JPH0396068A - Image communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decide the appropriate linear density of a transmission image by providing a means to transmit control information representing whether or not an interpolation processing should be performed in the reception of an image to an image transmitter at an image receiver, and providing a control means to decide the linear density of the transmission image corresponding to the control information at the image transmitter. CONSTITUTION:The presence/absence or the active/inactive state of an interpolation function is informed from a reception side, and information with respect to the interpolation processing to decide an appropriate linear density mode at a transmission side is transmitted from the reception side to the transmission side by using a facsimile procedure signal. As the procedure signal, an NSF(non- standard device) signal is used. When the interpolation function is executed, a smoothing flag is set at a prescribed position in the information field of the NSF signal, and when no interpolation processing is performed, the smoothing flag is reset, then, NSF signal is transmitted. The transmission side judges whether or not the smoothing flag of a received NSF signal is set by analyzing a transmitted NSF signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field 1] The present invention relates to an image communication system, particularly an image receiver having an interpolation function that changes the density of an output image by interpolating line information of received image data. The present invention relates to an image communication method for transmitting images between computers.

[Prior Art 1] So-called interpolation processing is conventionally known in which image data with a line density finer than the line density used for transmission is generated from image data transmitted with a coarse density in a facsimile machine. An overview of the interpolation process is shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

Currently, the standard for facsimile communication (3.85
line/mm). Fine (7.7 lines/mm). Three line densities are used: superfine (15.4 lines/mm). Which linear density is used for image transmission depends on the receiver {3 Iso receives (i.e.
It is determined by the densest possible mode and the m-density mode set by the transmitter based on the user's input.

If an image as shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted in the standard mode, the recorded image will be as shown in FIG. 6.

Furthermore, when an image is transmitted in super fine mode, it is recorded as shown in FIG. Naturally, in the case of superfine, the number of lines that make up the l-page increases, so the transmission time will take several times longer. The interpolation process adds an interpolation line determined from two line data between the lines of the image transmitted in the standard mode, and records with the same image density as super fine.

For receiving devices having such an interpolation function, the sixth
An image equivalent to the Super Fine image shown in Figure 7 can be recorded by simply transmitting line data formed in the standard mode shown in the figure. In other words, the receiving side can obtain the image quality of Super Fine Mode with the same communication time and cost as Standard Mode. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the past, the interpolation process that has the advantages described above could only be controlled by the settings of the receiving side device.
The sending side must check in advance whether the receiving side has the Somama function. This confirmation is not always possible, so be sure to do it when you need to transmit the most detailed images! In order to be clear, you must always transmit in super fine or fine mode.

However, if the receiving side has a Somama function and that function is activated, almost the same image should be obtained whether sending in Super Fine mode or Standard mode. The problem was that the cost ended up being wasted. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[1,000 Steps to Solve the Problem] In order to solve the problem, the present invention provides an image processing system that uses an interpolation function to change the density of the output image by interpolating the line information of the received image data. In an image communication system that transmits an image to a receiver, the image receiver is provided with a t-stage for transmitting control information indicating whether or not to perform the interpolation processing when receiving an image to the image transmitter;
A configuration is used in which the image transmitter is provided with a control means that determines the linear density of the transmitted image according to the control information.

[Operation 1] According to the above configuration, control information regarding the interpolation performance can be transmitted from the image receiver, so that the appropriate linearity of the transmitted image can be determined in accordance with this control information in the transmitting measurement. [Example J] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the configuration of a facsimile machine that employs the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 is a CPU that controls the operation of the entire device, and is composed of a microprocessor element and the like. Each storage means necessary for control and each section subject to control, which will be described later, are connected to cputt via a data and address bus B. ROM12 is used to store constants necessary for programs and controls described later, and RAM13 is used as a work area for the CPU II and temporary storage of transmitted and received image data. Reading of the original image data is performed by a reading unit 15 configured using a CCD sensor or the like. In addition, the reading unit l5 receives the received image data or during the copy operation.
The image data read by the printer is recorded by a recording section 16, which includes a thermal printer, an inkjet printer, or the like.

Transmission and reception of image data to and from II19 is performed via communication control section I7. The communication control unit 17 includes a modem, an NCU (network control unit), etc. that modulates and demodulates image signals and procedure signals.

The communication operation is controlled by the CPU II according to the operator's power of the conversion unit l4. The operation section includes a keyboard such as a numeric keypad and a display device such as a liquid crystal display.

The above configuration is the same as that of a general facsimile machine, but in this embodiment, since the sending side effectively uses the fI1 function of the receiver, when communicating between the above devices, the receiving side The receiving side notifies the presence or absence of the interpolation function or its active/inactive state, and the information regarding the interpolation process that causes the transmitting side to determine an appropriate linear density mode is transmitted from the receiving side to the transmitting side using facsimile procedure signals.

For example, the NSF (non-standard equipment) signal used in G3 facsimile machines can be used as this procedure signal.The NSF signal is used to transmit non-standard functions of the receiving equipment. Number 21 in Figure 2
As shown in , following the CHD signal (called station identification) from the called side (normal image receiving device), the CSI signal (called station identification) j
S and DrS (digital identification) signals.

Information regarding the interpolation function is stored in a flag (hereinafter referred to as the smoothing flag) at a predetermined position in the information field of the NSF signal.
By setting , it is transmitted to the image sending side. Figure 3 shows communication control using this flag. Here, it is assumed that the 63 procedure is used and the three linear density modes described above are used. In addition, the analysis and generation of each procedure signal are as follows. It is assumed that cput is performed using known hardware and software.

Such communication control is performed by the CPU II of the image transmitting/receiving device. FIG. 3 shows processing on the calling side (in this case, the image sending side) and the called side. A control program for carrying out the illustrated communication procedure is stored in ROM12 in FIG. When the image receiving device on the called side enters call processing, the CHD
Send the NSF signal following the signal. When transmitting the NSF signal, first, in step S31, it is determined whether or not interpolation processing is to be performed in the reception processing. Here, it is assumed that the called side device is a device that can perform interpolation processing, and that the activation/deactivation of the somote function can be set by the user via an operation panel or the like. In this case, step s31 determines whether the user has selected the interpolation function6. When executing the interpolation function, a smoothing flag is set at a predetermined position in the information field of the NSF signal in step S32, and the interpolation If no processing is to be performed, this smoothing flag is reset in step S33, and the NSF
Send a signal.

Continuing step S 3 41'C S I j; J: Transmit the HI D I S {i signal, and thereafter perform reception control similar to the conventional one. In this reception process,? If I# interpolation processing is selected, that processing is naturally executed, and if it is not selected, the received image data is recorded as is without interpolation. On the other hand, on the transmitting side, by analyzing the NSF signal transmitted as described above, it is determined in step 541 whether the smoothing flag of the received NSF signal is on. Here, if superfine is selected as the transmission linear density in the calling side device, there is no need to perform superfine transmission when the smoothing flag is on, so the transmission mode is set to standard in step S42. , if the smoothing flag is off, the transmission mode is set to super fine in step S43.

This mode declaration is the calling device's initial identification signal (NSS (Non-Standard Device Settings), indicated at 22 in FIG. 2).
It is transmitted using the information field of the DCS signal (consisting of TSI (transmitting station identification) and DCS signal). In FIG. 2, the initial identification signal of the incoming call fJII+ is transmitted multiple times as indicated by symbols 2l and 21'.

After adjusting the communication conditions as described above, image transmission and reception is performed in exactly the same manner as in the conventional method.

As shown in FIG. 2, this processing is comprised of a process of adjusting the receiving side modem through training and determining the communication speed, numeral 23, and actual image transmission and post-communication procedure 25, numeral 24. The functions of each signal shown in the figure are well known and will not be described in detail here.

According to the above configuration, the reception system notifies the transmitting side of the setting state or presence of the interpolation function of the host (if the receiving side does not have an interpolation function, it is sufficient to always reset the smoothing flag). This information can be used on the transmitter side to determine an appropriate linear density.

In other words, if superfine transmission is required,
By referring to the smoothing flag, transmission in super fine mode can be performed only when the receiving side has not actually selected or does not have the interpolation function, so transmission in super fine mode reduces communication time and communication costs. There is no problem of unnecessary increase.

In the above embodiment, when the smoothing flag on the receiving side is off, the transmitting side is supposed to select the super fine mode, but in this case, depending on the user's switch settings etc., the sending side selects the standard/fine/super fine mode. It is also possible to have the user select a mode. In addition, although the above describes only the interpolation function that generates a super fine mode image from a standard mode image, there are devices that can perform only one stage of interpolation from standard to fine mode or from fine to super fine mode. be.

In this case, a flag representing smoothing capability may be further set in the NSF signal, and the transmitting side may determine the linear density mode by referring to this capability flag. FIG. 4 shows control on the transmitting side in this case. Here, processing corresponding to step 541 and subsequent steps in FIG. 3 is shown.

First, in step S41, the smoothing flag is referred to,
If the smoothing flag is off, the transmission mode selected by the user is selected in accordance with the switch selection in step S52. Further, if the smoothing flag is on, the above-mentioned flag regarding the smoothing ability is referred to in step S53.

If two-step smoothing (interpolation from standard to super-fine, similar to the embodiments in series IIi'i) is possible, the standard mode is selected in step S42, and if only one-step interpolation is possible, step S42 is selected. In S55, the linear density mode selected by the operator is determined.

If the user has selected the super fine mode, only one stage of interpolation is used, so the fine mode is set in step 356, and if the super fine mode is not selected, the standard mode is set in step S42.

When the process moves to step S42, an image is recorded at least in fine mode, as in the case of transmission to a conventional receiver with an interpolation function.

In addition to the above-mentioned effects, such control allows the transmitting side to determine an appropriate linear density according to a plurality of interpolation modes on the receiving side.

That's all. Although the G3 facsimile procedure is illustrated with the calling side as the calling side, a similar configuration is possible even when the calling side is the receiver in polling communication.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, image transmission can be performed to an image receiver having an interpolation function that changes the line density of an output image by interpolating line information of received image data. In this image communication method, the image receiver is provided with means for transmitting control information indicating whether or not to perform the somote processing when receiving an image to the image transmitter, and the 45i! Since the image transmitter is equipped with a control means for determining the density, control information regarding the interpolation function can be transmitted from the image receiver, and the transmitter side can determine the appropriate transmitted image according to this control information. The linear density of can be determined. Therefore, unlike in the past, on the transmitting side, for a receiving device that uses an interpolation function for reception, more favorable transmission conditions (such as high communication speed, This has the excellent effect of allowing the user to select the transmission method (or transmission using low image density).

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile device incorporating the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication procedure of the device in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the f-order of linear density determination during the transmission/reception period, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a modification of the procedure in FIG. 3, and FIGS. It is an explanatory diagram showing interval processing. l1... C P U l 2-R O Ml
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Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) In an image communication system in which an image is transmitted to an image receiver having an interpolation function that changes the line density of an output image by interpolating line information of received image data, The image receiver is provided with means for transmitting control information indicating whether or not to perform interpolation processing to the image transmitter, and the image transmitter is provided with a control means for determining the linear density of the transmitted image in accordance with the control information. An image communication method characterized by