on the upper limit number of image data that can be stored in the HDD 15, and the long-term ID number may be monotonically incremented, for example, in the order of accumulation in the HDD 15 (accumulation time order). . In this case, it is possible to deal with image data stored in another server device or the like exceeding the capacity of the HDD 15. The file name, user information, time information, size information, data type, and keyword information are operation information necessary for performing an image operation in response to an instruction from the personal computer 102. These pieces of operation information are stored in a memory location (image data management table) in the non-volatile operation information memory 14 indexed by the short-term ID number and managed by the CPU 11. The operation information is a part of various information (all additional information) attached to the image data, is extracted by the CPU 11 when the image data is stored, and is held in the operation information memory 14 as described above. The additional information includes the file name, access right, storage position information, image offset information, image rotation information, color information constituting the image, user information, time information, current access status information, paper as described above. Information, compression information, various matrix information, expiration date of image data, stored application information (included in data type), size information, resolution information, gradation information, extracted document information, password, number of pages, number of pixels information Image processing information, image quality mode information, keyword information, and the like.
[0024]
With this configuration, when presentation of additional information necessary for image operation is requested from the personal computer 102, the operational information is read from the operational information memory 14, shaped, and provided to the personal computer 102. Further, when there is a request for referring to a list of stored image data or a reference to stored image data from the personal computer 102, a list or search for a short-term ID number corresponding to the long-term ID number is sent from the digital copying machine 101 to the personal computer 102. The long-term ID number of the image is provided, and the personal computer 102 specifies the image data stored in the HDD 15 using the above-mentioned long-term ID number, and makes a print request or the like using the long-term ID number.
[0025]
Next, the image reading operation and storage operation of the digital copying machine 101 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0026]
When the CPU 11 receives an image reading request from the operation display unit 23 or the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 (yes in s401), the short-term ID number and long-term ID described above for the image to be read. A number (one obtained by adding 1 to the long-term ID number assigned in the previous operation) is assigned (s402), and when this assignment is successful (yes in s403), the reading operation is started (s405). If the allocation fails (no in s403), an error message indicating that fact is displayed on the operation display unit 23 or notified to the personal computer 102 (s404). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs an error message to the CRT or the like.
[0027]
As described above, in the digital multi-function peripheral 101, the image data read by the scanner 21 when the assignment is successful is subjected to necessary image processing by the image processing unit 16 and then stored in the HDD 15 (s406). Note that image data transmitted for storage from the outside (such as the personal computer 102) via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 or facsimile reception data from other communication devices connected via the network 103 or the public line network is also included. Similarly, it is held in the HDD 15. Further, the CPU 11 stores and manages various information (all additional information) related to the image data stored in the HDD 15 in the HDD 15 according to the program stored in the HDD 15 (s407). Here, the CPU 11 extracts only operation information (shown in FIG. 3) necessary for performing image operation from the operation display unit 23 or the personal computer 102 from the various information, and assigns the short-term ID number and the long-term ID number, It is stored in the operation information memory 14 and managed (s408).
[0028]
Next, the image deletion operation of the digital copying machine 101 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0029]
The CPU 11 receives a command (image deletion request) including the long-term ID number of the image data file to be deleted and operation information indicating the deletion operation from the operation display unit 23 or from the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17. If there is (yes in s501), it is confirmed whether or not there is an image data file to be deleted (s502). As a result, if the image data file does not exist, an error message indicating that fact is displayed on the operation display unit 23 or notified to the personal computer 102 (s503). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs the error message to the CRT or the like.
[0030]
If the image data file exists in the HDD 15 (yes in s502), the password input from the operation display unit 23 or the password transmitted / input from the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 And the password assigned to the image data file are collated (s504). As a result, if they do not match, an error message indicating that is displayed on the operation display unit 23 or notified to the personal computer 102 (s505). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs the error message to the CRT or the like.
[0031]
If the two match (Yes in s504), the image data file is deleted from the HDD 15 (s506), then all the information related to the image data is deleted (s507), and then extracted from the information. The area of the operation information memory 14 storing the operated information is cleared (s508). Then, the process notifies the other process that the image data file has been deleted (s509), and displays a message indicating the deletion success on the operation display unit 23 or notifies the personal computer 102 (s510). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs the message to the CRT or the like.
[0032]
Next, an image operation using the operation information will be described with reference to FIG.
[0033]
When there is any operation request from the operation display unit 23 or from the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 (yes in s601), the CPU 11 determines whether the operation request is a list request for stored image data. Is confirmed (s602). As a result, in the case of a request for presentation of the list information of the image data stored in the HDD 15, if the information used for the sort process is specified among the operation information held in the operation information memory 14, the specified information and the long-term information are stored. All entries stored in the operation information memory 14 are written in the RAM 13 (s603), and if the information used for sorting is not specified, the time information and the long-term ID number are displayed in the operation information memory 14. Are written in the RAM 13 (s603), and sort processing is performed so that the specific information or time information is in order (s604). Next, the CPU 11 creates a list of long-term ID numbers arranged in the order of the result of the sort process, and displays this list on the operation display unit 23 or notifies the personal computer 102 (s605). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs the list to the CRT or the like.
[0034]
In addition, the CPU 11 receives some operation request from the operation display unit 23 or from the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 (Yes in s601), and the operation request is additional information (operation information) regarding the stored image data. If the request is a reference request (Yes in s606), the long-term ID number at the head of the list is acquired from the list of long-term ID numbers that constitute the reference request (s607), and this long-term ID number (and short-term ID number) The operation information to be acquired is acquired from the operation information memory 14 (s608). Next, when the long-term ID number is the last long-term ID number in the list (yes in s609), the acquired operation information is displayed on the operation display unit 23 or notified to the personal computer 102 (s610). In this case, the personal computer 102 outputs the acquired operation information to the CRT or the like. If the long-term ID number is not the last long-term ID number in the list (no in s609), the operation information acquisition operation is repeated (s608).
