JPH05110789A - Picture processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the picture processing unit able to prevent it that the read operation of an original is interrupted on its way by discriminating whether or not picture information of an original read by a picture reader is stored in a storage device. CONSTITUTION:The processing unit is provided with a storage residual capacity detection means 61 detecting a remaining storable capacity of a storage means 55, an arithmetic operation means 61 calculating how many originals inputted from the picture input means 50 and stored with compression the storage remaining capacity of the storage means 55 detected by the storage residual capacity detection means 61 corresponds to, and a display means displaying number of originals calculated by the arithmetic operation means 61 and able to be stored in the storage means 55.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as a digital copying machine, a facsimile, a printer or the like which reads image information of a document and temporarily stores it, and then reads the stored image information to record an image. The present invention relates to an image processing device used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers and word processors, image information to be processed for copying in offices has become diversified and large in quantity.

Along with this, it is needless to say that even a copying machine for making a copy of a manuscript is required to further improve the image quality of a copied image. In addition to enlarging or reducing the image information of a document to copy it, various other functions are required.

As various functions required for this copying machine, for example, an electronic operation for electronically copying a plurality of originals in a state in which an arbitrary number of copies are sorted
tronic Recirculating Docu
ment Handler (hereinafter referred to as electronic RDH)
By copying the two or more sides of a large number of originals on one side of the recording paper and dividing the pages into two, the recording papers on which the images of the originals are copied are stacked at the center and folded in half. There is a bookbinding function that edits and copies an image of an original so that the original becomes a booklet in which the originals are arranged in order of pages.

Further, the functions required for the copying machine include an image communication function as a facsimile in addition to a copying function, and a function as a printer for outputting information from a host computer or a personal computer. ..

Conventionally, as a copying machine capable of realizing this kind of function, for example, there is the following so-called digital copying machine. That is, this digital copying machine
Manuscripts to be Automatic Document
By setting it on the der (hereinafter referred to as ADF), the original is automatically conveyed by the ADF to the platen of the copying machine, the image of the original is read by the scanner, once converted into an electric signal, and stored in the storage device. To do.

At that time, in the digital copying machine, the following image processing apparatus is used. This image processing apparatus compresses the image information of a document read by a scanner and stores it in the storage apparatus in a state where the information amount of the image information is reduced so that more image information can be stored in the storage apparatus. Is becoming

That is, the image processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 13, reads an image of an original by a scanner 100, compresses the image information read by the scanner 100 by a compressor 101, and then a page memory 102. Storage device 1 consisting of a hard disk
Store in 03 once. Then, the image information stored in the storage device 103 is read out via the page memory 102, and the read out image information is expanded by the expander 104 to obtain an image output terminal.
The l (hereinafter referred to as IOT) 105 is configured to perform secondary processing on the image information as necessary, and then record and output the image.

In the figure, 106 is the scanner 10 described above.
0, compressor 101, page memory 102 and storage device 10
3 shows a CPU for controlling the operations such as 3.

In addition to the copying function as described above, the digital copying machine has an image communication function as a facsimile and a function as a printer for outputting information from a host computer or personal computer. There is. Therefore, in this image processing apparatus, in addition to the image information of the original sent from the scanner 100, the image information from a facsimile sent via a telephone line, or sent from a host computer or a personal computer. Information can be input in parallel via an input interface (not shown) and a multiplexer.

Then, the image information from the facsimile or the information from the host computer or personal computer, which is input through the input interface,
The IOT1 is also stored in the storage device 103 via the page memory 102 in a state of being compressed by the compressor 101, and the information stored in the storage device 103 is read out as appropriate to obtain the IOT1.
The recording operation can be simultaneously processed in parallel by the method No. 05.

By the way, in order to realize the electronic RDH function of copying a plurality of manuscripts in a state in which a plurality of manuscripts are sorted by an arbitrary number of copies by the above-mentioned image processing apparatus, a plurality of manuscripts is
The document is set in the DF, the document is automatically conveyed by the ADF to the platen of the copying machine, and the image of the document is read by the scanner 100.
The image information of the original read by the
The data is compressed by 01 and stored in the storage device 103 via the page memory 102. And this storage device 1
By sequentially reading the image information of the series of originals stored in 03 and sequentially recording the image of the series of originals by the IOT 105, an electronic RDH function of copying a plurality of originals in an arbitrary number of copies is realized. ..

As described above, the image processing apparatus temporarily stores the image information of the document read by the scanner 100 in the state of being compressed by the compressor 101.
The storage capacity of the storage device 103 has a certain limit as a matter of course. Therefore, the image processing apparatus described above uses the User Interface
The remaining capacity of the storage device 103 is displayed as “remaining ** Mbytes” or “remaining **” on the display unit of ce (hereinafter referred to as UI).
% "Is displayed to inform the operator.

