JP4161866B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of reading an image from a document sheet and outputting the image data to an external medium.

A composite printer apparatus that includes an image scanner and a printer and can print an image read by the image scanner is known (for example, Patent Document 1). Also known is a printer having a function (direct printing function) that can be connected to a digital still camera or a digital still camera memory card and input image data from the digital still camera for printing (for example, Patent Documents). 2). In digital still cameras, the image data is exchangeable with EXIF (Exchangeable
An image file format) is incorporated into a file called a file and stored in a memory cart (for example, Patent Document 3). In the EXIF file, the image data is incorporated in the JPEG format, and the image (thumbnail image) data obtained by reducing the image data is also incorporated in the JPEG format. The thumbnail image in the EXIF file can be used in a printer to display or print an image list for allowing the user to select an image to be printed, for example.

JP 2003-087498 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-131838 JP 2002-066992 A

  The above-described direct printing function can be installed in a composite printer apparatus including the above-described image scanner. In this case, it is convenient not only to print an image from the digital camera memory card but also to store an image read by the image scanner in the digital camera memory card. Furthermore, in that case, if the image read by the image scanner can be stored in the EXIF file format, it can be handled in the same manner as an image taken by a digital camera, which is more convenient.

  However, in order to convert an image read by an image scanner into the EXIF file format, not only is the process of compressing the main image that is the read image itself into the JPEG format, but also a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image is converted to JPEG. Processing to compress into the format is required. However, in order to create a thumbnail image from the main image, it is necessary to store the main image data in the composite printer apparatus. Therefore, the composite printer apparatus is sufficient to hold and process large-size main image data. It is necessary to have a large capacity memory. In particular, when an image scanner has a function of reading a plurality of images continuously from a photographic film strip, it is necessary to store all the main image data of a plurality of images read continuously. A large amount of memory is required. The problem similar to the above occurs when the read image is output in the format of the EXIF file not only in the composite printer apparatus but also in the image scanner alone. Also, when reading multiple images continuously from a photographic film strip, it is convenient to have a function that allows the user to select an image that should be in EXIF file format from the multiple images that were read continuously. However, in order to realize the function, it is desired to make this possible with as few hardware resources as possible. In particular, it is desirable that the functions used in direct printing can be shared.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable an image read by an image scanner to be data having a predetermined format including a thumbnail image and a main image with as little memory capacity as possible.

  Another object of the present invention is to use as little hardware as possible by, for example, sharing a function for selecting an image to be converted into data of a predetermined format from images read by an image scanner, for example, in direct printing. It is to be realized with hardware resources.

  An image processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image scanner that reads an image from a document sheet, and a control processing unit that performs control processing of the image scanner and processing of image data. And a pre-scan control unit configured to control the image scanner to perform pre-scanning of the document sheet and to output pre-scan image data in a predetermined low-resolution bitmap format to the image scanner. And image extracting means for extracting image data of an area corresponding to each image on the original sheet from the pre-scanned image data, and encoding the image data extracted by the image extracting means to obtain a code in a predetermined code format Code thumbnail image generation means for generating thumbnail image data, thumbnail image storage means for storing the code thumbnail image data generated by the code thumbnail image generation means, and the code thumbnail image data in the thumbnail image storage means Decode the thumbnail image data in bitmap format A thumbnail image data restoring unit for generating a data, a main scan image selecting unit for selecting an image to be subjected to a main scan based on the thumbnail image data from the thumbnail image data restoring unit, and the image scanner. Main scan control means for causing the image scanner to output main image data in a predetermined high resolution bitmap format corresponding to the image selected by the main scan image selection means by performing a main scan of the original sheet. Have According to this image processing apparatus, the thumbnail image data is created not from the large-size main image data obtained by the main scan but from the small-size pre-scan image data read by the pre-scan. Requires a small amount of memory. In addition, the thumbnail image of the small size is encoded and stored, and using the stored encoded thumbnail image data, it is possible to select whether or not to read the image on the original sheet in the main scan, and the memory required for this The capacity is small.

  In a preferred embodiment, when the document sheet includes a plurality of images, the image extraction unit extracts image data of regions corresponding to the plurality of images from the pre-scan image data, and performs the main scan. The image selection means selects an image to be subjected to the main scan from the plurality of images based on the thumbnail image data corresponding to the plurality of images from the thumbnail image data restoration means. .

  The preferred embodiment further comprises a printer for printing images and an external media interface connected to external media. Then, the control processing unit controls the external media interface to use the thumbnail image reading control means for reading the code thumbnail image data from the external media and the thumbnail image data restoring means, and the external thumbnail image Based on the thumbnail image data from the thumbnail image data restoration means, the thumbnail image data restoration control means for decoding the encoded thumbnail image data read by the read control means and generating thumbnail image data in bitmap format A print image selection means for selecting an image to be printed; and the external media interface to control the code main image data corresponding to the image to be printed selected by the print image selection means. Read the external media A main image read control unit that controls the printer by using the code main image data read by the thumbnail image read control unit, and a print control means for printing an image to be the print. According to this configuration, the code thumbnail image data is read from the external medium and decoded, the image to be printed is selected based on the decoded thumbnail image, and the code main image data of the selected image is read from the external medium. Direct printing is possible. Then, the same code thumbnail image decoding is used in the process of selecting whether to read the image on the original sheet in the main scan based on the thumbnail image and the process of selecting the image to be printed in the direct printing based on the thumbnail image. Functions can be shared.

  In a preferred embodiment, the code main image generation unit and the main image storage control unit are configured to execute the reading of each part of the original sheet by the image scanner in parallel with the reading of each part of the original sheet. The image data is encoded and the encoded image data of each portion is stored in the external medium. Thereby, since it is not necessary to store and hold all the main image data, the memory capacity can be reduced.

  A preferred embodiment further includes an external media interface connected to an external media, and the control processing unit controls the external media interface to correspond to the code thumbnail corresponding to the image selected by the main scan image selection unit. Thumbnail image storage control means for storing image data in the external medium, code main image generation means for encoding the main image data output from the image scanner to generate code main image data in a predetermined code format, and Main image storage control means for controlling the external media interface to store the code main image data generated by the code main image generation means in the external medium. With this configuration, the code thumbnail image data created from the image data obtained by the pre-scan and the code main image data created from the image data obtained by the main scan can be stored in the external medium.

  In a preferred embodiment, the thumbnail image storage control means controls the external media interface to create a file in a predetermined format capable of accommodating encoded thumbnail image data and encoded main image data in the external medium. Then, the code thumbnail image data from the code thumbnail image generation means is stored in the file in the external medium, and the main image storage control means controls the external media interface to The code main image data from the main image generating means is stored in the file in the external medium. Here, the file of a predetermined format that can accommodate the encoded thumbnail image data and the encoded main image data is typically an EXIF file, for example. As a result, the predetermined format file stored in the external medium from a digital still camera or the like and the predetermined format file stored from the image processing apparatus can be handled in the same manner.

  An image processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a prescan step of prescanning an original sheet to obtain prescan image data in a predetermined low resolution bitmap format, and the original sheet from the prescan image data An image extraction step for extracting image data of a region corresponding to each individual image, a code thumbnail image generation step for encoding the extracted image data to obtain code thumbnail image data in a predetermined code format, and the code thumbnail Based on the thumbnail image step for storing image data, the thumbnail image data restoring step for decoding the stored encoded thumbnail image data to obtain thumbnail image data in a bitmap format, and the restored thumbnail image data, This scan that selects the image to be scanned It has a catcher down image selecting step, performing the scanning of the document sheet, and a main scanning step of obtaining main bitmap image data of a predetermined high resolution corresponding to the selected image.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce a memory capacity necessary for processing an image read by an image scanner into data of a predetermined format including a thumbnail image and a main image. In addition, the function of selecting whether or not the image read by the image scanner should be the data in the predetermined format can be realized with a small amount of hardware resources.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as a composite printer apparatus.

  A composite printer apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a controller 11 for controlling the entire composite printer apparatus 1, an image scanner 12 for reading an image of a document, and a printer 13 for outputting a hard copy of the image. Is provided. The composite printer apparatus 1 can be connected to an external storage medium 3 (typically, for example, a memory card or a digital still camera used in a digital still camera). The composite printer apparatus 1 reads the image data from the external storage medium 3 and prints it with the printer 13 (hereinafter, this function or operation is directly printed), and the image data read by the image scanner 12 is stored in the external storage medium. 3 (hereinafter, this function or operation is referred to as scan-to-memory).

  The image scanner 12 designates a main scan for reading an image of a specified area on the original sheet at a predetermined high resolution and an area of the original to be read in the main scan as an operation mode when reading the image on the original sheet. And a pre-scan that reads an image of the entire area of the original sheet at a predetermined low resolution before the main scan is executed. In the prescan, image data having a size much smaller than the image data obtained in the main scan is read as image data of a small size such as 160 dots × 120 dots, for example, an A4 size original image.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the composite printer 1 further includes an encoder 14, a decoder 15, a line buffer 16, a prescan page buffer 17, a thumbnail temporary buffer 18, and an external media I / F (external media interface) 20. A code data buffer 19, a preview monitor 21, an operation panel 22, and the like.

  The encoder 14 compresses and converts bitmap format image data into predetermined format code data, for example, JPEG format image data. The decoder 15 decompresses and converts predetermined format code data, for example, JPEG format image data, into original bitmap format image data.

  The line buffer 16 temporarily stores image data for one line or a predetermined plurality of lines output from the image scanner 12 when the image scanner 12 reads a document image. The prescan page buffer 17 temporarily stores image data of a small size (for example, 160 dots × 120 dots) read by the prescan of the image scanner 12. The temporary thumbnail buffer 18 temporarily stores thumbnail image data of a target image when performing direct printing or scan-to-memory. The code data buffer 19 is code data (eg, JPEG format data) output from the encoder 14 when performing scan-to-memory, or code data (eg, JPEG) read from the external medium 3 when performing direct printing. Format data) is temporarily stored for a predetermined unit transfer amount.

  The external media interface 20 and the external media 3 are connected to communicate data with the external media 3. The preview monitor 21 is for displaying a target image or a thumbnail image thereof when performing direct printing or scan-to-memory. The operation panel 22 is used to input a command from the user to the composite printer apparatus 1. The commands that can be input from the operation panel 22 include, for example, a command for designating an area to be scanned from a document image read by prescan, a command for designating an image to be scanned-to-memory, and direct printing. There are commands to specify the target image.

  The scan-to-memory and direct printing operations of the composite printer apparatus 1 will be described below.

  Note that there are at least two types of scan-to-memory operations performed by the composite printer apparatus 1. One type is an operation of reading an image from a cut sheet document one by one and writing it to the external medium 3 (hereinafter, referred to as “scan to memory”). The other type is an operation of continuously reading a plurality of images from a photographic film strip original and writing them to the external medium 3 (hereinafter referred to as a continuous scan-to-memory). In the following description, it is assumed that the image data is stored in the external medium 3 in the EXIF file format regardless of whether it is an individual scan-to-memory or a continuous scan-to-memory. However, the EXIF file format is merely an example, and it should be easily understood from the following description that the principle of the present invention can be applied to other formats.

  First, the operation of the individual scan-to-memory will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a data flow when individual scan-to-memory is performed. FIG. 2 shows a flow of control of the individual scan-to-memory by the controller 11.

  When performing the individual scan-to-memory, the user connects the external storage medium 3 to the external medium I / F 20, sets a cut sheet original sheet 31 on the image scanner 12, and operates the individual scan-to-memory from the operation panel 22. Enter the start command. Then, the controller 11 performs control according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image scanner 12 pre-scans the document image under the control of the controller 11 (step S1). In the pre-scan, image data flows as shown by arrows 41 to 42 in FIG. That is, the image scanner 12 sequentially reads and outputs the image of the entire area of the original sheet 31 line by line at a predetermined low resolution, and the image data for one line that is sequentially output is written in the line buffer 15 (41 ). The image data for one line written in the line buffer 15 is immediately transferred to the pre-scan page buffer 17 and stored (42). When the prescan by the image scanner 12 is completed, the prescan page buffer 17 stores bitmap-format image data 32 of the entire original image read by the prescan. The data size of the image data 32 is small. For example, when the original is an A4 size, the data size of the image data 32 is 160 dots × 120 dots. Hereinafter, this image data 32 is referred to as pre-scan image data.

  When the pre-scanning is finished, as shown in FIG. 2, a process for determining a region to be scanned from the document image read by the pre-scan is performed under the control of the controller 11 (S2). This area determination processing can be performed automatically or manually by the user. When the region determination is automatically performed, the controller 11 examines the prescan image data 32 in the prescan page buffer 17 to detect a portion that is clearly recognized as a margin, and remove this to remove the main scan. The area to be scanned is selected. On the other hand, when the user makes a region determination by manual operation, the prescan image data 32 in the prescan page buffer 17 is sent to the preview monitor 21 and displayed as shown by an arrow 43 in FIG. Operates the operation panel 22 to select and instruct the area to be scanned on the displayed prescan image data 32. By the way, the selected area mode in which the main scan is performed only in the main scan area determined in the area determination process, and the maximum area mode in which the main scan is performed on the entire area of the document sheet without the area determination process are performed by the user. Can be selected or automatically selected. However, in the following description, only the operation in the selected area mode will be described. The operation in the maximum area mode is basically the same as that in the selected area mode except for the difference in the area to be scanned, and the description thereof is omitted.

  When the area selection process is completed, as shown in FIG. 2, the process of encoding the thumbnail image to be put into the EXIF file into the JPEG format is performed under the control of the controller 11 (S3). In the thumbnail encoding process, data flows as indicated by arrows 44 to 47 in FIG. That is, the encoder 14 reads the prescan image data 32 from the prescan page buffer 17 (44). At this time, the encoder 14 selects and reads the image data portion of the region designated by the region determination (S2) described above from the pre-scan image data 32. The encoder 14 subdivides the read image data portion into small areas of a predetermined size and sequentially encodes the small areas into a JPEG format, while sequentially transferring the code data of each small area obtained by a predetermined unit transfer. The data is written into the code data buffer 19 by an amount (45). The code data of the unit transfer amount written in the code data buffer 19 is read by the external media I / F 20 as soon as it is written (46) and written from the external media I / F 20 to the external storage media 3 (47). When writing to the external storage medium 3 (47), the external medium I / F 20 newly creates an EXIF format file 33A in the external storage medium 3 (note that the reference numbers 33B and 33C of the external storage medium 3 have already been stored) The other EXIF image and the EXIF file of the image taken by the digital still camera are shown.) The code data from the code data buffer 19 is written in this EXIF file 33A as the constituent data of the thumbnail image data 34A. . Therefore, when the encoding process at the encoder 14 is finished and the last code data is written in the EXIF file 33A, the JPEG format thumbnail image data converted from the pre-scan image data 32 is stored in the EXIF file 33A. 34A is completed. In FIG. 1, reference numbers 33B and 33C in the external storage medium 3 indicate EXIF files of other images (for example, images taken with a digital still camera) stored in the external storage medium 3 from before. ing. In the figure, the image data indicated by the solid line block indicates the bitmap format, and the image data indicated by the dotted line block indicates the JPEG format.

  When the above-described thumbnail encoding process is completed, the main scan and the main image read in the main scan are encoded under the control of the controller 11 as shown in FIG. 2 (S4). In this main scan and encoding process, data flows as indicated by arrows 48 to 52 in FIG. In other words, the image scanner 12 starts a main scan, sequentially reads and outputs the image of the area designated by the area determination (43) on the original sheet 31 line by line at a predetermined high resolution, and outputs the image sequentially. One line of image data is sent to the encoder 14 via the line buffer 15 (48, 49). Hereinafter, the image data read in the main scan is referred to as main image data, which is read at a high resolution such as 300 dpi, and the data size of the entire image is usually on the order of megabytes or more. There is much more data than 32. Each time the main image data sequentially input line by line is stored for a predetermined small area, the encoder 14 encodes the main image data into the JPEG format and transfers the code data of each small area thus obtained in a predetermined unit transfer. The data is written in the code data buffer 19 by an amount (50). The code data of the unit transfer amount written in the code data buffer 19 is read by the external media I / F 20 as soon as it is written (51), and is written from the external media I / F 20 to the external storage medium 3 (52). When writing to the external storage medium 3 (52), the external medium I / F 20 writes the code data from the code data buffer 19 to the EXIF file 33A in the external storage medium 3 as configuration data of the main image data 35A. Therefore, after the main scan in the image scanner 12 and the encoding process in the encoder 14 are finished, the final code data is written in the EXIF file 33A. The JPEG main image data 35A converted from the resolution bitmap main image data is completed.

  As described above, in the scan-to-memory, the JPEG format thumbnail image data 34A of the EXIF file 33A stored in the external storage medium 3 is based on the small-size prescan data for area determination read by the prescan. Created. In the main scan, the image data of the portion read in parallel with the reading of each portion of the document image is encoded and transferred to the external storage medium 3. Therefore, the entire main image data having a large data size read in the main scan is not stored and held in the composite printer 1. As a result, the memory capacity of the composite printer 1 can be small.

  Next, the direct printing operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a data flow when direct printing is performed. FIG. 4 shows a flow of direct printing control by the controller 11.

  When performing direct printing, the user connects the external storage medium 3 to the external medium I / F 20 and inputs a direct printing start command from the operation panel 22. Then, the controller 11 performs control according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, preview and image selection processing is performed under the control of the controller 11 (step S11). In this processing, image data flows as shown by arrows 61 to 63 in FIG. That is, the external media I / F 20 sequentially reads the JPEG thumbnail image data 34A,... Sequentially from the plurality of EXIF files 33A, 33B, 33C,. (61), the transfer unit amount of the sequentially read JPEG thumbnail image data 34A,... Is sent to the decoder 15 (62). The decoder 15 sequentially decodes the input JPEG thumbnail image data 34A,... In order of input, thereby restoring the plurality of thumbnail images in the original bitmap format in order and previewing the restored image data. It is sent to the monitor 21 (63). As a result, thumbnail images of a plurality of images stored in the external storage medium 3 are displayed on the preview monitor 21. The user uses the operation panel 22 to select one or more images to be printed from among a plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the preview monitor 21.

  When the preview and image selection processes are completed, as shown in FIG. 4, the main image reading and printing process is performed under the control of the controller 11 (step S12). In this processing, image data flows as indicated by arrows 64-67 in FIG. That is, the external media I / F 20 transfers the JPEG main image data 35A of the EXIF file of the image to be printed selected by the user (for example, the EXIF file 33A) from the external storage medium 3 by the transfer unit amount. The data is sequentially read (64), and the transfer unit amount of the JPEG main image data 35A read sequentially is sent to the decoder 15 (65). The decoder 15 sequentially decodes the input JPEG main image data 35A in the order of input, so that the original image data in the original bitmap format is gradually restored and the restored main image data is restored to the printer 13. (67). The printer 13 starts the main image printing process when the transferred main image data in the bitmap format is stored for a predetermined amount necessary to start the printing process. Before the main image is printed, the output from the decoder 15 is performed as indicated by an arrow 66 in FIG. 3 so that the user can specify the range to be printed by trimming the main image on the preview monitor 21. The original bitmap format main image data to be sent may be sent to the preview monitor 21 and displayed before being transferred to the printer 13 (67).

  Next, the operation of the continuous scan-to-memory will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 show the data flow when continuous scan-to-memory is performed. FIG. 7 shows a flow of control of the continuous scan-to-memory by the controller 11.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when performing continuous scan-to-memory, the user connects the external storage medium 3 to the external medium I / F 20, and a document sheet having a plurality of images 81A, 81B, 81C like a photographic film strip. 81 is set in the image scanner 12 (90), and a continuous scan-to-memory start command is input from the operation panel 22. Then, the controller 11 performs control according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the image scanner 12 pre-scans the document sheet 81 under the control of the controller 11 (step S21). In the pre-scan, image data flows as indicated by arrows 91 to 92 in FIG. That is, the image scanner 12 sequentially reads and outputs the entire area of the original sheet 81 line by line at a predetermined low resolution, and the image data for one line that is sequentially output is written in the line buffer 15 (91). The image data for one line written in the line buffer 15 is immediately transferred to the pre-scan page buffer 17 and stored (92). When the pre-scan is finished, the pre-scan page buffer 17 stores pre-scan image data 82 in the bitmap format of the entire area of the original sheet 81 read by the pre-scan. As described above, the data size of the pre-scan image data 32 is smaller than the main image data read in the main scan.

  When the pre-scanning is finished, as shown in FIG. 7, the process of determining the area to be scanned from the document image read by the pre-scan is performed under the control of the controller 11 (S21). This area determination processing is normally performed automatically when the document sheet 81 is a photographic film strip. That is, the controller 11 examines the prescan image data 82 in the prescan page buffer 17, detects the areas of the plurality of document images 81A, 81B, and 81C, and selects them as areas to be scanned. . Note that this region determination processing may be performed manually by the user. When the region determination is performed manually, as already described with reference to FIG. 1, the pre-scan image data 82 is sent to the preview monitor 21 and displayed, and the user operates the operation panel 22 to display the pre-scan image data 82. From the pre-scanned image data 32, the area of the original image 81A, 81B, 81C is selected and designated as the area to be scanned.

  When the region selection process is completed, as shown in FIG. 7, the process of encoding the thumbnail image for display into the JPEG format is performed under the control of the controller 11 (S23). In this display thumbnail encoding process, data flows as indicated by arrows 93 to 95 in FIG. That is, the encoder 14 reads the prescan image data 82 from the prescan page buffer 17 (93). At this time, the encoder 14 selects and sequentially reads the image data portions corresponding to the plurality of document images 81A, 81B, 81C designated by the above-described region determination (S22) from the pre-scan image data 82. The encoder 14 sequentially obtains the image data portions corresponding to the read original images 81A, 81B, 81C while subdividing them into small areas of a predetermined size and sequentially encoding those small areas into the JPEG format. The code data of each small area is written into the code data buffer 19 by a predetermined unit transfer amount (94). The code data of the unit transfer amount written in the code data buffer 19 is transferred to the thumbnail temporary buffer 18 and stored immediately after being written (95). At the stage where the display thumbnail encoding process is completed, the temporary thumbnail buffer 18 stores a plurality of JPEG thumbnail image data 83A, 83B, and 83C converted from the prescan data of the plurality of document images 81A, 81B, and 81C, respectively. Is stored.

  When the display thumbnail encoding process is completed, preview and image selection processes are performed under the control of the controller 11 as shown in FIG. 7 (S24). In this processing, image data flows as indicated by arrows 96 to 97 in FIG. That is, the decoder 15 sequentially reads a plurality of JPEG thumbnail image data 83A, 83B, 83C from the encoded data buffer 19 (96), and sequentially restores the original bitmap format thumbnail image data. The restored thumbnail image data is sent to the preview monitor 21 (97). As a result, thumbnail images of a plurality of images on the document sheet 81 are displayed on the preview monitor 21. The user selects one or more images to be stored in the external storage medium 3 from the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the preview monitor 21 using the operation panel 22.

  By the way, the preview and image selection data flows 96 to 97 are compared with the preview and image selection data flows 61 to 63 in the direct printing already described with reference to FIG. Except for the difference between the external storage medium 3 and the external storage medium 3, the image processing operation for decoding and displaying the JPEG thumbnail image data is common. Therefore, there is an advantage that the image processing function of preview and image selection used in the existing direct printing can be used in the preview and image selection processing of this continuous scan-to-memory.

  When the preview and image selection processes are finished, the process of storing the selected JPEG thumbnail image in the external storage medium 3 is performed under the control of the controller 11 as shown in FIG. 7 (S25). In this processing, image data flows as indicated by arrows 98 to 100 in FIG. In other words, among the plurality of JPEG thumbnail image data 83A, 83B, 83C stored in the temporary thumbnail buffer 18, only the one selected by the user in the preview and image selection process (S24) is sequentially encoded. The data is sent to the external media I / F 20 via the conversion buffer 19 (98, 99), and written from the external media I / F 20 to the external storage media 3 (100). When the external media I / F 20 writes the received JPEG thumbnail image data (for example, 83A) to the external storage medium 3 (100), it creates a new file 84A in EXIF format and receives the received JPEG thumbnail image data 83A. Are written in the EXIF file 84A as JPEG thumbnail image data 85A.

  When the above thumbnail storage processing is completed, as shown in FIG. 7, the main scan and the main image read by the main scan are encoded under the control of the controller 11 (S26). In this main scan and encoding process, data flows as indicated by arrows 101 to 105 in FIG. That is, the main scan and encoding when each of the document images (for example, 81A) on the document sheet 81 designated by the image selection (S24) is the individual scan-to-memory already described with reference to FIG. In substantially the same manner as the processing, the image scanner 12 reads the image with high resolution, encodes it in JPEG format, and writes it as the JPEG main image data 86A in the corresponding EXIF file 86A in the external storage medium 3. .

  When the main scanning and encoding process is completed for one selected original image, as shown in FIG. 7, the thumbnail storage process (S25) and the main scanning and encoding process (described above) are performed for the selected original image. S26) is executed. This is repeated, and as a result, all the selected document images are stored in the EXIF file format in the external storage medium 3 and are handled in the same manner as images taken with a digital still camera (for example, FIG. 3). It is possible to perform direct printing as described above.

  As described above, in the continuous scan-to-memory, as in the case of the individual scan-to-memory, the entire main image data having a large data size read in the main scan is not stored and held in the composite printer 1. The memory capacity of the printer 1 can be small. In the continuous scan-to-memory, small-size image data read in the pre-scan is converted into thumbnail image data in JPEG format and stored in the composite printer 1, and preview and image selection are performed using this JPEG image data. As a result, the same image processing function as preview and image selection using JPEG thumbnail image data in the EXIF file at the time of direct printing can be used.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the resolution and quantization step of the main image data applied to the main scan when performing the scan-to-memory described above.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the resolution and quantization step of the main scan can be automatically controlled to optimum values according to the type and image quality of the original image that can be designated by the user from the operation panel 22. For example, when the user-specified original image type is text and the user-specified image quality is normal, the resolution is automatically controlled to a predetermined low value of 200 dpi, and in other cases, the resolution is a predetermined value. It is automatically controlled to a high value of 300 dpi. In addition, for example, when the type of the original image specified by the user is graphic and the image quality specified by the user is fine, the quantization step is automatically controlled to a predetermined fine step, and otherwise, the quantization step is performed. The conversion step is automatically controlled to a predetermined rough step. By such automatic control of resolution and quantization step, the data size of the image data file such as the EXIF file stored in the external storage medium 3 by the scan-to-memory automatically becomes an appropriate size.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is only the illustration for description of this invention, and is not the meaning which limits the scope of the present invention only to this embodiment. The present invention can be implemented in various other modes without departing from the gist thereof.

The figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention comprised as a composite printer apparatus, and the flow of data when an individual scan to memory is performed. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flow of individual scan-to-memory control by the controller 11 of the composite printer apparatus 1. The figure which shows the flow of data when direct printing is performed. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of direct printing control by a controller 11 of the composite printer apparatus 1. The figure which shows the flow of data when a continuous scan to memory is performed. The figure which shows the flow of data when a continuous scan to memory is performed. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flow of continuous scan-to-memory control by the controller 11 of the composite printer apparatus 1. The figure which shows the example of the resolution of the main image data applied to the main scan of a scan to memory, and a quantization step.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compound printer apparatus 3 External storage medium 11 Controller 12 Image scanner 13 Printer 14 Encoder 15 Decoder 16 Line buffer 17 Prescan page buffer 18 Thumbnail temporary buffer 19 Code data buffer 20 External media interface 21 Preview monitor 22 Operation panel 31 Cut sheet Original 32 Pre-scan image data 33A, 33B, 33C EXIF file 34A JPEG thumbnail image data 35A JPEG main image data 81 Photo film strip original 81A, 81B, 81C Original image 82A Pre-scan image data 83A, 83B, 83C JPEG pre-scan image data 84A, 84B, 84C EXIF file 85A JPEG thumbnail image data 86A JPEG main image data

Claims (1)

An image scanner that reads an image from a document sheet;
An external media interface to connect to external media;
A control processing unit that performs control processing of the image scanner and the external media interface and processing of image data,
The control processing unit
Thumbnail image reading control means for controlling the external media interface and reading first code thumbnail image data encoded in a predetermined code format from the external media;
Thumbnail image data restoring means for decoding the first encoded thumbnail image data read by the thumbnail image reading control means and generating first thumbnail image data in a bitmap format;
Display control means for displaying the first thumbnail image data;
Print image selection means for causing the user to select an image to be printed by causing the display control means to display the first thumbnail image data;
First code main image data encoded in the predetermined code format corresponding to the image to be printed selected by the print image selection means is read from the external medium, and the first code main image is read Print control means for controlling the printer using data and printing the image to be printed;
Pre-scan control means for controlling the image scanner to perform pre-scanning of the original sheet and outputting pre-scan image data in a predetermined low-resolution bitmap format to the image scanner;
Code thumbnail image generation means for extracting image data of an area corresponding to each image on the original sheet from the pre-scan image data, and encoding the extracted image data to generate second code thumbnail image data When,
Storage means for storing the second code thumbnail image data generated by the code thumbnail image generation means;
Thumbnail image data restoration control means for decoding the second code thumbnail image data in the storage means using the thumbnail image data restoration means to generate second thumbnail image data in a bitmap format;
Main scan image selection means for causing the user to select an image to be subjected to a main scan by displaying the second thumbnail image data by the display control means;
The image scanner is controlled to perform a main scan of the original sheet, and a predetermined high-resolution bitmap-format main image data corresponding to the image selected by the main scan image selection unit is output to the image scanner. The main scanning control means
Code main image generation means for encoding the main image data output from the main scan control means to generate second code main image data in a predetermined code format;
It said second selecting a third code thumbnail image data corresponding to the image selected by the scan image selection means from among the code thumbnail image data, and controls the external media interface, the third code The third code thumbnail image data and the second code main image data are created after creating a file in a predetermined format capable of accommodating thumbnail image data and the second code main image data in the external medium. Image storage control means for storing the image in the file in the external medium,
The image storage control means includes:
After the third code thumbnail image data is stored in the file in the external medium, the main image data corresponding to the image selected by the main scan image selection unit is output to the main scan control unit, and Storing the second code main image data based on the output main image data in the file in the external medium;
Image processing device.

Images