[0035]
Further, the CPU 11 receives an operation request from the operation display unit 23 or from the personal computer 102 via the network 103 and the LAN controller 17 (yes in s601), and the operation request is a print request for accumulated image data. (No in s606, yes in s612) Among the various information stored in the HDD 15, information related to printing for the image data specified by the operation display unit 23 or the input device is acquired (s613), and based on this information Then, the plotter 22 is controlled to execute the printing operation (s614).
[0036]
The image data file can be sorted using any of the operation information stored in the operation information memory 14 or other nonvolatile memory. Further, the image data file may be searched using specific information among the operation information. Further, the image data file related to the operation information may be all image data stored in the HDD 15, or a part of this image data (for example, a recent image data file accumulated after a certain time, a predetermined image data file) The image data file may be accessed more frequently than the value.
[0037]
As described above, the image processing system according to the present embodiment includes at least a plurality of image data and the HDD 15 that stores all pieces of information related to the image data in the digital copying machine 101, and the information related to the image data. Since the operation information memory 14 for storing a part of information necessary for the operation of the personal computer 102 corresponding to each of the plurality of image data and the LAN interface 103 used for data communication with the personal computer 102 are provided. It is not necessary to extract some information necessary for image operation from the information (all additional information), and the processing required for image operation can be simplified.
[0038]
The HDD 15 or the like constitutes the image storage means and all the related information storage means, the operation information memory 14 or the like constitutes the partial related information storage means, the LAN controller 17 or the like constitutes the communication means, and a personal computer 102 etc. constitute the external device.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when an operation request is issued from an external device such as a client PC, it is necessary for image manipulation from various information (all additional information) scattered in the file system of the image processing device. Instead of extracting some information, only necessary information is extracted from the partial related information storage means (operation information memory or the like), so that the processing time required for image operation can be shortened.
[0040]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, only a part of information required by an external device (such as a client PC) is extracted from various information (all additional information) related to the stored image data, and the structure Since it is stored and managed in a non-volatile memory in a format that can be easily formatted into converted text information, if the presentation of the partial information is requested by an application such as Plumeria (Ridoc Desk) from an external device, the partial information is immediately Information can be formatted and presented as structured text information.
[0041]
According to the invention described in claim 3, by using a non-volatile memory such as NVRAM as the partial related information storage means, it is possible to access only a part of the additional information necessary for the image operation by the external device at high speed. Compared with the case where the partial information is acquired from various pieces of data information, a necessary operation can be performed quickly. In addition, it is possible to cope with a sudden power interruption in the image processing apparatus.
[0042]
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when an operation request is issued from an external device, necessary information is appropriately extracted from a part of related information storage means (operation information memory, etc.), and sort processing is executed using this information. Compared with the method of extracting necessary information from various information of image data, the processing time required for presenting a list of image data can be shortened.
[0043]
According to the invention described in claim 5, by making the ID number of the image data file a part of all the image data files, for example, the latest image data file accumulated after a certain time or a predetermined value In addition, it can classify and store images required by clients, such as frequently accessed image data files.
[0044]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the operation information (partially extracted additional information) used for the sorting process is not specified while the presentation of the list information of the stored image data is requested, the extracted information is extracted. By using the time information of the additional information, the ID numbers assigned to the image data files can be sorted in the order of accumulation.
[0045]
As described above, according to the present invention, the processing time required for image manipulation can be shortened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image data management table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an image reading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an image deletion operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an image operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Operation information memory 15 HDD
16 IPU
17 LAN controller (or NIC)
21 Scanner 22 Plotter 23 Operation display (operation panel)

Claims (3)

At least image storage means for storing a plurality of image data, all related information storage means for storing all of the information related to the image data, and some of the information related to the image data required for operation by the external device A part-related information storage unit that stores information corresponding to each of the plurality of image data, a communication unit used for data communication with the external device ,
When storing the image data in the image storage means, all the additional information for the image data is held and managed in the all related information storage means in a structured data format, and the external device is required from all the additional information Only the partial information is extracted, and the extracted partial information is held and managed in the partial related information storage means in a format that can be shaped into structured text information, and the partial information is stored in the external device. An image processing system in which an image processing apparatus provided with a control unit that shapes and provides information into structured text information and the external apparatus are connected via a network,
A long-term ID number based on the upper limit number of image data that can be stored in the all related information storage means when the external apparatus requests the image processing apparatus to refer to the additional information related to the accumulated image data. And the additional information corresponding to a short-term ID number based on a part of the image data that can be stored in the all related information storage means is acquired from the partial related information storage means, and the acquired additional information is acquired from the external device. An image processing system characterized by notifying The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the partial related information storage unit includes a nonvolatile memory. The portion related information storage Hand stage, the image processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that stores time information indicating a storage time of at least the image data.

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