[0014]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. That is, the image processing apparatus described above stores the remaining capacity of the storage device 103.
Remaining ** Mbytes "or" remaining **% "is displayed to inform the operator that the remaining capacity of the storage device 103 is" remaining ** Mbytes "or" remaining ". **
Even if it is known that "%", there is a problem in that it is not possible to determine whether or not a document that executes a function such as an electronic RDH can be read with the remaining storage amount of the storage device.

Therefore, a series of originals is scanned by the scanner 10.
If the remaining capacity of the storage device 103 becomes zero during reading from 0, the image of the original cannot be stored in the storage device further, and if the reading of the original is continued, the image information of the original being read is read. Deficiency occurs. Therefore, the reading operation of the document by the scanner 100 must be interrupted until the storage capacity of the storage device 103 becomes available. Then, when the original reading operation is restarted, it is necessary to set the original for which the reading operation has been interrupted again in the ADF to read the original, and the original reading operation becomes complicated. It was

[0016]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
The purpose is to make it possible to determine whether or not the image information of the original read by the image reading device can be stored in the storage device, so that the reading operation of the original is interrupted in the middle. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of preventing the above.

That is, according to the present invention, at least image input means for inputting the image information from the image reading means for reading the image information of the document, compression means for compressing the image information input by the image reading means, and this compression means. In an image processing apparatus comprising a storage means for storing the image information compressed by the storage means and a decompression means for decompressing the image information read from the storage means, the storable remaining capacity of the storage means is detected. The remaining storage capacity detection means and the remaining storage capacity of the storage means detected by the remaining storage capacity detection means are calculated as the number of originals among the image information of the originals input from the image input means and compressed and stored. It has a calculating means for calculating whether or not it corresponds, and a display means for displaying the number of documents that can be stored in the storing means calculated by this calculating means. It is.

As the calculating means, for example, by using a compression rate of a document stored in advance, the remaining storage capacity of the storage means detected by the remaining storage capacity detection means is input from the image input means and compressed and stored. Among the image information of the document to be read, one that calculates the number of sheets of the document is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the arithmetic means detects the compression rate of the original to be read, and the compression rate of the original detected is used to detect the accumulation detected by the remaining storage capacity detecting means. The remaining storage capacity of the means may be used to calculate how many originals the image information of the originals input from the image inputting means and compressed and stored corresponds to.

The ADF may be used to detect the number and size of originals and the amount of image information of the originals to obtain the compression ratio of the originals.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the remaining storage capacity of the storage means is detected by the remaining storage capacity detection means, and the remaining storage capacity of the storage means detected by the remaining storage capacity detection means is input from the image input means. Of the image information of the originals that are compressed and accumulated, the arithmetic means calculates the number of originals, and the display means displays the number of originals that can be accumulated in the accumulating means calculated by the arithmetic means. Since it is configured to be displayed by the operator, the operator can determine whether or not the image information of the document read by the image reading device can be stored in the storage device by looking at the display means. it can.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital copying machine to which an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

This digital copying machine is an electronic RDH that electronically performs not only normal copying of originals but also double-sided copying, single-sided multiplex copying, and copying of a plurality of originals in an arbitrary number of copies. By copying multiple sheets of originals on both sides in a state where the pages are divided into two on each side of the recording paper, stacking the recording papers on which the images of the originals are copied, binding them in the center, and folding them in half A bookbinding function and the like are provided to edit and copy the image of the document so that the document becomes one booklet in which the pages are arranged in order of pages.

In addition to the copying function, the digital copying machine has an image communication function as a facsimile and a function as a printer for outputting information from a host computer or personal computer.

The digital copying machine 1 roughly divides an image of a document into an electric signal and converts the electric signal into an electric signal. The image information converted into an electric signal is subjected to basic processing such as gradation correction , and the resulting image is output. Input Terminal
(Hereinafter referred to as IIT) 2 and the image information sent from this IIT 2 is stored, and after being subjected to secondary processing as necessary, the image is recorded and output.
e Output Terminal (hereinafter referred to as IOT) 3 and a Controller (hereinafter referred to as CONT) 4 that controls the operation of the IIT 2 or IOT 3 described above.

The CONT4 is a User Interface (hereinafter
The UI 5 is provided with a keyboard 6 and a mouse 7 for the operator to specify the copying operation, or a display 8 for displaying the contents of the copying operation specified by the operator. ..

In this embodiment, the IIT2 automatically feeds an original document onto the platen of the IIT2 at its upper part.
er (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 10.

The ADF 10, as shown in FIG.
It is built in a cover unit that covers the platen of the IT main unit so that it can be opened and closed. As shown in FIG. 2, the ADF 10 includes a document feed tray 12 that stores a large number of documents 11 and a feed belt 13 that feeds the documents 11 stored in the document feed tray 12 one by one. A transport roll 16 that transports the document 11 delivered by the feed belt 13 to the platen 15 via the paper chute 14, and a transport that transports the document 11 transported by the transport roll 16 to the document setting position on the platen 15. When the image reading of the belt 17 and the original 11 placed on the platen 15 is completed, the discharge conveying rolls 18, 18 for discharging the original 6 sent by the conveying belt 17, and the discharged original 11 are discharged. It is composed of a document receiving tray 19 for accommodating.

The document 11 conveyed onto the platen 15 of the IIT main body by the ADF 10 is read by the scanner 20 of the IIT 2 as shown in FIG.
The scanner 20 includes a light source 21 that illuminates the document 11 placed on the platen 15, a reflection plate 22 that reflects the light emitted from the light source 21 toward the document 11, and a reflected light from the document 11. A plurality of mirrors 24, 25, 26 for guiding the image to the image sensor array 23 including a CCD or the like.
And a lens 27 for forming an image of the image light guided by the mirrors 24, 25 and 26 on the image sensor array 23. The light source 21, the mirrors 24, 25, 26, the image sensor array 23, and the like are integrally incorporated as a scanner 20 as shown in FIG. 2, and the scanner 20 is mounted on the platen 15 by a drive mechanism (not shown). The lower part can be reciprocated along the sub-scanning direction. And the scanner 20
While moving below the platen 15 in the sub-scanning direction,
The image of the document 11 placed on the platen 15 is read by the image sensor array 23.

The image information of the original 11 read by the image sensor array 23 of the scanner 20 is sent to a processor 28 and subjected to basic processing such as zigzag correction as shown in FIG. Is output to.

The image information sent to this IOT3 is
As will be described later, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention receives processing such as compression and storage. Then, the image information read from the image processing device is read as shown in FIG.
It is converted into an optical signal by the OS unit 31, and scanning exposure is performed on the photosensitive belt 32.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ROS unit 31 includes one semiconductor laser 33, and a beam from the semiconductor laser 33 is reflected by a reflecting surface during a rotating operation to expose a photosensitive member over a predetermined scanning range. Belt 32
It is composed of a polygon mirror 34 that guides upward.

The ROS unit 31 scans the laser beam Bm emitted from the semiconductor laser 33, which oscillates according to image information, in the axial direction of the photoconductor belt 32 by the polygon mirror 34, so that the photoconductor belt 32 is scanned. An image corresponding to the image information is scanned and exposed on the image 32.

The photosensitive belt 32 has a primary charger 35.
After being uniformly charged in advance to a predetermined potential by the ROS unit 31, the image is scanned and exposed by the ROS unit 31 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface thereof.

This electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 36 for developing with black toner to form a toner image.
After that, the toner image formed on the photosensitive belt 32 is
A plurality of paper feed cassettes 37 and 38 are arranged in the IOT body.
Recording paper 40 of a predetermined size supplied from any of
The transfer charger 41 charges the photoconductor belt 32
Transcribed from. Recording paper 4 on which this toner image is transferred
0 is the photoreceptor belt 32 due to the charging of the separation charger 42.
Then, the toner image is conveyed to the fixing device 43, and the toner image is fixed on the recording paper 40.

Further, the photosensitive belt 3 after the transfer process is completed.
The surface of No. 2 is cleaned by a cleaner 44 to remove residual toner, paper dust and the like, and the static eliminator 45 is charged to erase the residual charge, and prepares for the next image recording step.

The recording paper 40 on which the toner image is fixed as described above remains as it is in the normal copying mode in the discharge tray 4.
6 is discharged onto.

On the other hand, in the modes such as double-sided copying and single-sided multiplex copying, the recording paper 40 on which the toner image is fixed is not ejected as it is, and the recording paper 40 is turned upside down as it is through the conveying path 47 and the paper reversing mechanism 48. Then, the toner image is conveyed again to the transfer portion, and the transfer and fixing of a predetermined toner image is performed. After the transfer and fixing of such a predetermined image are repeated, the recording paper 40 is first discharged onto the discharge tray 46.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention applied to the digital copying machine configured as described above.

In the figure, 50 is an input interface for inputting image information sent from the IIT2 scanner 20 and image information sent from a facsimile or a personal computer, and 51 is an image sent from the IIT2 scanner 20. A multiplexer (hereinafter referred to as MPX) that selects information or image information sent from a facsimile or personal computer.
Therefore, the MPX 51 is capable of time-divisionally selecting image information sent from the scanner 20 for reading an image, a facsimile, or a personal computer, and performing parallel image information selection processing. There is.

Further, 52 is a compressor for performing a predetermined compression process on the image information sent from the MPX 50, and 53 is a FIFO or the like for converting the transfer rate of the image information compressed by the compressor 52. A speed conversion buffer 54 temporarily stores the image information sent via the speed conversion buffer 53, and stores the image information in the storage device 55 in synchronization with a storage device 55 such as a hard disk described later. Is a page buffer for storage, 55 is a storage device formed of a hard disk for storing the image information sent from the page buffer 54, and 57 is a disk controller for controlling the storage operation of the storage device 55.

Further, reference numeral 58 is a FIFO for adjusting the transfer speed of the image information read from the storage device 55.
A speed conversion buffer composed of, for example, 59 is a decompressor for decompressing the image information compressed and stored in the storage device 55 and converting the decompressed image information into the original image information. The output interface 3 for outputting is the IOT for recording and outputting the image after subjecting the image information sent from the output interface 60 to secondary processing as required.

On the other hand, 61 is the MPX 50, the input interface 51, the compressor 52, and the speed conversion buffer 5.
3, a CPU for controlling operations of the buffer memory 54, the speed conversion buffer 58, the decompressor 59, the output interface 60, the IOT 3, and the like.

Reference numeral 62 is a ROM that stores programs for controlling the CPU 61, and 63 is an NVRAM that sequentially stores data necessary for image processing and the like.

With the above arrangement, the image processing apparatus of the digital copying machine according to this embodiment carries out the image processing associated with the image copying operation and the like as follows. That is, for example, when copying a document in the digital copying machine, the operator sets the document 11 to be copied on the document feed tray 12 of the ADF 5 and specifies what copying operation is to be performed by the keyboard 6 of the UI 5. Then, the copy operation is started by pressing the start button.

Then, the CPU 61 always refers to the file management table of the storage device 55 as shown in FIG.
The remaining capacity Dm of the storage capacity of is calculated (step 1).

Next, the CPU 61 determines the number of dots of the image information for one page in the size of the original 11 to be copied, and the number of dots for one page of the A4 size original PXA4 when the original 11 is A4 size, for example. (This dot number PXA4 is automatically obtained from the resolution of the scanner 20 if the size of the document 11 is known), and the document 11
The standard compression rate X of the image information of the compressor 52 is R
The document 11 read from the OM 62 and the RAM 63, and the remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55 to be copied based on the following equation.
The number of pages corresponding to n is calculated (step 2).

N = Dm / (X · PXA4 + α)

Here, α is the document 11 to be actually read.
3 shows a margin for securing the storage capacity of the document, and is for securing the storage capacity even when the document 11 having a compression rate slightly lower than the standard compression rate X is read. This margin α is written in the ROM 62 or the like in advance, like the standard compression rate X.

Thereafter, the CPU 61 controls the current storage device 5
The number of documents 11 that can be stored based on the remaining capacity Dm of 5 n
Is calculated, the number n of the originals 11 is calculated as UI5.
Displayed on the display 8 (step 3). that time,
If the size of the document 11 is A4 size, the number n of the documents 11 that can be currently stored is converted into A4 size and displayed.

Therefore, the operator can determine the number n of the storable originals 11 displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 n.
It is possible to judge in advance whether or not all the image information of the document 11 can be read by visually comparing with the number of documents 11 to be copied.

Therefore, when the number n of storable originals 11 displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 is larger than the number of originals 11 to be copied at present, the operator directly reads the originals 11 by the ADF 10. Just start the operation.

On the other hand, when the number n of storable originals 11 displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 is smaller than the number of originals 11 to be copied at present, when the reading operation of the originals 11 is started as it is, Since it is not possible to store all of the image information of the document 11 in the storage device 55, the image information of the document 11 to be read becomes defective. In this case, the operator operates the stop button to temporarily stop the reading operation of the original document, and the number n of the storable original documents 11 displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 becomes
The process waits until the number of originals 11 to be copied by the user becomes larger. Then, when the number n of storable originals 11 displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 becomes larger than the number of originals 11 to be copied at present,
By operating the start button again, the reading operation of the document 11 is started.

In this way, the CPU 61 detects the remaining capacity that can be stored in the storage device 55, and the detected remaining storage capacity of the storage device 55 is detected by the scanner 20.
From the image information of the document 11 input from and compressed and accumulated, the number of the document 11 is calculated. The number of documents that can be stored in the storage device 55 calculated by the CPU 61 is displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5. Therefore, the operator
By looking at the display of the display 8 of the UI 5, it can be easily determined whether or not all the image information of the original 11 can be stored in the storage device 55. Therefore, due to the shortage of the remaining capacity of the storage device 55, the original 1
It is possible to prevent the reading operation of 1 and the like from being interrupted halfway.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show modifications of this embodiment. In this modification, when the copy operation of the original is started, the job currently being processed, that is, the image input from the facsimile or the computer. When information is being accumulated or recorded, the number of manuscripts that can be read after the completion of these jobs can also be displayed.

In the case of FIG. 7, the CPU 61, as shown in FIG. 6, always precedes the reading operation of each original 11.
The remaining capacity Dm of the storage capacity of the storage device 55 is calculated by referring to the file management table of the storage device 55 (step 1).

Next, the CPU 61 determines the number of dots of image information for one page in the size of the document 11 to be copied, and the number of dots for one page of A4 size document PXA4 when the document 11 is A4 size, for example. (This dot number PXA4 can be set to the scanner 2 if the size of the original 11 is known.
0) and the standard compression rate X of the image information of the document 11 in the compressor 52 are stored in the ROM.
62 and the RAM 63, and the number of pages n of the original document 11 to be copied corresponds to the remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55 is calculated based on the following equation (step 2).

N = Dm / (X · PXA4 + α)

Thereafter, the CPU 61 determines whether or not there is a job currently being processed or scheduled to start processing (step 3). If there is a job currently being processed or scheduled to start processing, the CPU 61 starts the job. After the job is finished, the time until the remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55 becomes full, that is, the time tout required to finish the job is calculated (step 4). Further, the CPU 61 determines that the time tou
The remaining capacity Dmα of the storage device 55 that can be released after the elapse of t is calculated based on the following equation (step 5).

Nα = Dmα / (X · PXA4 + α)

Then, the CPU 61 controls the storage device 55.
After calculating the remaining capacity Dmα, or if there is no job currently being processed or scheduled to start processing (nα = 0) (step 7), n + nα is displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 (step 8).

As described above, in addition to the number n of manuscripts 11 that can be read based on the remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55, the remaining capacity Dmα of the storage device 55 is set when the job currently being processed or the job to be started is completed. By adding and displaying the number nα of readable originals 11 based on the display, the operator can read the number of originals n + nα that can be read when the job is completed, even if there is a job that is currently being processed or is scheduled to start processing. Therefore, by waiting for some time, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not all the image information of the original 11 to be copied can be read. Therefore, the operator
Although the document 11 can be read immediately after waiting for some time, there is no need to delay the operation for an unnecessary time and wait.

Further, in the case of the modified example of FIG.
This is basically the same as the case of, but when there is no job currently being processed or a job to be started, the value of n is displayed as it is on the display 8 of the UI 5 (step 7), and the current processing or the processing start is performed. If there is a scheduled job, after performing a predetermined process as in FIG. 7, the value of n and the value of nα are displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 (step 8).

Second Embodiment FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and explained. , The operator does not key in the number and size of the originals, and instead of using the value stored in advance in the ROM or the like as the compression rate of the originals,
The number of originals, the size, and the compression ratio of the originals are detected to perform a predetermined operation.

That is, when copying a document in the above digital copying machine, the operator sets the document 11 to be copied on the document feed tray 12 of the ADF 10 and indicates the kind of copying operation by the keyboard of the UI 5. The copy operation is started by designating by 6 and pressing the start button.

Then, the CPU 61, as shown in FIG.
The scanner 20 is moved to the reading start position of the original 11 (step 1), the ADF 10 is activated, and the originals 11 set on the original feed tray 12 are sequentially IIT2.
Then, the image information of the original 11 is temporarily read by the scanner 20 (step 2).
At that time, the ADF 10 does not need to stop the document 11 on the platen 15 of the IIT 2, and sequentially passes the document 11 over the scanner 20 and once conveys it to the document receiving tray 19.

During this time, the CPU 61 determines whether or not one page of the original has been sent out from the ADF 10 (step 3). When the one page of the original has been sent out, C
The PU 61 determines the size of the document 11 (step 4). The size of the document 11 in the width direction, that is, the size in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the document 11 is determined by the optical sensor provided in the ADF 10, and
The number of dots P per page of the document at the temporary reading speed of
The amount of information before compression of the original image at the sub-scanning magnification converted from the temporary reading speed is determined depending on whether there is Xall image information. The image information of the document 11 read by the scanner 20 is temporarily stored in the page buffer 54 via the input interface 50, the MPX 51, and the like.

Thereafter, the CPU 61 determines whether or not the first page original 11 has passed the position of the scanner 20 (step 5), and the first page original 11 is scanned by the scanner 2
If it has passed the position of 0, the temporary compression rate X temp for the page of the original document is calculated by the compressor 52 (step 6). The calculation of the temporary compression rate X temp for one page of the original is performed by converting the image information for one page of the original into the page buffer 5
4 is divided by the image information amount PXall per page of the size of the document 11 detected as described above.

Next, the CPU 61 estimates the compression rate per page of the original based on the temporary compression rate Xtemp per page of the original (step 7). The compression rate per page of the original document is estimated by performing a predetermined calculation according to the following equation based on the value Xtemp of the temporary compression rate per page of the original document.

F (Xtemp) = αXtemp ² + βXtemp + γ

Here, α, β and γ are constants determined by the speed of temporary reading by the scanner 20 and the transport speed of the ADF 10.

Then, the CPU 61 causes the requested original 1
Usage of the storage capacity of the storage device 55 required for compressing and storing the image information of one page of the currently read document based on the compression rate f (Xtemp) per page Duse
Is calculated (step 8), and the usage amount Duse of the storage capacity of the storage device 55 is integrated for each page of the document (step 9).

The CPU 61 performs the above-mentioned operation (steps 3 to 3).
9) is executed until the temporary reading of all pages of the document 11 is completed (step 10)).

In this manner, the total amount of use Duse of the storage capacity required to read the original 11 to be copied prior to the copying operation and store it in the storage device 55 in a compressed state is obtained.

Then, the CPU 61 compares the current remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55 with the total usage amount Duse of the storage device 55, as in the above-described embodiment, and compares all the images of the original document 11 to be copied at present. It is determined whether or not the information can be read, and the result is displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5.

Therefore, the operator reads the entire image information of the original document 11 to be copied at present by observing the display of the display 8 of the UI 5, and judges in advance whether or not it can be stored in the storage device 55. be able to. Therefore, when the display 8 of the UI 5 displays "Acceptable", the normal reading operation of the document 11 may be started as it is.

At this time, if it is determined that the reading operation of the original 11 by the ADF 10 can be started, the reading operation of the original 11 may be started as it is.
Since other types of processing such as a facsimile / printer are executed in parallel after the start of the reading operation of the storage device 55, the remaining amount of the storage device 55 is reduced from that at the start of the reading operation, and the reading operation of the document 11 may be interrupted. is there.

Therefore, in order to prevent the reading operation of the original 11 from being interrupted by the input of image information such as a facsimile, it is calculated by the CPU 61 at the time when it is determined that the reading operation of the original 11 by the ADF 10 can be started. Total usage amount Du of storage capacity required to store in the storage device 55 all the image information of the original 11 in a compressed state
se may be secured in the storage device 55 in advance.

In order to secure the total usage amount Duse of the storage capacity required to store all the image information of the original 11 in the storage device 55 in a compressed state, as is known, the storage device 55 is known.
This can be done by writing the ID information of the job currently to be executed in the disk management table.

On the other hand, when the display 8 of the UI 5 displays "Unable to store", if the reading operation of the original 11 is started as it is, all the image information of the original 11 can be stored in the storage device 55. Therefore, the image information of the document 11 is lost. Therefore, the operator temporarily stops the reading operation of the document 11 by operating the stop button, and waits until the display 8 of the UI 5 displays "Acceptable". And display 8 of UI5
When "Acceptable" is displayed on the screen, the start button is operated again to start the normal reading operation of the document 11.

Third Embodiment FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the second embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals. Detecting the number and size of originals and the compression ratio of the originals to perform a predetermined operation, and sequentially learning the compression ratios of the detected originals to statistically obtain the compression ratio of the originals frequently used by the user. It is configured to be able to.

That is, when copying a document in the above digital copying machine, the operator sets the document 11 to be copied on the document feed tray 12 of the ADF 10 and the keyboard of the UI 5 indicates what copying operation is to be performed. The copy operation is started by designating by 6 and pressing the start button. Then, the CPU 61 first moves the scanner 20 of the IIT 2 to the reading start position of the document 11 as in the second embodiment, and the ADF 10
Is activated to sequentially convey the document 11 onto the platen 15 of the IIT 2, and the image information of the document 11 is temporarily read by the scanner 20.

During this time, the CPU 61 determines whether or not reading of one page of the manuscript 11 is completed (step 1), and when the reading of one page of the manuscript is completed, the compression rate Xnow of one page of the manuscript is calculated ( Step 2).

Next, in the CPU 61, the operator selects the UI 5
The copy mode designated by the keyboard 6 is determined (step 3). When the character mode is designated by the operator, the compression ratio Xn
The average value Xtext of ow and the standard deviation σtext are calculated (step 4), and the estimated compression rate X of one page of the original is calculated based on the equation X = Xtext + ασtext to update the estimated compression rate X of the one page of the original. (Step 5). Here, α represents a predetermined coefficient. The coefficient α is a value that determines the probability of the estimated compression rate X when the estimated compression rate X has a normal distribution, and is 98% when α = 2 and 9% when α = 3, for example.
The estimated compression rate X can be displayed with a certainty of 9.85%. The same applies to coefficients β and γ described later.

On the other hand, the CPU 61, when the photograph mode is designated by the operator, averages Ximage and the standard deviation σimage of the compression ratio Xnow of one page of the original document.
While calculating e and (step 6), the measured compression rate X of one page of the original document is calculated based on X = Ximage + βσimage to update the measured compression rate X of one page of the original document (step 7). Here, β represents a predetermined coefficient.

Further, when the operator designates the mixing mode in which the text original and the photo original are mixed, the CPU 61 averages Xm of the compression ratios Xnow of one page of the original.
ix and the standard deviation σmix are calculated (step 8), the estimated compression rate X of one page of the original is calculated based on X = Xmix + γσmix, and the measured compression rate X of the one page of the original is updated (step 9). Here, γ represents a predetermined coefficient.

In this way, the CPU 61 updates the compression rate X in each mode and then calculates the average value Xtotal and the standard deviation σtotal of the compression rate X per page of the original document in all modes (step 10). , The average value Xtot of the compression rates X per page of the original document in all the modes
The al and the standard deviation σ total are sequentially stored in the RAM 63.

By doing so, the user can statistically know the average value Xtotal and the standard deviation σtotal of the compression ratio X of the original document for which copying or the like is performed. Therefore, the service engineer increases or decreases the storage area or the like allocated to the scanner of the storage device 55 according to the frequency of use for each user, for example, a large amount of copy processing of a large number of documents or a large amount of image communication by facsimile. By doing so, it becomes possible to meet the needs of each user.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. Even when the image information is sent from the facsimile via the telephone line during the reading of the accompanying document, it is possible to cope with the image information. At that time, the image information sent from the facsimile is often required to be immediacy. Therefore, if the image information is sent from the facsimile while reading the original, prioritize the input from the facsimile. It has become. And next to the image information from the facsimile,
Prioritize information from the host computer, then II
Image information from the scanner 20 of T2 is input.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the CPU 61 determines whether or not the original 11 is being read (step 1), and when the original 11 is being read, whether or not there is image information from the facsimile. Then, it is determined (step 2). Here, "whether or not reading is in progress" means determining whether or not the image operation of a series of originals has been started, and whether or not the reading is in progress is determined by one of the series of originals. This is performed prior to the start of the reading operation of the original document. If there is no image information from the facsimile, the normal document 11
The reading operation of is continued (step 3).

On the other hand, if there is image information from the facsimile, it is judged whether or not the remaining capacity of the storage device 55 is sufficient (step 4). The read operation 11 is continued (step 1). When the remaining capacity of the storage device 55 is not sufficient, the reading operation of the document 11 is interrupted (step 5), and the fact is displayed on the display 8 of the UI 5 to inform the operator (step 6). Here, whether or not the remaining capacity of the storage device 55 is sufficient is determined by determining the remaining capacity Dm of the storage device 55 after storing the image information sent from the facsimile in the storage device 55, for example, an A4 size document 11 Is calculated by determining whether or not there is a capacity (X · PXA4 + α) required to store the safety factor α at the standard compression rate X.

By doing so, it is possible to deal with the case where the image information is sent from the facsimile via the telephone line while the original 11 is being read due to copying or the like.

In this embodiment, the case where the reading operation of the original 11 is interrupted when the image information from the facsimile is present has been described, but the original 11 is not necessarily read when the image information from the facsimile is present. There is no need to interrupt the operation.

That is, when there is image information from the facsimile, as shown in FIG. 12, the interval of the reading operation of the document 11 by the scanner 20 may be delayed (step 5). For example, in the case of an original reading cycle in which the scanning of one page of the original is performed in 1 sec, the reversal of the scanner 20 is performed in 0.2 sec and the scanning of the next one page of the original is performed in 1 sec, the scanning of one page of the original A stop time of, for example, 0.8 sec may be set between the start of scanning the next document.

In such a case, the scanner 20 is not scanned between the scanning of one page of the original and the scanning of the next original.
Including the time required for reversing, the time which was conventionally 0.2 sec becomes 1 sec. Therefore, the image information from the facsimile can be read from the storage device 55 and recorded by the ROS unit 31 within 1 sec from the scanning of one page of the document to the scanning of the next document. Therefore, the storage device 55 has a remaining capacity of about one original, and the next original 11 can be read.

In this case, even if image information is sent from the facsimile while the original 11 is being read, it is not necessary to stop the reading operation of the original 11, so the operator restarts the reading operation of the original 11 by the ADF 10. No operation is required. However, if the interval of the reading operation of the document 11 is delayed without displaying anything to the operator, the operator may erroneously determine that the device is out of order. Therefore, it is desirable to display that fact on the display 8 of the UI 5.

Fifth Embodiment FIG. 14 shows an image processing apparatus 20 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
0, and the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus 200 does not perform compression and decompression processing.
Therefore, the compressor 52 and the expander 59 are not provided.

In the fifth embodiment, the CPU 61 calculates the total amount of data required for recording on the hard disk 55. This total data amount is necessary to execute each job instructed by the user via the UI 5. In this way, based on the data necessary for executing each job instructed via the UI 5, for example, the number of copies, the size of the document, the number of documents, etc., the CPU 61
Calculate the amount of data required to run each job. C
Other additional information required by the PU 61 to calculate the total amount of data, such as the estimated amount of data per page given as a function of document size, is readably stored in the ROM 62.

The CPU 61 further uses the hard disk 55.
The amount of data read from the printer is monitored, and the IOT (image output terminal) of a printer or the like is monitored.
l) Send data to 3. When the output operation of the requested job is completed, the storage capacity of the hard disk 55 corresponding to the data is used for writing the newly supplied image data. The CPU 61 calculates the remaining storage capacity of the hard disk 55 based on the total amount of data required for the job input by the user,
It is programmed to send to OT3.

The CPU 61 is programmed to convert the calculated remaining storage capacity into the number of originals recordable on the hard disk 55. As long as the calculated number of sheets is a function of sheet size, ROM6
The data stored in 2 is stored in the CPU 61 for reading.
It will be used again to calculate the work load. The preferred sheet size for calculating the number of original sheets is preferably specified by the user. However, the predicted data amount per sheet is used as a reference for the above calculation by the CPU 61 even if it is different from the sheet size.

The CPU 61 is programmed to display the remaining storage capacity of the hard disk 55 as the number of seats on the display of the UI 5. As a result, the user is conveniently informed of the amount of space remaining as the number of sheets of original document available for further copying in memory.

According to the fifth embodiment, the CPU 61
The remaining storage capacity is calculated based on the amount of data written to or read from the hard disk 55. In this way, the CPU 61 monitors this writing and reading operation. Thereby maintaining the current calculation of remaining storage capacity. As described above, the CPU is further programmed to convert the calculated remaining storage capacity into the number of original sheets and display the calculated number of original sheets on the display of the UI 5.

In this embodiment, the case where the image information sent from the facsimile is given the highest priority and then the image information from the host computer and the scanner 20 of the IIT2 is given priority in this order has been described.

However, the invention is not limited to this.
The order of priority jobs may be changeable.
In this case, the setting of the job order to be prioritized is performed by operating a predetermined keyboard at the time of power-on in the service engineer mode (SE mode) as is known. At that time, for example, the image information sent from the facsimile may be given the highest priority, the image information from the scanner 20 of the IIT 2 may be given priority, and then the information from the host computer may be given priority.
Because the frequency of information output from the host computer is low by the user, the information output from the host computer has a low priority, and the information from the host computer is recorded and output at night when the document is not copied. However, there are cases where it is sufficient.

[0105]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure and operation, it is possible to judge whether or not the image information of the original read by the image reading device can be stored in the storage device. It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of preventing an original reading operation or the like from being interrupted midway due to a shortage of the remaining capacity of the storage device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital copying machine to which an image processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an image recording unit of the digital copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a scanner.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of IIT and IOT.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a conventional image processing apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Digital copier, 2 ... IIT, 3 ... IOT, 20 ...
Scanner, 52 ... Compressor, 55 ... Storage device, 61 ... C
PU, 62 ... ROM, 63 ... RAM

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Image input means for inputting image information from at least image reading means for reading image information of an original,
A compression unit that compresses the image information input by the image reading unit, a storage unit that stores the image information compressed by the compression unit, and a decompression unit that decompresses the image information read from the storage unit. In the image processing apparatus provided, the remaining storage capacity detecting means for detecting the remaining storage capacity of the storage means, and the remaining storage capacity of the storage means detected by the remaining storage capacity detection means are input from the image input means. Calculating means for calculating the number of originals among the image information of the originals that are compressed and accumulated, and display means for displaying the number of originals that can be accumulated in the accumulating means calculated by the calculating means. An image processing apparatus comprising: