JPH0331030B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention is an image information storage and retrieval device that reads and stores image information such as a manuscript (document), and searches and reads out required image information from the stored image information as needed. The present invention relates to an image information storage and retrieval device that makes it possible to mask unnecessary parts of image information or read image information. Recently, a large amount of image information such as a manuscript is read by optical two-dimensional scanning, and this read image information is sequentially stored in a storage device, and various image information stored in this storage device is An image information storage and retrieval device has been developed that searches for and reads out required image information as needed, and outputs it in a state where it can be visually viewed on an output device such as a CRT display device or a hard copy device.
It has been put into practical use. In such a device, read image information is temporarily stored in a buffer memory, one unit of image information stored in this buffer memory is stored in a storage device, and one unit of image information read from this storage device is stored in a buffer memory. The image information is temporarily stored in the buffer memory, and then the image information stored in the buffer memory is read out and output. Therefore, image information is stored one after another in the buffer memory, but the size of the image information is not constant, so the newly stored image information is larger than the previously stored image information. If the image information is small, there is an inconvenience that old image information exists around new image information. This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an image information storage and retrieval device that can eliminate inconveniences such as old image information being added to new image information. Our goal is to provide the following. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a main control device, which includes a CPU 2 that performs various controls, various file sets (a collection of magnetic tapes 14 to be described later), and management information for managing various files (magnetic tapes 14). A management information storage device storing, for example, a floppy disk device 3, an LVR to be described later.
A title memory 4 for temporarily storing title information read out from 13; a buffer memory having a storage capacity corresponding to at least one unit (one page of original) of image information; a page buffer 5, for example, a page buffer 5; A compression/expansion circuit 6 that performs compression/expansion (returning the reduced redundancy), a size conversion circuit 7 that expands or reduces image information, and an image that electrically masks unnecessary portions of image information. It consists of an information mask circuit 8, a pattern generator 9 storing pattern information such as characters and symbols, a display interface device 10, and the like. Further, 11 is a reading device, for example, a two-dimensional scanning device, in which an original (document) 1 is read.
An electric signal corresponding to the image information on the document 12 is obtained by two-dimensionally scanning the document 12 with a laser beam. 13 is a magnetic tape device (hereinafter abbreviated as LVR), which is a large capacity storage device.
The image information read by the two-dimensional scanner 11 and supplied via the main controller 1 and the index information created by the main controller 1 are sequentially stored in a dedicated storage area of a storage medium, that is, a magnetic tape. It is something to remember (record). A plurality of tapes 14 are prepared according to the types of image information to be stored on endless magnetic tapes (cassette tapes), and are set in the LVR 13 as appropriate.
A keyboard 15 is used to input a unique title and various operation commands corresponding to the image information. 16 is an output device such as a cathode ray tube display device (hereinafter referred to as a CRT display device)
The image information read by the two-dimensional scanning device 11 and supplied via the main controller 1, or the LVR
It displays index information, image information, etc. that are read out from the main controller 13 and supplied via the main controller 1, and together with the display interface in the main controller 11, it constitutes a significant display device. Reference numeral 17 denotes an output device, such as a hard copy device, which outputs image information read by the two-dimensional scanning device 11 and supplied via the main controller 1, or an LVR.
The index information, image information, etc. read from the main controller 13 and supplied via the main controller 1 are output as a hard copy 18. Then, a page buffer 5, a compression/expansion circuit 6, a size conversion circuit 7, a mask circuit 8, a pattern generator 9, and a display interface device 1.
0, two-dimensional scanning device 11, LVR 13, keyboard 15, CRT display device 16, and hard copy device 17 are connected to an I/O (input/output) control bus 20 of CPU 2, respectively. Also, a title memory 4, a page buffer 5, a compression/expansion circuit 6, a size conversion circuit 7, a mask circuit 8, a pattern generator 9, a display interface device 10, a two-dimensional scanning device 11,
The LVR 13, CRT display device 16, and hard copy device 17 are each connected to an image bus 30 so that information can be transferred to each other. By the way, in such an image information storage and retrieval device, the magnetic tape 14 is called a file, and each magnetic tape 14 is called a file depending on the type of image information to be stored.
4 are each given a file name. and,
A collection of files of the same type or that are related to each other is called a fileset, and a fileset name is given to this fileset. In other words, a file set name exists as a superordinate concept of a file name. On the other hand, the magnetic tape 14
A large number of image information recording tracks and several index information recording tracks are formed in a direction perpendicular to the running direction. Management information and various index information are recorded on the index information recording track. The management information includes the file name and file set name that the magnetic tape 14 corresponds to, a secret code, a title structure and a title range to define the title conditions set corresponding to the image information, and includes the title structure and title range, etc. This is recorded by the operator in advance. The index information corresponds to each piece of image information, and consists of a title (up to six items) and address information indicating the recording position of the image information. In this case, the address information includes document size information that the operator inputs together with the title when storing image information, or document size information based on the document size detection function of the two-dimensional scanning device 11. Here, the operations performed in the above configuration will be briefly explained with reference to FIG. 15. First, the original 12 is set in the two-dimensional scanning device 11, and the magnetic tape 14 is set in the LVR 13. Then, the title corresponding to the image information of the original 12 and the size of the original 12 are input using the keyboard 15, and a storage operation command is input using the keyboard 15. Then, the LVR 13 operates, and the management information and all index information are read out from the index information recording track of the magnetic tape 14 and stored in the title memory 4 all at once. At this time, the CPU 2 determines whether the management information in the title memory 4 corresponds to the various management information in the floppy disk device 5, and prohibits storage of image information if this determination is not satisfied. That is, this is to determine that the magnetic tape 14 is not compatible with the system of the image information storage and retrieval device. On the other hand, if the above determination is satisfied, the CPU 2 determines whether the input title is inconsistent with the titles of various index information in the title memory 4, and when this determination is not satisfied, storage of image information is prohibited. That is, this is to prevent the same title from being recorded on the magnetic tape 14 set in the LVR 13. When this determination is satisfied, image information is stored for the first time. Then, the two-dimensional scanning device 11 operates to read the image information on the original 12, which is stored in the page buffer 5 via the mask circuit 8 and the size conversion circuit 7. When one unit of image information is stored in this page buffer 5, the image information is read out from the page buffer 5 and sent to the compression/expansion circuit 6.
After being compressed using the well-known modifier Eithoffman transformation, the page buffer 5 is
is memorized. The compressed image information in the page buffer 5 is then transferred to the size conversion circuit 7.
and is supplied to the LVR 13 via the mask circuit 8,
The image information is recorded after the already recorded image information on the image information storage track of the cassette tape 14. At this time, the CPU 2 determines the recording position of the image information to be stored, creates this address information, a previously input title, document size, and index information, and adds it to various index information in the title memory 4. . After that, the management information and various index information in the title memory 4 are transferred to the size conversion circuit 7 and the mask circuit 8.
is struck through and supplied to LVR13,
The information is recorded on the index information recording track of the cassette tape 14. In this case, various index information recorded in the index information recording track will be updated. In addition, when searching and reading out required image information from among the various stored image information, the magnetic tape 14 on which the required image information is recorded can be used as an LVR.
Set to 13. When a search/read operation command is input on the keyboard 13, the LVR 13 operates, and management information and various index information are read from the index information recording track of the magnetic tape 14, which strikes the mask circuit 8 and size conversion circuit 7. The data is passed through and stored in the title memory 4 all at once. At this time, when a sorting command is input using the keyboard 15, various index information in the title memory 4 is transferred to the size conversion circuit 7.
Strike through mask circuit 8
It is displayed on the CRT display device 16. In this case, each type of index information displayed is assigned a sequence number. The operator then searches for desired image information from among the various index information displayed and inputs the sequence number attached to the index information using the keyboard 15. Then, index information corresponding to this input sequence number is selected, and LVR1 is set based on that index information.
Required image information is read from the magnetic tape 14 of No. 3. The read image information is then stored in the page buffer 5 via the mask circuit 8 and the size conversion circuit 7. When one unit of image information is stored in this page buffer 5, the image information is read out from the page buffer 5 and supplied to the compression/expansion circuit 6, where it is inversely converted into modifiers and then stored in the page buffer 5 again. Ru. At this time, if a recording operation command has been input using the keyboard 15, the image information in the page buffer 5 is supplied to the hard copy device 17 via the size conversion circuit 7 and the mask circuit 8, where it is recorded on recording paper. Furthermore, if a display operation command is input using the keyboard 15, the image information in the page buffer 5 is supplied to the CRT display device 16 via the size conversion circuit 7, mask circuit 8, and display interface device 10, where it is displayed. be done. Next, the above-mentioned compression/expansion circuit 6, size conversion circuit 7, mask circuit 8, and display interface device 10 will be explained in detail. (1) The compression/expansion circuit 6 mainly performs the compression/expansion operations described above, but also has the following functions based on the control of the CPU 2. That is, for example, if the storage capacity of the page buffer 5 is
It is assumed that the image information corresponds to the image information of an A4 size document. Therefore, during image information storage operation,
If the document 12 is B5 size, there will be a portion in the storage area of the page buffer 5 that does not store image information, and therefore unnecessary image information will be compressed and processed to compress all the image information in the storage area of the page buffer 5. This will cause the LVR13 to store up to the point. Therefore, CPU2
B5 is stored in the page buffer 5 by controlling the compression operation of the compression/expansion circuit 6 according to the document size information input when storing image information.
Only image information corresponding to the size is compressed. Figure 3 shows the compression/expansion circuit 6
2 specifically shows the peripheral circuits of the page buffer 5. That is, 31 is a line buffer, which temporarily stores image information for each line read from the page buffer 5 or image information to be stored in the page buffer 5 for each line. A timing generating circuit 32 generates a clock signal D corresponding to a pixel of image information and a line clock signal E corresponding to each line. Reference numeral 33 denotes an address counter for specifying a valid area for image information within the line buffer 31. 3
Reference numerals 5 and 36 denote document size information holding units, which hold, for example, A4 size information and B5 size information. Reference numeral 37 denotes a selection circuit that selects the outputs of the holding sections 35 and 36 in accordance with the size of the document 12 based on the command signal CMD from the CPU 2. 34 is an address counter 33
a comparison circuit for comparing the output of the selection circuit 37 with the output of the selection circuit 37; Reference numeral 38 denotes an end-of-line detection circuit, which controls the timing generation circuit 32 according to the comparison result of the comparison circuit 34 and the like. (2) The size conversion circuit 7 has an enlargement operation mode, a reduction operation mode, and a strike-through operation mode, and performs the following operations according to the control of the CPU 2. (a) Two-dimensional scanning device 11 during image information storage operation
The image information read by the page buffer 5 and supplied to the page buffer 5 is reduced or struck through. That is, for example, if the storage capacity of the page buffer 5 corresponds to image information of an A4 size original, it is impossible to store B4 size image information in the page buffer 5. Therefore, when the document size information input from the keyboard 15 or the two-dimensional scanning device is larger than the capacity of the page buffer 5, for example, when the size of the document 12 is B4, the CPU 2 controls the size conversion circuit 7 to a predetermined reduction ratio. Perform a reduction operation using . By doing so, it is not necessary to make the page buffer 5 large-capacity, and it is possible to prevent an increase in cost and an increase in space. Further, when the original size is the same as or smaller than the capacity of the page buffer 5, for example, when the original size is A4 or B5, the CPU 2 causes the size conversion circuit 7 to perform a strike-through operation (reduction ratio "0", enlargement ratio “0”). (b) At the time of image information storage operation and image information readout, the image information supplied from the page buffer 5 to the LVR 13 and the image information supplied from the LVR 13 to the page buffer 5 are struck through. (c) The read image information is transferred to the hard copy device 1.
7, the image information supplied from the page buffer 5 to the hard copy device 17 is enlarged, reduced or struck through. That is, the CPU 2 causes the size conversion circuit 7 to perform an enlargement operation or a strike-through operation at a predetermined enlargement rate in accordance with document size information included in index information selected when reading image information. The enlargement operation in this case is for restoring the image information reduced in the above item (a) to its original state. Also,
The CPU 2 causes the enlargement/reduction circuit 7 to perform a reduction operation or a strike-through operation at a predetermined reduction ratio depending on the size of recording paper in the hard copy device 17. By doing so, regardless of the size of the recording paper in the hard copy device 17, it is possible to reliably record one unit of read image information. (d) When displaying the read image information on the CRT display device 16, the page buffer 5
The image information supplied from the display interface device 10 to the display interface device 10 is reduced or struck through. That is, the CPU 2 causes the size conversion circuit 7 to perform a reduction operation or a strike-through operation at a predetermined reduction rate based on the display capacity of the CRT display device 16 stored in advance. By doing this, it is not necessary to make the CRT display device large and high-performance, and an increase in cost can be prevented. However, in this case, it is also possible to operate the size conversion circuit 7 by an operator's operation, and the displayed contents can be made easier to see. (e) In addition, when the pattern information taken out from the pattern generator 9 is supplied to the page buffer 5 and added to the image information in the page buffer 5, strike-through is performed. FIG. 4 shows the size conversion circuit 7. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 are, for example, 2048-bit shift registers, and the image information signal V obtained for each scanning line of the two-dimensional scanning device 11 or read out from the page buffer 5 for each line. The image information signal V is sequentially shifted and held. And this shift register 41, 42, 43, 4
The contents of 4, 45, and 46 are each supplied to the sum-of-products calculation circuit 47 in 6 bits. In other words, as shown in FIG.
supplied to On the other hand, 48 and 49 are an X-direction distance calculation circuit and a Y-direction distance calculation circuit.
Point position information for the local information of the product-sum calculation circuit 47 is set in accordance with the enlargement/reduction ratio setting information supplied from the CPU 2.
Therefore, when performing a reduction operation, the product-sum calculation circuit 47 performs a weight calculation based on point B for local information, as shown in FIG. In other words, in Fig. 4, the position of point B corresponds to the reduction rate of 1/3, and that point B is set to the numerical value "1", and the surroundings of the numerical value "1" and the point B are The distance to each black bit (by setting the distance to the black bit in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to point B as “1”, the distance to the black bit in the diagonal direction with respect to point B is “√2”) ”) are multiplied by the reciprocals (weight calculation), and the sum of these products is output. In other words, the value output from the product-sum calculation circuit 47 is a local density with emphasis placed on point B. This local density is then compared with a constant value C in a comparison circuit 50, and a signal corresponding to one pixel bit obtained by reducing the local information is outputted from the comparison circuit 50. In this way, calculations are performed on all local information set for one unit of image information. Note that in the enlargement operation, a point is determined according to the enlargement ratio, and based on this point, an operation substantially inverse to the above operation is performed. (3) The mask circuit 8 masks unnecessary portions of image information, and performs the following operations under the control of the CPU 2. (a) Two-dimensional scanning device 11 during image information storage operation
The image information read by and supplied to the page buffer 5 is masked according to the input document size information. That is, the two-dimensional scanning device 1
1 has a constant scanning area regardless of the size of the original 12.
Only the area corresponding to the size of 2 is used as valid image information, and thereby unnecessary images such as dust and scratches on the document table of the two-dimensional scanning device 11 can be ignored. In addition, the new image information and the apparent image information (masked part) around it are stored in the page buffer 5 all at once, even if the old image information is stored in the page buffer 5. However, the old image information will not be added to the new image information. Moreover, by doing so, control for clearing the page buffer 5 in advance becomes unnecessary. (b) When reading image information, the image information read from the page buffer 5 is masked according to the document size information included in the selected index information, and is supplied to the hard copy device 17 or the display interface 10. In this case, in the hard copy device 17, unnecessary toner does not adhere to the photosensitive drum (not shown), and stains on the photosensitive drum can be reduced. FIG. 6 shows the mask circuit 8. That is, 51 and 52 are first counters, such as down counters that are an X-direction mask counter and an X-direction non-mask counter;
Clock signal D corresponding to each bit (becomes a pixel of image information) in line scanning in the primary direction of the dimensional scanning device 11, or read out from the page buffer 5 line by line (corresponding to line scanning of the two-dimensional scanning device 11) The clock signal D corresponding to each pixel of image information is counted. Here, in FIG. 7, F is the scanning area of the two-dimensional scanning device 11, and this scanning area F
The original 12 is set on the holder. In this case, 1
The first mask area in the next direction, the X direction, is the distance
X ₁ , and the non-mask area (effective area) has a distance of X ₂ −X ₁ . Further, the first mask area in the secondary direction, that is, the Y direction, has a distance of Y ₁ , and the non-mask area (effective area) has a distance of Y ₂ - Y ₁ .
Thus, the counter 51 is preset to the value of _X1 , and the counter 52 is preset to the value of _X2 - _X1 . 53,
A decoder 55 outputs a logic "1" signal when the contents of the counters 51 and 52 become "0". Further, 55 and 56 are second counters, such as down counters such as a Y-direction mask counter and a Y-direction non-mask counter. The line clock signal E corresponding to each line of image information read out line by line from the page buffer 5 is counted. Therefore, the counter 55 is preset with the value _Y1 , and the counter 56 is preset with the _{value Y2-}
The value of _Y1 is now preset.
57 and 58 are decoders, and counters 55 and 56
When the content becomes "0", a logic "1" signal is output. 59 is a gate circuit which receives the image information signal V supplied from the two-dimensional scanning device 11;
Alternatively, the image information signal V supplied from the page buffer 5 is masked or unmasked. In this way, in the X direction, the counter 51 first counts down, and when the content reaches "0", the counter 52 starts counting down. Then, when the contents of the counter 52 become "0", the counters 51 and 52 are preset again, and are adapted to the next line. On the other hand, in the Y direction, the counter 55 first counts down, and when the content reaches "0", the counter 56 starts counting down. Then, when the content of the counter 56 becomes "0", the counters 55 and 56 are preset again to adapt to the next line. (4) FIG. 8 shows the display interface device 10.
0 consists of an image information rotation circuit 60 capable of rotating image information every 90 degrees, first and second refresh memories 75 and 76, a phase determination circuit 77, and a cursor display device 80. Thus, the image information read from the page buffer 5 and reduced by the size conversion circuit 7 is rotated at a predetermined angle by the image information inversion circuit 60 as required, and is stored in the first refresh memory 75. This first refresh memory 75
The image information read out is supplied to the CRT display device 16 via the phase determining circuit 77 and displayed there. At this time, the cursor display device 8
0 to set a cursor of a predetermined size on the image information of the CRT display device 16, that is, the image information in the first refresh memory 75, the image information of the area corresponding to the cursor is read out from the page buffer 5. It is then arbitrarily reduced in size by the size conversion circuit 7 and stored in the second refresh memory 76. However, keyboard 1
When a partial display command is input in step 5, partial image information in the second refresh memory 76 is displayed on the CRT display device 16. By the way, the phase determining circuit 77 is composed of an exclusive OR circuit 78 and an AND circuit 79, and the exclusive OR circuit 77 includes a first refresh memory 75.
Alternatively, an image information signal read from the second refresh memory 76 is supplied, and a phase signal H based on the inversion key of the keyboard 15 is supplied. This phase signal H is a logic "1" or "0" signal, and by arbitrarily selecting one of them, the color of the image displayed over the entire display screen of the CRT display device 16 (white,
(black) can be freely reversed. Furthermore, the AND circuit 79 includes an exclusive OR circuit 77
An image information signal from the CPU 2 and a blanking signal from the CPU 2 and the like are supplied. That is, the effective display area of image information on the CRT display device 16 can be set using this unblanking signal. Here, FIG. 9 shows an image information rotation circuit. In Figure 9, 61, 61... is 128×
128=16384-bit address can be randomly accessed from a 1-bit memory chip (hereinafter referred to as RAM).
) and are arranged in a matrix corresponding to the primary direction (X direction) and secondary direction of image information. A decoder 62 outputs rotation commands of 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees in response to the angle designation signal R from the CPU 2. 63 is a selector circuit which outputs the clock signal D corresponding to each bit (pixel) in a line of image information and the line clock signal E corresponding to each line of image information to an output line according to a rotation command of 0 degrees and 180 degrees. This is what is output to. 64 is a 128-base counter, 65 is a 4-base counter, 66 is a 128-base counter, and 67 is a 4-base counter. 68 is a gate circuit, which has rotation commands of 90 degrees and 180 degrees.

[Table] Furthermore, FIG. 10 shows a cursor display device 80. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 81 denotes an X-direction cursor memory, which holds position information on both sides of the cursor in accordance with write code information J from the CPU 2. Reference numeral 82 denotes a Y-direction cursor memory, which holds positional information of the upper and lower sides of the cursor in accordance with the write code information J from the CPU 2, respectively. Reference numeral 83 denotes an X-direction address counter that counts the cursor clock signal P supplied from the first refresh memory 75. A Y-direction address counter 84 counts the horizontal synchronization signal Q supplied from the first refresh memory 75. 8
A decoder 5 outputs a logic "1" signal when the contents of the counter 83 match the position information on both sides. A decoder 86 outputs a logic "1" signal when the contents of the counter 84 match the position information of the upper and lower sides, respectively. 87 and 88 are T-flip-flops,
89 is an OR circuit, 90 ₁ , 90 ₂ , 90 ₃ are AND circuits, W is a blink signal, and CV is a cursor video signal. On the other hand, in FIG. 11, 92 is a cursor key provided on the keyboard 15. Movement keys 93, 94, 95, and 96 emit movement pulses while being pressed. 97 is a movement key for moving the cursor to the upper left corner. 98
is an enlargement key to make the cursor larger, and it generates one pulse each time it is pressed. 99 is a reduction key for making the cursor smaller, and it generates one pulse each time it is pressed. Also, Figure 12 shows the preset sizes of the cursor, S ₁ , S ₂ ,
There are sizes S ₃ and S ₄ . FIG. 13a shows the display state of the cursor S. That is, the first
Image information read from the refresh memory 75 is displayed, and a cursor S corresponds to a predetermined portion of the image information. At this time, if a partial display command is input, partial image information will be stored in the second refresh memory 76, as described above, and a display as shown in FIG. 13b will be made. FIG. 14 specifically shows what kind of operation is performed, in which a indicates the cursor clock signal P, b indicates the horizontal synchronizing signal Q, and c indicates the decoder 8.
5 is the output of the decoder 86, e is the output of the AND circuit ₉₀₁ , and f is the T-flip-flop 8.
g is the output of T-flip-flop 88, h is the output of AND circuit ₉₀₂ , and i is the output of OR circuit 89. It should be noted that the mask circuit described above is not only applicable to image information storage and retrieval devices, but can of course be applied to other devices that require masking of image information. As described above, according to the present invention, the pixels in the primary direction of the image information are counted, and the effective area in the primary direction of the image information is set according to the count contents, and the pixels in the secondary direction of the image information are set. Since the effective area in the secondary direction of the above image information is set according to the count contents, inconveniences such as old image information being added to new image information can be solved. It is possible to provide an image information storage and retrieval device that can perform the following operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of the image information storage and retrieval device, Figure 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is the configuration of peripheral circuits to explain the operation of the compression/expansion circuit. 4 is a configuration diagram of the size conversion circuit, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figures are diagrams showing the correspondence between scanning areas and documents for explaining the same embodiment, FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a display device, FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an image information rotation circuit, and FIG.
Figure 11 is a configuration diagram of the cursor display device, Figure 11 is a configuration diagram of the cursor keys, Figure 12 is a diagram showing the size of the cursor, Figures 13a and b are diagrams showing the display state of the cursor, and Figure 14 is a diagram showing the cursor display state. FIG. 10 is a time chart for explaining the operation, and FIG. 15 is a flow chart for explaining the operation. 5... Buffer memory (page buffer), 11
...reading device (two-dimensional scanning device), D...clock signal, E...line clock signal, 51, 52...first
counter (down counter), 55, 56... second counter (down counter).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A reading means for reading image information on the original by scanning a line on the original in a primary direction and transferring this line scanning to a secondary direction; and an image read by the reading means. a temporary storage means for temporarily storing information; a storage means for storing a plurality of image information by sequentially writing the image information stored in the temporary storage means; and a storage means for storing a plurality of image information stored in the storage means. An image information storage and retrieval device comprising: a retrieval means for retrieving the image information of and reading it into the temporary storage means; and an output means for outputting the image information retrieved by the retrieval means and read out to the temporary storage means, When storing the image information read by the reading means in the temporary storage means or when outputting the image information read from the temporary storage means to the output means,
The pixels in the primary direction of the image information are counted by a clock corresponding to the pixels, and the number of lines in the secondary direction is counted by the clock corresponding to the lines, and unnecessary pixels are counted according to the input document size information. a masking means for masking an image information area; a compression/expansion means for compressing or expanding the image information stored in the temporary storage means according to the document size information; and a compression/expansion means for compressing or expanding the image information stored in the temporary storage means; When storing, the image information read by the reading means is masked by the masking means, compressed by the compression/expansion means and stored in the temporary storage means, and the image information obtained by searching by the retrieval means is and control means for decompressing the image information stored in the temporary storage means by the compression/expansion means and masking it by the masking means according to the document size information before outputting the image information to the output means. An image information storage and retrieval device characterized by: