JPH0518304B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an image processing device that processes image information.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as an image processing device, a copying device as a means for duplicating a document image, a facsimile device as a means for transmitting a document image to a remote location, etc. have been widely used. When copying an original, the general copying apparatus currently in use can make an image copy of the same size as the original, or make an enlarged copy or a reduced copy. Alternatively, if it is necessary to change the image density, the density can be changed uniformly over the entire copied image. However, with only such image processing functions,
In some cases, it may not be possible to fully meet the user's requests.

On the other hand, it is possible to convert a document image into an electrical signal and read it, process the image information converted into an electrical signal, extract a part of the document, and copy it, or combine multiple images, or A copying apparatus has been proposed that has a function of specifying a position of a predetermined portion of a document image and editing the image in order to change the image density of only a portion of the image. However, as a copying apparatus is equipped with many such functions, the apparatus becomes more complicated, and furthermore, the copying operation becomes complicated and the image processing time becomes longer.

For example, when extracting an image of a desired area of a document and recording that image on a recording material, the desired area of the document is specified using a digitizer, etc. In some cases, it may not even be possible to determine whether the current mode is active or not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that can be easily used even by an inexperienced user.

In order to achieve this object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention includes an image input means (corresponding to the reader unit 500 etc. in FIG. 2 in the embodiment) for inputting image information.
, a position information input means (corresponding to the digitizer 240 in FIG. 3-1 in the embodiment) for inputting position information related to image editing processing, and an image editing means for editing the image information input by the image input means. means (in the embodiment, the disk memory 90 in FIG. 4,
Buffer memory 20 and control thereof
corresponding to CPU 10), and a setting means (corresponding to CPU 10) for setting the image editing mode of the image editing means (in the embodiment, the 19th
Step S4 in the figure or step S31 in Figure 20)
and a determining means (in the embodiment, step S20 in FIG. 19 or step S49 in FIG. 20) for determining whether the editing mode set by the setting means is a mode that requires position information input, and the determining means. a display means (in the embodiment, a CRT 300 that displays a prompt to input position information and a display indicating that this has been recognized) that displays guidance on the procedure for inputting position information by the position input means according to the determination of the input position information; Control means for causing the image editing means to execute the image editing mode set by the setting means (in the embodiment, controlling the disk memory 90 and buffer memory 20 in FIG. (corresponding to the CPU 10).

Embodiment (1) Description of the entire system FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus of the present invention is roughly divided into an image processing information forming unit 1, a reader section 500, and a printer section 6.
00, where the image processing information forming unit 1 edits, stores, sends and receives image information, and also operates a reader section 500 and a printer section 600.
control. The image information forming unit 1 includes an image processing control section 100 that controls image processing procedures, stores processed images, etc., and an editing station 400 that is used by an operator to edit images.

500 is a reader unit that reads a document image using a line sensor such as a CCD, photoelectrically converts the image, and transmits the image information converted into an electrical signal (hereinafter simply referred to as image information) via a signal line. The image processing information is transferred to the image processing information forming unit 1. 550
is the reader operation section, and the operator directly operates the reader section 5.
00 to read the original image.

600 is a copying device such as a laser beam printer, which forms a copy image on a recording material such as paper using image information transferred from the image processing information forming unit 1 via a signal line. 650 is a printer status display section that displays copying conditions such as the number of copies.

An image processing apparatus of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present system) consisting of an image processing information forming unit 1, a reader 500, and a copying device 600 is arranged at a short distance via an optical fiber cable 700, and is configured similarly to the present system. configuring an optical fiber network with multiple devices (other systems),
Image information is exchanged between them.

A digital data exchange (DDX) line 800 is used for transmitting and receiving image information, etc. between this system and a plurality of other systems (not shown) placed at a long distance.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the apparatus of the present invention, centering on the image processing information forming unit 1. As shown in FIG.
In the image processing control section 100, 10 is an image processing section which can be constructed from a CPU circuit block, and controls the following sections. 20 is a buffer memory for temporarily storing image information of a document of a predetermined size in units of one sheet; 30 is a bus line. A DMA controller 80 controls direct memory access (DMA) between the buffer memory 20 and the disk memory 90. 60 is the DDX interface between this system and the DDX line,
70 is an optical fiber interface between the device of the present invention and the optical fiber network; 40 is an optical fiber interface for switching the image information transfer path between the optical fiber interface 70, the reader section 500 or the printer section 600, and the buffer memory 20; This is an exchange that exchanges image information.

Further, at the editing station 400, 45
0 is an editing station control section, which is connected to the image processing section 10 and controls the following sections. 200
280 is an editing station console that can take the form of a console section; 280 is a stylus pen that can accept various input forms (for example, light, pressure, capacitance); the operator uses the stylus pen 280 to control the console section 200; Input editing commands, etc. A CRT 300 displays commands input by the operator, messages sent from the image processing unit 10 to the operator, and the like.

(2) Editing Station FIG. 3-1 shows an example of the configuration of the editing station 400, where 450 is an editing station control section, 200 is a console section, 280 is a stylus pen, and 300 is a CRT. The console unit 200 includes a digitizer (original placement unit) 240 through which an operator inputs instructions for an area on a document using a stylus pen 280, and various command key groups 221 to 228 for image editing as shown in FIG. 3-2. An operator uses the console section 200 to edit images and create editing programs. For example, the document placement section 240 has the upper right point O as its origin, and can read the designated point in units of 1 mm. The command menu section 220 has a group of command keys arranged, for example, as shown in FIG. 3-2, where 221 is a command for a "REQUEST" key for requesting startup of the editing station 400 and an "end" key for requesting termination. Key group: 222 is a group of command keys for image editing (described later), 223 is a group of alphanumeric keys for inputting characters, 224 is a group of numeric keys for inputting numerical values, 225 is a carriage return key, and 226 is a group of parameters following the editing command. The parameter input key group 227 used when inputting is a command key group for requesting coordinate input.
The type of coordinate input is specified using the command key group, and then the document placement section 240 is specified. 22
8 is a group of command keys input when creating, modifying, and executing an editing program (application file); 229 is a group of command keys for screen editing of the CRT 300;

The CRT 300 has an editing station control unit 45
0, the display of the screen is divided to monitor the image editing coordinate position specified by the console unit 200, display commands, etc.

Details of the image editing method using the console unit 200 and CRT 300 will be described later.

The editing station control section 450 includes a CRT/console section controller 470 and an RS232C interface 420, and can use, for example, APPLE manufactured by Apple Inc.

FIG. 3-3 shows a circuit diagram of the editing station control section 450, where 451 is a clock generator and 452 is a circuit diagram of the editing station control section 450.
central processing unit, 453 is a data buffer, 45
4 is an address buffer. 455 is a read-only memory (ROM) that stores an interactive programming language such as BASIC; 456 is a random access memory (RAM) that stores an image editing program, and 457 is a bus line. 4
58, 459 and 460 are a peripheral device control circuit, a basic input/output control circuit and a video signal generator, respectively.

When the operator instructs the console unit 200 with the stylus pen 280 and inputs editing commands or document position coordinates, those signals are
Via the RS232C interface 420, it is led to the editing station control section 450. These signals are discriminated by the CRT/console unit controller 470, commands or document position coordinates, etc. corresponding to those signals are converted into ASCII codes,
Image processing unit 10 via RS232C interface
Output to.

(3) Image Processing Control Unit FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed example of the image processing control unit 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, the image processing section (CPU circuit block)
10, buffer memory circuit block 20, I/O
The interface 56, the reader operation unit interface 58, and the DMA controller 80 are connected to the bus lines 111, 112, 113, and 114, respectively.
and 115 to the multi-bus line 30.

Among the five circuit blocks connected to the multi-bus line 30, CPU circuit block 1
0 and DMA controller 80 are multibus 3
It has a function that can acquire usage rights of 0 and control other circuit blocks, that is, it has a master function. On the other hand, the buffer memory circuit block 20, the I/O interface 56, and the reader operating unit interface 58 have a function controlled by the master function block, that is, a slave function.
It is accessed unilaterally from the multi-bus 30. For the master function block connected to the multi-bus 30, the priority order of the right to use the multi-bus 30 is determined in advance. In this embodiment, the priority of the CPU circuit block 10 is set by the DMA controller 80.
Set the priority higher than that of

Here, the function of CPU circuit block 10 is
The signal lines extending from the CPU circuit block 10 to each section and the signal lines extending from each section to the CPU circuit block 10 will be explained.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 132 indicates that the CPU circuit block 10 is connected to a buffer memory circuit block 2, which will be described later.
A signal line 133 outputs a signal for selecting memory bank 0, and a signal line 133 outputs a signal indicating a period in which image information is being written and read out in the buffer memory circuit block 20.
This is a signal line input to 0. Reference numeral 128 is a signal line through which the CPU circuit block 10 sends a control signal to the exchange 40 to switch the destination of image information. 136 and 139 are the CPU circuit block 10 and the optical fiber interface 70, respectively.
and DDX interface 60, the CPU
Circuit block 10 is optical fiber interface 7
This is a signal line for exchanging control information with other systems via the DDX interface 60 and the DDX interface 60. 1
Reference numeral 45 denotes a signal line through which a control signal regarding dithering for image quality processing is supplied from the CPU circuit block 10 to the dither controller 54. 146 is
It connects the CPU circuit block 10 and the editing station control section 450, provides image processing information specified by the console section 200 to the CPU circuit block 10, and displays application files etc. registered in the disk memory 90 on the CRT 300. This is the signal line for Further, the CPU circuit block 10 controls the DMA controller via the bus line 111, the multi-bus 30, and the bus line 113 to execute DMA transfer of image information between the buffer memory 20 and the disk memory 90.

The I/O interface 56 connects the CPU circuit block 10, the reader section 500, and the printer section 6.
The optical system scanning driver 5 is an input/output interface arranged between the optical system scanning driver 5 and the optical system scanning driver 5, which drives a motor 560 that scans the optical system of the reader unit 500 via signal lines 150, 151, and 152, respectively.
10, it is connected to a position detection sensor 520 that detects the position of the optical system and a printer sequence controller circuit block 610 that controls the copying sequence of the printer section 600.

The reader operation unit interface 58 has functions such as inputting information on an operation state (described later) inputted from the operation unit 550 of the reader unit 500 to the CPU circuit block 10 via the multi-bus 30.

50 is a CCD driver, and a reader section 500
For example, line sensor 5 composed of CCD
The image information of analog signals transmitted in parallel from 70, 580, and 590 via signal lines 121, 122, and 123, respectively, is converted into digital signals (A/D conversion), and the image information is transferred to signal lines 124, 1.
25 and 126 in parallel to the shift memory 52. Shift memory 52 converts the parallel image information signals into serial image signals and supplies them to exchange 40 via signal line 127. Reference numeral 54 denotes a gradation control unit, for example a dither controller, which causes the CCD driver 50 to change the gradation processing of an image, for example, information regarding dither processing, and the density of a copied image partially at once via a signal line 144. Provides information regarding area specification in case.

The exchange 40 can be composed of gate circuits that connect image information and control signals to various parts,
The gate is opened and closed in accordance with the control signal supplied from the CPU circuit block 10, and the transfer destination of the image information and control signal is switched. Reference numeral 129 is a signal line for accessing image information and control signals between the exchange 40 and the buffer memory 20. 130 and 131 are signal lines for control information and image information, respectively, from the exchange 40 to the printer unit 600, and each line is a signal line for the printer sequence controller circuit block 61 inside the printer unit 600.
0 and the laser driver 620. In addition, 615 is a printer drive and sensor unit, 625 is a laser unit that generates laser, 630 is a polygon motor unit that rotates the polygon mirror, 635 is a scanner driver that stably rotates the polygon mirror, and 640 is a beam detector. be.

Reference numeral 134 indicates a signal line for control signals and image information output from the exchange 40 to the optical fiber interface 70, and 135 indicates a signal line for control signals and image information processed from the optical fiber interface 70 to the exchange 40.

701 and 702 are optical fibers for receiving control signals and image information transferred from other systems to the optical fiber interface 70, and optical fibers for clock signals, and 703 and 704 are optical fibers for receiving the optical fiber interface 70, respectively. These are optical fibers for transmitting control signals and image information from one system to another, and optical fibers for transmitting clock signals.

137 and 138 are the buffer memory 20 and
This is a signal line for exchanging image information with the DDX interface 60.

The signal flow of image information in the apparatus of the present invention configured as shown in FIG. 4 will be enumerated and briefly explained below.

(1) When image information read by the reader unit 500 is copied by the printer unit 600 Line sensors 570, 5 in the reader unit 500
The analog value image information read by 80 and 590 is transferred as a parallel signal to the CCD driver 50, where it is A/D converted to become digital value image information, and is further supplied to the shift memory 52 as a parallel digital signal. . The parallel image information is stored in the shift memory 52
The signal is converted into an image signal of one serial scanning line and supplied to the exchange 40. At this time, the CPU
The circuit block 10 switches the gate of the exchange 40 to connect the image information transfer destination to the printer section 600, and the serial image information is sequentially transferred to the printer section 600.
The data is transferred to the laser driver for copying.

(2) When transmitting using the DDX line 800 The image information temporarily stored in the buffer memory 20 is transferred to the DDX interface 60 via the signal line 137, where the data is compressed and sent to the DDX line 800. Sent.

(3) When received from the DDX line 800 The received image information is decompressed by the DDX interface 60 and sent to the signal line 13.
8 and is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 20. The image information is then transferred to the printer section 600 via the exchange 40 and copied.

(4) When transmitting image information from the optical fiber network 700 The image signal read by the reader unit 500 is (1)
After being supplied to the exchange in the same way as in Section 1, the CPU
According to the designation of the circuit block 10, the signal line 134
The data is transferred to the optical fiber interface 70 via the optical fiber interface 70. Here, the image information is converted from an electrical signal to an optical signal (hereinafter referred to as E/O conversion) and sent to other devices on the optical fiber network 700.

(5) When image information is received from the optical fiber network 700 Image information of optical signals transmitted from other devices on the optical fiber network 700 is converted into an electrical signal by the optical fiber interface 70 (hereinafter referred to as (referred to as O/E conversion) and is supplied to the exchange 40 via a signal line 135. At this time, the image information transmission destination data is analyzed by the CPU circuit block 10, and if the image information transmission destination is addressed to another system, the received image information is E/O converted again at the optical fiber interface 70. The data is transferred to the optical fiber network 700. On the other hand, if it is addressed to this system,
The image information is sent to the printer section 60 via the switch 40.
0 and copying is performed.

(6) When performing image editing Image information for one document read by the reader unit 500 is sent to the buffer memory 2 via the switch 40.
0, and based on the editing information created by the console unit 200, the image is transferred by DMA between the buffer memory 20 and the disk memory 90, and image editing is performed. Detailed steps for image editing will be described later. After such editing, the edited image information stored in the buffer memory 20 is transferred to the destination specified by the CPU circuit block 10.

Next, the configuration of the main circuit blocks in the image processing control section 100 shown in FIG. 4 will be described in detail.

(3.1) CPU circuit block First, as the CPU circuit block 10, for example, Intel's single board computer
SBC86/12 is used, and the circuit diagram is shown in Figure 5. Here, 10-1 is CPU, 10-2 is
ROM, 10-3 is RAM, RAM10-3
In addition to storing the system program of the apparatus of the present invention, it reads an application file (described later) stored in the disk memory 90. 10-4 is a dual port controller, 10-5 is an interrupt controller, and 10-6 is a timer. 10-
7 is a baud rate generator, 10-8 is a communication interface, and communication interface 1
0-8 are connected to the editing station 400 via an RS232C interface 420. 10-10
is a peripheral device interface, which is connected to buffer memory circuit block 20 and exchange 40 via driver terminators 10-11. 1
0-12 is a multi-bus interface, which is arranged between the bus line 112 and the internal buses 10-13 within the CPU circuit block 10.

(3.2) Buffer memory circuit block Figure 6-1 shows the buffer memory circuit block 20.
The configuration is shown below. This block has a memory controller 21, a buffer memory 22 and a terminator 23, which are interconnected via an internal bus 24. Memory controller 21 is connected to multibus 30 via bus line 112 and accesses buffer memory 22 under the control of CPU circuit block 10. Furthermore, the memory controller 21 communicates with the exchange 40 via a signal line 129 and via signal lines 132 and 133.
It is connected to the CPU circuit block 10.

Buffer memory 22 consists of a group of dynamic random access memories (dynamic RAM). In this example, A4 size (297mm x 210mm)
It is assumed that the image information for one original is read at a resolution of 16 bits/mm, and the buffer memory 22 has at least (297 x 16) x (210 x 16) =
Assume that it has a storage capacity of 15966720 bits. Here, if image information per 1 mm, that is, 16 bits of image information is one word, the storage capacity of the buffer memory 22 is 997,920 words≈1 megaword.

Terminator 23 stabilizes the level of the signal immediately after the rise and fall of the signal.

The internal bus 24 includes address signals, data signals,
A read signal, a write signal, a memory refresh signal, a memory status signal, and an acknowledge signal are transmitted.

Figure 6-2 shows buffer memory circuit block 2.
2 is a circuit diagram of a memory controller 21 that is disposed in 0 and controls access to a buffer memory 22. FIG. Here, 21-1 and 21-2 are 16-bit data writing shift registers, which store image information per line of scanning that is serially supplied to the buffer memory circuit block 20 via the signal line 129-1. It is converted into 16-bit parallel data and output to the data bus 24-1 via the write data signal line 21-101 and the data bus driver 21-3. 21-4 is a write timing generator, which uses the write synchronization signal supplied via the signal line 129-2 and the write clock signal supplied via the signal line 129-3 to generate data write timing. Shift registers 21-1 or 21-2 are selected alternately and a write command signal or an output enable signal is applied to them via signal lines 21-102 or 21-103, respectively. For example, when shift register 21-1 is selected first, the first 16 bits of image information are supplied to shift register 21-1. Next, shift register 21-2 is selected, and the next 16 bits of image information are transferred to shift register 21-2.
1-2, the write timing generator 21-4 sends an output enable signal to the shift register 2.
1-1 to cause the first 16 bits of image information already stored to be output to the signal line 21-101.

By repeating this procedure for image information for one document, the image information transferred from exchange 40 is stored in buffer memory 20 without interruption. Data writing shift register 21-
1 or 21-2 outputs 16-bit image information in parallel to the signal line 21-101 (parallel out), the write timing generator 21-4 outputs 16-bit image information to the signal line 21-104 and the OR gate 21-5. , supplies clock pulses to the address counter 21-6. At that time, the address counter 21-
6 is counted up and the address on the memory 22 where the image information is to be stored is sent to the address bus 24-2 via the address bus driver 21-7.
Output to. However, write timing generator 2
1-4 is a data writing shift register 21-
1 or 21-2 sends image information to the signal line 21-10.
1, the address counter 21-6
A clock pulse is output to count up by 16 bits, and the address indicated by the address counter 21-6 becomes 00000H, 00010H, 00000H, 00010H, etc.
00020H, ... (“H” after a number indicates that the number before it is a hexadecimal number. The same applies below)
Make the value every 16 counts, like this.
Also, at the same time that the data writing shift register 21-1 or 21-2 outputs image information to the signal line 21-101, the write timing generator 21
-4 is the signal line 21-105 and the OR gate 21-
The write signal is output to the control bus 24-3 via the control bus driver 21-9 and the control bus driver 21-9.

21-21 and 21-22 are shift registers for reading 16-bit data, and 16-bit parallel data read from the memory 22 via the data bus 24-1, terminator interface 21-23, and signal line 21-121. Converts the image information into 16-bit serial image information and connects it to the signal line 129.
-21. Reference numeral 21-24 is a read timing generator, which outputs a read synchronization signal supplied via signal lines 129-122 and a signal line 129-2.
The shift registers 21-22 for data reading are alternately selected using the read clock supplied through the signal line 21-122 or 21-123, respectively, and a read command signal or an output enable signal is sent to each shift register 21-22 via the signal line 21-122 or 21-123. , and the image information is transferred to the exchange 40 without interruption. The data reading shift register 21-21 or 21-22 is
Immediately before outputting the image information to signal line 129-21, read timing generator 21-24 supplies a clock pulse to address counter 21-6 via signal line 21-124 and OR gate 21-5; 21-6 is counted up and the address on the memory 22 storing the image information to be read is sent to the address bus 24-2 via the address bus driver 21-7.
Output to. However, read timing generator 2
1-24 is a data read shift register 21
-21 or 21-22 transmits image information to the signal line 21
-121, the address counter 21
Output a clock pulse so that -6 counts up by 16. Further, the read timing generator 21-24 outputs the signal line 21-21 when the data read shift register 21-21 or 21-22 outputs image information to the signal line 21-121.
25, outputs the read signal to the control bus 24-3 via the OR gate 21-8 and the control bus driver 21-9.

Reference numeral 21-26 is an address converter, which is used to transfer image information when the DMA controller 80 stores image information from the disk memory 90 to the buffer memory 22 via the bidirectional data bus driver 21-41. , the addresses of the image information transferred via the address bus 32, the address bus buffers 21-42, and the signal lines 21-126 are re-addressed and converted into addresses developed on the memory 22, and the addresses are converted into signals. Lines 21-131 and address bus driver 2
It has a function of outputting to the address bus 24-2 via the address bus 24-2 (this process will be described later). At this time,
Via signal lines 21-126, memory write/read signals are simultaneously supplied to address converters 21-26, which output write/read enable signals on signal lines 21-133. Also,
CPU circuit block 10 supplies a binary memory bank selection signal to address converter 21-26 via signal lines 132-1 and 132-2. At this time, the address converter 21-26 outputs a binary signal corresponding to the selected memory bank 0, 1 or 2 to the control bus 24-3 via the signal line 21-132 and the control bus driver 21-27. do.

When image information is input from the CCDs 540, 580 and 590, the initial address for each line of the original image read by the CCDs 570, 580 and 590 is set by the CPU circuit block 10 to the multi-bus 30, the bus line 112 and the bidirectional data bus. It is preset into address counter 21-6 via driver 21-41. In addition, the address bus buffer 21-42 and the signal line 21-
126 to the decoder 21-45;
It is decoded by the decoder 21-45 and input to the address counter 21-6 as a chip selection signal via the signal line 21-145. On the other hand, the I/O write command supplied via the control bus of the bus line 112 is sent to the signal line 21-1.
46 to the command control circuit 21-46, where the command is gated by a chip selection signal, and when chip selection is requested, the command signal is used to gate the command on the signal line 21-101. The preset value data is supplied to the address counter 21-6 in parallel. When the initial address is stored in the address counter 21-6 in this way, the address counter 2
1-6 is the signal line 21-104 or 21-12
4, the address is counted up as previously described, and in the same manner as address converters 21-26.
outputting the selection signal of the memory 22 to 21-132';
Address in memory 22 on line 21-131'
Output to.

Signal line 21-150 is CPU circuit block 10
Alternatively, it transmits a memory write signal and a memory read signal output when the DMA controller 80 accesses the memory 22. These signals are
In the command control circuit 21-50, the signal line 2
1-133, and when access to the memory 22 is requested, a memory write signal or a memory read signal is sent to the signal line 21-151, the OR gate 21-8 and the control bus driver. 2
1-9 to the internal bus 24.

Signal lines 21-154 run from banks 0, 1 and 2 of memory 22 to control bus 21-3.
A memory busy (MB) signal indicating that the memory 22 is in a read operation or a write operation, and a memory cycle enable (MCE) signal indicating that the memory 22 is in a read/write operation or a refresh operation. is supplied to the refresh control circuit 21-55. The refresh control circuit 21-55 controls those MB and
If no MGE signal is detected, signal line 21
A refresh pulse is sent to the buffer memory 22 through the buffer memory 22 through the
Refresh the internal dynamic RAM. The MB signal or
When the MCE signal is detected, the sending of the refresh pulse is temporarily interrupted, waiting for the end of accessing the memory 22, and after the end, sending out the refresh pulse is started again.

(3.3) DMA Controller FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the DMA controller 80 and disk memory 90. Here, 80-1 is an I/O processor that has a DMA function and controls the following sections, and in this embodiment, an Intel 8089 from Intel Corporation is used. The I/O processor 80 is connected to the multibus 30 via signal lines 80-101.
is a channel attention (CA) signal that notifies a DMA transfer request from the CPU circuit block 10;
A system interrupt (SINTR) signal indicating completion of DMA transfer is transmitted from the DMA controller 80. In addition, the I/O processor 80-1
is the ROM 80- inside the DMA controller 80.
When accessing the ROM 80-8, a signal for selecting the ROM 80-8 and a signal indicating the address of the instruction code of the program stored in the ROM 80-8 are output to the internal bus 80-5 via the signal line 80-105. do. A signal line 80-103 from the I/O processor 80-1 to the bus arbiter 80-2 and bus controller 80-3 is connected to the I/O processor 80-1.
This is a signal line that transmits a 0-1 status signal to both of them. In addition, the I/O processor 80-1
A signal line 80-104 connecting the address/data buffer block 80-4 is a signal line that transmits an address information signal and a data information signal, and the I/O processor 80-1 multiplexes these signals. In plex mode, output to signal lines 80-104. That is, I/O processor 80-1
The address/data buffer block 80- time-divides the address information signal and the data information signal.
4, first an address information signal is output, and then a data information signal is output.

The bus arbiter 80-2 is an I/O processor 8
According to the status signal supplied from 0-1,
The signal line 80-106 is coupled to the multi-bus 30 to acquire the right to use it.
-107, an address information transfer enable (AEN) signal is output to the bus controller 80-3 and address/data buffer 80-4. In this embodiment, this bus arbiter 80-2
Intel's Intel 8289 is used as the computer.

The bus controller 80-3 is a bus arbiter 8
When the AEN signal is supplied from 0-2, the signal is sent from the buffer memory 20 to the disk memory 90 via the signal line 80-110 to the multi-bus 30.
When performing DMA transfer (read mode), a memory read (MRDC) signal is output, and when performing DMA transfer from disk memory 90 to buffer memory 20 (write mode), a memory write (MWTC) signal is output. The bus controller 80-3 also controls the signal line 80 based on the status signal supplied from the I/O processor 80-1.
-111 to address/data buffer block 80-4, I/O processor 80-1
The address latch enable (ALE) signal causes the address/data buffer block 80-4 to latch the address information output by the address/data buffer block 80-4, the data enable (DEN) signal causes the address information and data information to be output to the multibus 30, and the data enable (DEN) signal causes the address information and data information to be output to the multibus 30. A peripheral data enable (PDEN) signal is output on bus 80-5 and address/data buffer block 80-4 transfers data information to multibus 30 or an internal bus (transmit mode), or A data transmit/read (DT/R) signal is supplied to switch whether or not to read from those buses (read mode). Signal line 80-11 from bus controller 80-3 to synchronization signal generation circuit 80-7
2, the I/O processor 80-1 is connected to the internal bus 80.
-5 in read mode, the I/O read command (IORC) signal output from the bus controller 80-3 and the I/O processor 80-1 read only memory (ROM) 80-
When fetching the microprogram stored in the bus controller 80-3, the interrupt acknowledge (INTA) signal output from the bus controller 80-3 and the above-mentioned ALE signal are transmitted. As this bus controller 80-3, for example, an Intel 8288 manufactured by Intel Corporation is used.

The address/data buffer block 80-4 includes two address/data buffers, which are coupled to the multi-bus 30 and the internal bus 80-5 via signal lines 80-115 and 80-116, respectively. Address information and data information are exchanged between the two.

Internal bus 80-5 of DMA controller 80
has a 16-bit address bus with 64 kilobytes of address space and an 8-bit data bus.

80-6 is a clock generator, which generates a clock signal of a predetermined frequency on the signal line 80 based on a reference oscillation output from an external crystal oscillator or the like.
-120, an I/O processor 80-1,
Bus arbiter 80-2, bus controller 80-
3 and the synchronization signal generation circuit 80-7, and also supplies the initial signal at power-on to the I/O processor 80-1, bus arbiter 80-2, and bus controller 80-3 via the signal line 80-121. Outputs a manual reset signal and a manual reset signal. In addition, the clock generator 80-4 is connected to the signal line 80-1 from the multi-bus 30.
22, receives a transfer acknowledge (XACK) signal in response to the MWTC signal and the MRDC signal, and determines whether the multibus 30 enters the wait state and whether the wait state is released. , based on the determination signal, outputs a bus ready signal to the I/O processor 80-1 via the signal line 80-123.

The synchronization signal generation circuit 80-7 receives the above-mentioned IORC signal and INTA signal, and the address decoder 80-7.
A signal for confirming the response of the ROM 80-8 is generated based on the chip selection signal supplied from the ROM 80-8 via the signal line 80-125, and this signal is sent to the signal line 80-125.
-126 to clock generator 80-6.
I/O processor 80-
1 to move on to the next operation.

ROM80-8 is I/O processor 80-1
stores microprograms. internal bus 80
Signal line 80-13 from -5 to ROM80-8
0 indicates that the I/O processor 80-1 is in the ROM 80-
8 is an address signal line that transmits information indicating the address of the fetched instruction code when fetching the microprogram stored in the microprogram.
A signal line 80-131 leading to the ROM 80-8 is a data signal line for the fetched instruction code.

The address decoder 80-10 is connected to the internal bus 80.
-5 and the chip selection signal of the I/O processor 80-1 supplied via the signal line 80-135, a signal for selecting the ROM 80-8 is sent via the signal line 80-125 to the ROM 80-8 and the synchronous It is output to the signal generation circuit 80-7. From bus controller 80-3 to address decoder 80-10
A signal line 80-113 extending to transmits an S2 signal, which is a type of status information. That is, the S2 signal indicates that the address information latched in the address/data buffer block 80-4 is transferred to the internal bus 80-5.
The address decoder 80-10 identifies whether the address information is for the multi-bus 30 or the multi-bus 30.

Here, the operation of the DMA controller 80 exchanging address information and data information with the multi-bus 30 and the internal bus 80-5 will be described. First, the case where the multi-bus 30 and the information is exchanged will be described. When I/O processor 80-1 outputs address information to address/data buffer 80-4, bus controller 80-3 outputs address information to address/data buffer 80-4.
When the ALE signal is applied to address/data buffer 80-4, address information is latched into the address buffer. Further, when the bus arbiter 80-2 acquires the right to use the multi-bus 30 after latching, the bus arbiter 80-2 supplies the AEN signal to the address/data buffer 80-4, and the address/data buffer 80-4 latches. address information is output to the multi-bus 30. Here, if the DMA controller 80 is in write mode and the multibus 30 has been acquired, the I/O processor 80-1
Data information is output to the data buffer 80-4, and the address/data buffer 80-4 is outputted to the data buffer 80-4.
4 outputs data information to the multi-bus 30 upon receiving the DEN signal from the bus controller 80-3. On the other hand, when DMA controller 80 is in read mode, address/data buffer 80-4 reads data information on multibus 30 and transfers the data information to I/O processor 80-1.
supply to. The I/O processor 80-1 reads data information from the disk memory 90, which is the data transfer destination.
This is done by checking the XACK signal, which is sent to

Next, the operation of the address/data buffer 80-4 connected to the internal bus 80-5 is almost the same as described above, but in this case, when outputting address information to the internal bus 80-5, the bus arbiter 80-4
-2 does not require AEN signal. Furthermore, whether or not to output data information to the internal bus 80-5 is determined by the PDEN signal from the bus controller 80-3.

As the disk memory 90, for example, WDS-10 of Sword Computer is used. disk memory 9
0 has an internal disk controller circuit (not shown), and this circuit is connected to the DMA controller 80.
The synchronizing signal generating circuit 80-7 and the I/O processor 80-1 are connected via the internal bus 80-5 and the data bus 80-140, and via the signal lines 80-142 and 80-143, respectively.
connected to.

The data buses 80-140 transmit command information, result information, data information, and status information, and the former three pieces of information are collectively assigned one address to form a set of information, and the three pieces of information are sequentially transferred to the disk. They are distinguished by the input and output of the controller circuit. Further, one address is individually assigned to the status information. Here, the command information is information that specifies the address and number of bytes on the disk memory 90, and the result information indicates the result of checking for errors during information transfer between the DMA controller 80 and the disk memory 90. It is information.

The signal line 80-142 transmits a command busy (CBUSY) signal and is connected to the synchronization signal generation circuit 8.
0-7 identify the above three information and status information. Note that a set of information consisting of command information, result information, and data information and status information differ in the timing at which the data becomes ready, and also differ in read mode and write mode. The generation circuit 80-7 creates four types of waiting times using the IORC signal transmitted via the signal line 80-112 and the CBUSY signal transmitted via the signal line 80-142, and generates the signal line 80-7. 126 to the clock generator 80-6, and the above-mentioned two sets of information supplied to the I/O processor 80-1 are identified and taken in at the timing of the clock from the clock generator 80-6.

Signal lines 80-143 transmit a data request (DREQ) signal indicating that the disk memory 90 is in a ready state and an external termination (EXT) signal indicating completion of DMA transfer.

The flow of image information during DMA transfer will be explained step by step.

(1) CPU circuit block 10 connects to signal line 80-10
1 to the I/O processor 80-1 to request DMA transfer.

(2) The I/O processor 80-1 connects the signal line 80-
104, address/data buffer block 8
0-4 and signal lines 80-115,
RAM in CPU circuit block 10 (see Figure 5)
to obtain read/write mode information and address information for the DMA. As a result, it is assumed that the read mode is determined.

(3) The I/O processor 80-1 connects the signal line 80-
104, address/buffer block 80-
4. Access the buffer memory 20 via the signal lines 80-115, the bus line 113 and the multi-bus 30.

(4) The 16-bit data read from the buffer memory 20 is sent to the I/O along the signal path opposite to (3).
The data is taken into the processor 80-1.

(5) The I/O processor 80-1 transfers the upper 8 bits and then the lower 8 bits of this 16-bit data to the signal line 80-104, the address/data buffer block 80-4, and the signal line 80-11.
6. Internal bus 80-5 and data bus 80-
140 to the disk memory 90.

(6) Repeat steps (3) to (5) above to the signal line 80-143.
Repeat until the EXT signal appears.

(7) The I/O processor 80-1 connects the signal line 80-
101, bus line 113 and multibus 3
0 to the CPU circuit block 10 to signal the end of the DMA transfer.

(3.4) Multibus Memory Space FIG. 8 is a memory map of the CPU circuit block 10, buffer memory circuit block 20, and DMA controller 80 related to the multibus 30. The multi-bus 30 has a 1 megabyte address space from 00000H to FFFFFH as a memory mapped memory space. Divide this space as shown in Figure 8 and assign addresses FC000H to FFFFFH.
Program memory space of CPU 10-1 of CPU circuit block 10, addresses 10000H to EFFFFH are buffer memory bank space (described later), 06000H to
Address 07FFFH is a program space for communication between the CPU circuit block 10 and the DMA controller 80,
Then, addresses 00000H to 05FFFH are assigned to the work RAM space of the CPU circuit block 10. Here, each address space will be explained.

The program memory space stores a control program for the device of the present invention in the CPU circuit block 10.
This is the memory space of RAM10-3.

The bank space of the buffer memory has a capacity of 896 kilobytes from address 10000H to EFFFFH, but as mentioned above, the storage capacity of the buffer memory circuit block 20 is 1995840 bytes, and it is not possible to store everything in the bank space of the buffer memory. . Therefore, the buffer memory space is divided into three banks, namely, bank 0, bank 1, and bank 2, and the bank switching signal is outputted from the CPU circuit block 10 via the signal line 132 (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 6-2). The banks are switched by the signal and the designated bank is allocated to the memory map as shown in FIG. This division and allocation process will be described in the explanation of FIGS. 9-1 and 9-2.

The communication program space is located in the RAM (32 kilobytes) 10-3 in the CPU circuit block 10.
It uses 8 kilobytes. Also, work
The RAM space used is 24 kilobytes, which is obtained by subtracting 8 kilobytes used for the communication program from the 32 kilobyte RAM 10-3 in the CPU circuit block 10.

Figure 9-1 shows the buffer memory circuit block 20.
2 shows an address map of the buffer memory 22 in the buffer memory 22. This buffer memory 22 is A4 size (297mm
It has the ability to store information decomposed into 16 pixels per 1 mm from a 210 mm (210 mm) original. The reader section 500 main scans the A4 size document in the vertical direction (297 mm direction), and then scans the CCD 570, 580 and 59.
0 is decomposed into 16 pixels per mm, 4752 pixels per scan
The bit pixels are supplied to the image processing control section 100. Further, the reader unit 500 reads the document in the width direction (210
Since the CCDs 570, 580, and 590 also scan in this direction by 16 lines per mm, the document is scanned by 3360 lines in the width direction. Therefore, an A4 size document is 15966720
The image processing controller 100 decomposes the image into bit pixels.
4752-bit pixels are supplied serially 3360 times.

The procedure for assigning addresses to the image information supplied in this way and storing them in the buffer memory 22 will be explained.
First, an A4 size document is divided into square unit blocks of 1 mm x 1 mm, and each block is composed of 62370 blocks. One unit block has 16 lines of 16 bits, or 256 bits of image information.
If 16 bits in the vertical direction are taken as one word and one address is given to one word, one unit block will be composed of a group of pixels having 16 addresses. The 4752-bit serial image information for the first line, that is, the first line of the original to be scanned, is divided into pixel groups of 16 bits each corresponding to 1 mm in the vertical direction of the original and sent to the image processing control unit 100.
The first 16-bit pixel group transferred is at address 00000H of the buffer memory 22, and the next
The 16-bit pixel group is at address 00010H, and so on.
Pixel groups of 16 bits each are sequentially divided into 16 (10H) addresses.
Addresses 00020H, 00030H, etc. are stored like 01280H.

This addressing of each line to the buffer memory 22 is performed by the CPU circuit block 10 setting an initial value in the address counter 21-6. Also, when outputting image information from the buffer memory 22 to the printer unit 600, it is possible to output the image information from the initially set address in the same manner as when storing the image information.
Read every 16 addresses.

Next, the 4752-bit image information for the second line is stored from address 00001H to address 01281H in the same manner as the first line. In this way,
Store 1536 lines (96 mm in the width direction) from the 1st line to the 1536th line from address 00000H to address 6F5FFH, and use this address space as buffer memory 2.
Set it to bank 0 above 2.

Next, from line 1537 to line 3072
Make the 1536 line the same as bank 0 and start from 70000H.
The data is stored up to address DF5FFH, and this address space is designated as bank 1 on the buffer memory 22. Furthermore, 288 lines from line 3073 to line 3360 are stored from address E0000H to address F4E1FH,
This address space is designated as bank 2 on buffer memory 22.

As described above, if you use the method of storing 1 word of image information with 1 address attached, 1 mm x 1 mm
The entire area of an A4-sized document can be stored at consecutive addresses on the buffer memory 22, using the square as a unit block. This allows the operator to use the console unit 200 to change the image processing area to mm.
If you specify the unit, the specified area will be the disk memory 9
When registering as 0, DMA transfer can be performed simply by setting the start address and end address of the specified area, and image information can be transferred at high speed without going through the CPU circuit block 10.

In other words, by specifying a set of the first address and the last address, image information of 16 main scanning lines (1 mm width) is transferred by DMA.
Fewer address settings are required during transfer, and transfer speed can be increased.

Furthermore, storing image information in this manner is more effective when extracting image information for editing, since the addresses are continuous from the right side to the left side of the image to be extracted. For example, the vertical length is 20
When extracting the image information of mm, the address setting by the CPU circuit block 10 only needs to be done 20 times.

Further, since the address corresponds to the position on the document image in mm units, when editing the image, the operator can simply specify the position on the document in mm units, which is convenient. In this example, since CCDs 570, 580, and 590 having a reading capacity of 16 bits per mm were used, it was decided that 16 bits in the vertical direction correspond to one address, but the number of bits corresponding to one address is as follows. The CCD570,580
It goes without saying that other numerical values may be used depending on the capabilities of the 590, and the same effect can be obtained even if the address is set in units other than mm, for example, units of inches.

FIG. 9-2 shows an address map when looking at the buffer memory 22 from the multi-bus 30. In Figure 9-1, the address space from 00000H to 6F5FFH is designated as bank 0, the address space from 70000H to DF5FFH is designated as bank 1, and the address space from E0000H to F4E1FH is designated as bank 2, and these spaces are designated as bank 8.
Addresses 10000H to EEBFEH, 10000H to
Correspond to address EEBFEH and address space from 10000H to 39C3EH. The multi-bus 30 has a 16-bit data bus and a 20-bit address bus, but the area that can be accessed by the multi-bus 30 is 1 megabyte. In other words, ¹⁰⁶ pieces of 8-bit data can be accessed, and when accessing 16-bit data, it will span two addresses, so in this case, as shown in Figure 9-2, 16-bit data will be accessed. Allocate every other consecutive address to the data so that 16-bit data is input/output only when an even address is accessed.

Since the actual address in the buffer memory circuit block 20 is the address shown in FIG. 9-1, when accessing the buffer memory 22 from the multi-bus 30, the address converter in the buffer memory circuit block 20 21
-26, the address in Figure 9-2 is changed to Figure 9-1.
Convert to the address in the diagram. This address converter 2
1-26, the address area of the buffer memory 22 can be set in any address space.

(3.5) Disk Memory FIG. 10-1A shows the physical address structure of the disk memory 90. 91 is a drive, numbered 0, 1,... corresponding to the number of disk devices.
and number it. In this embodiment, one disk device is used.
In other words, only the number 0 drive is used.
The drive 91 has three heads 92, each head 92 having 354 tracks 93, each track 93 consisting of 18 sectors 94, each sector 94 capable of storing 512 bytes of data. Therefore,
The storage capacity of disk memory 90 is approximately 10 megabytes.

In the disk memory 90 having such a configuration, addresses on the disk memory 90 are changed according to a fixed sequence as shown in FIG. 10-1B, and data is accessed continuously.
As shown in this figure, the sequence number SN, head number HN, and track number TN have a relationship determined by the following equation (1).

SN=3×TN+HN (1) (However, HN=0~, TN=0~353) In other words, when a certain sequence number SN is determined,
A track number TN and a head number HN are determined accordingly, and the addresses of the head 92 and track 93 to be accessed next are a sequence number obtained by adding 1 to the previously determined sequence number SN.
These are the head number and track number obtained corresponding to SN+1. Sectors 94 within track 93 are accessed in ascending order of sector number SCTN.

FIG. 10-2 shows an index table provided in a predetermined area within the disk memory 90, and the use status of the disk memory 90 is managed by this index table. In this embodiment, among the sectors 94 with head number HN = 0 and track number TN = 0, sectors with sector numbers SCTN = 0 to 13 are used as the area of the index table. Sector number SCTN = 0 to 8 sectors to disk memory 90
The sector number is assigned to the sector bit map table 94A that shows the usage status of each sector above.
Allocate sectors with SCTN=9 to 13 to the file index table for file management. Sectors with sector numbers SCTN=0 to 3 are stored in the index table in the RAM 10-1 in the CPU circuit block 10.
Program to be loaded into 3 (open program)
As a result, the data is written to the fixed area 6000H to 7BFFH of RAM10-3 and subjected to the specified operation.
Then, the fixed area of the RAM 10-3 is written to the disk memory 90 again by a program (close program) that stores the fixed area in the disk memory 90.

In the sector bit map table, as shown in Figure 10-3, the area 94A is assigned the sequence number SN.
Each block is divided into 1062 4-byte blocks from SN = 0 to SN = 1061 in descending order of SN = 0 to SN = 1061, and each block contains data indicating the usage status of 1 track, that is, 18 sectors. Allocate and store bits. Data indicating the usage status of a sector includes, for example, if a certain sector is in use, the sector bit corresponding to that sector is set to "1",
If it is not used, "0" is stored.

When registering a new data file in the disk memory 90, find an area where the number of consecutive sectors required for registration are empty, and set the sequence number SN and sector number SCTN corresponding to that area.
and stores "1" in the sector bit corresponding to that sector. Conversely, when erasing a data file, "0" is stored in the sector bit indicating the corresponding area. However, the bit corresponding to the index table, that is, block 0, has
"1" is stored in advance and writing to this block 0 is prohibited to prevent data files from being erroneously registered in the index table.

The file index table stores three types of files to be registered in the disk memory 90: image data files (image files);
Manages application files and control programs for this system. Assuming that the image file is file type 0 and the application file is file type 2, the management status of these files using the file index table is shown in Section 10.
- Shown in Figure 4.

File index block FIT1 contains 4 bytes of status A, MAX block, 1 block size, and current B number, respectively.
It is provided when the disk memory 90 is initialized and stores the usage status of the entire file index table. Status A is an area used for system expansion, and is left unused in this embodiment. The MAX block stores data on the total number of files that can be registered in the disk memory 90, and in this embodiment, the total number is 50.
Set to (32H) pieces. One block size indicates the length of indexes of various data related to one file, and in this embodiment, the length is 38 (26H) bytes as described below.
The current B number stores the number of files registered in the disk memory 90, and when registering a new file, it is compared with the number stored in the MAX size, and if the number does not exceed that number, New registration is performed by adding 1, and if the number exceeds the MAX size, no addition is made and new registration is not accepted. On the other hand, if you want to delete one file that has already been registered,
The number stored in the current B number is decremented by 1, and the file is deleted from the disk memory 90.

FIT2 and FIT3 indicate the file index blocks for file type 0 and file type 2, respectively;
Stores 38 bytes of data. FIT2 and FIT
3, RSV is a 2-byte area used for system expansion, and is unused in this embodiment.
The file number can be set arbitrarily by the operator from 1 to 99.
This is a 2-byte area that identifies the file number when it is registered in the disk memory 90 with a number up to. The file type is a 2-byte area into which data of the above-mentioned file type "0" or "2" is written. The bank and address in FIT3 are on the CPU circuit block 10.
Indicates the bank and address of RAM10-3,
These are 2-byte and 4-byte areas, respectively, used when allocating an application file to RAM 10-3. The byte count is a 6-byte area that stores the data length of the registration file.

The sector count is a 2-byte area that stores the number of sectors used for the registration file.
Sequence No., Drive No., Head No., Track No. and Sector No. are 2-byte areas each for storing the sequence number, drive number, head number, track number and sector number at the beginning of the storage area for the registered file. X0, Y0, X1, and Y1 in FIT2 are each 2-byte areas, and in the case of file type "0", the coordinates indicate where on the copy paper the image information of the area to be edited is placed. Store data. X0, Y0, X1 and Y1 are the 10th-5th
As shown in the figure, a document is placed on the document placement section 240, and the point A on the editing area (hatched line) closest to the point O and the point B furthest from the point O are placed on the stylus pen 240.
80, the coordinates of point A
And Y0, the vertical length X1 and the horizontal length Y1 of the editing area are determined, and these values are stored in hexadecimal. For file type 2, X0, Y0, X1 and Y1 of FIT2 as shown in FIT3.
The area corresponding to is an unused area.

A certain image data file is stored in the disk memory 90.
When transferring from to the buffer memory 20, first,
When you specify that file number, the open program will open the index table in RAM10.
-3 and obtains the index block of the specified file number. Next, the X of that block
The address on the buffer memory 22 is calculated from the data stored in 0, Y0, X1, and Y1, and the image information in the disk memory 90 is DMA-transferred into the corresponding area of the buffer memory 22.

Furthermore, when changing the position of the editing area on the copy paper, since X1 and Y1 remain unchanged, X0
and Y0 are used as parameters, and only X0 and Y0 can be changed from the console unit 200 by an image position change command (described later).

A control program for this system is stored in the disk memory 90, its file is of file type 1, and its file index block is configured in the same manner as FIT3.

(3.6) Exchange Figures 11A, B, and C are block diagrams showing the configuration of the circuit including the exchange 40 and the optical fiber interface 70 divided into three parts.
~L12 indicates a signal line or a group of signal lines, and the symbols A, B, and C in parentheses immediately following it indicate those signal lines or signal line groups in each drawing A in FIG. 11 corresponding to those symbols. , B, C indicates connection to the signal line or signal line group.

Here, the signal selector M40-2 includes the optical fiber interface 0 and the reader section 500.
A signal selector P40- is an exchanger that selects various signal groups outputted from and supplies them to the memory controller 21 in the buffer memory 22, and stores the image information from each part in the buffer memory 22.
Reference numeral 6 denotes an exchanger that selects various signal lines output from the buffer memory 20, the optical fiber interface 70, and the reader section 500, supplies them to the printer section 600, and copies the image information from these sections, and a signal selector F40. -7 selects various signal groups output from the buffer memory 20 and the reader section 500, supplies them to the optical fiber interface 70, and supplies the selected signals to the optical fiber interface 70.
This is an exchange that outputs to 00.

41, 42, 43, 45, 46 and 48 are
These are connectors for the CPU circuit block 10, buffer memory 22, I/O interface 56, reader section 500, printer section 600, and DDX interface 60, respectively. Furthermore, here,
The slash "/" in the terminal code of each signal indicates negative logic.

Here, various signals will be explained. SCAN
START is a signal that instructs the reader unit 500 to start scanning, and FULL is the size of the copy image (for example, A3
size and A4 size),
SCAN STANDBY is a scanning standby state signal output by the reader unit 500, VSYNC is a vertical synchronization signal indicating the start of the image signal, VIDEO ENABLE is a signal indicating the effective output period of one line of image signal,
SCAN ENABLE is a signal indicating a valid output period of an image signal for one document, SCAN READY is a scan preparation completion signal of the reader section 500, VIDEO is an image signal, and CLK is a clock signal.

PRINT and REQUEST are copy request signals to the printer unit 600, PRINT START is a command signal to start copying, and STATUS REQUEST is a copy request signal to the printer unit 600.
a signal requesting output of a status of 00;
PRINT READY, PRINT ENABLE and
PRINT END is the printer section 600, respectively.
These are a ready signal, a signal indicating a copy period, and a copy end signal. REQUEST ACK is PRINT
A recognition response signal generated by the printer section 600 in response to the REQUEST signal, an 8-bit signal of STATUS 0 to 7, is a signal indicating the status of the printer section 600. In these signals, R at the end,
Signals marked with P and M indicate that the signals are output from the reader section 500, printer section 600, and buffer memory 20, respectively, or are supplied to each of these sections.

SELECT PF, SELECT PR and SELECT
The PM is connected to the signal selector P40-6 by the CPU circuit block 10 via the I/O interface 56.
This signal is supplied to the signal selector P40.
-6 selects the optical fiber interface 70, the reader section 500, and the buffer memory 22 in accordance with those signals, and similarly,
SELECT FR and SELECT FM are sent to the signal selector F40-7 to select the reader section 500 and buffer memory 2, respectively, according to these signals.
Select 0. Also, SELECT MR and
SELECT MF is signal selector M40-2
This is the signal supplied to signal selector M4.
0-2 select the reader section 500 and buffer memory 22, respectively, in accordance with those signals.

When the image information supplied from the reader section 500 is simultaneously output to the printer section 600 of this system and the printer section of another system on the optical fiber network 700, the CPU circuit block 10
This can be achieved by energizing SELECT PR and SELECT FR. In addition, when outputting the image information stored in the buffer memory 22 to the printer section 600 and the printer section of another system on the optical fiber network 700 simultaneously, select SELECT PM.
All you have to do is energize SELECT FM. others,
The CPU circuit block 10 can arbitrarily designate the source and destination of the image information, thereby setting a plurality of paths for the image information.

Each signal line group related to the connector 48 and the optical fiber interface 70 with the DDX interface 60 will be described later.

(3.7) DDX Interface FIG. 12-1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the DDX interface 60. The DDX interface 60 includes a data/clock interface 60-1 and a control signal interface 60-1.
2 to a data/clock signal line 137 and a control signal line 139. 60-3
and 60-7 are switching devices, and 60-4, 60-5 and 60-6 are line buffers, for example,
When transmitting image information from the device of the present invention, the switch 60-3 operates as a write switch, and the line buffers 60-4, 60-5 and 60-6
Specify sequentially to write image information. Also, at this time, the switch 60-7 operates as a read switch, and while image information is being written to a certain line buffer, it reads image information from a line buffer to which image information has already been written, and reads the image information from the line buffer to which image information has already been written. 60-8 and RL forward/reverse counter 60-9.

The RL←→MH/MR converter 60-10 converts the run length of one line of image information supplied from the RL counter 60-8 into a one-dimensional code (MH code),
Also, by counting the relative position from the reference pixel supplied from the RL forward/reverse counter 60-9, the run length of one line of image information is converted into a two-dimensional code (MR code), and the resulting image data is compressed. and supplies it to the V.35 interface 60-11.
V.35 interface 60-11 is connected to DDX line.
This is an interconnection circuit arranged between the DDX interface 60 and the DDX interface 60.

60-20 is a control circuit, and the image processing section 10
The various control signals supplied through the signal line 139 and the control signal interface 60-2 from
DDX by supplying V.35 interface 60-11
In addition to managing the DDX interface 60
control each part of the

60-21 is a dial pulse generation circuit;
Outputs the image information transfer destination code supplied from the control circuit 60-20 or the dial setting test switch 60-22 to the V.28 interface,
Specify the forwarding destination.

60-24, 60-25, 60-26 and 6
0-27 are DDX interface 6 respectively
0, a completion status indicator for connection with another system, a transmission indicator to another system, and a reception indicator from another system.

Reference numeral 60-30 is an error count check signal line, in which the control circuit 60-20 counts errors that occur during communication between this system and other systems, and when the number of errors reaches a set value during one communication, the control circuit This is a signal line through which the circuit 60-20 generates a signal to disconnect the line and transmits it to the CPU circuit block 10.

60-35 is the power supply circuit of the DDX interface 60, 60-36 is the power switch and 60-3
Reference numeral 7 indicates an indicator light indicating that the power is on.

801 is a line termination equipment (DCE) installed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, and is a DDX interface 60.
It receives the signal from the DDX interface 60 and converts it into a signal suitable for transmission within the network, and also converts the signal transmitted through the network into a DDX interface.
It is sent to the interface 60. In the present invention, a D-232 type home line termination device is used as the DCE 801. A network control unit (NCU) 802 has a function of controlling connection/disconnection of the circuit switching network such as call origination/recovery, and is connected to the DCE 801 . As this NCU802, NCU-2
Type 1 automatic calling and automatic receiving network control equipment is used. DCE801 is connected via connection cable 803.
It is connected to the V.35 interface 60-11 and the V.28 interface 60-23, and
NCU802 connects to V.28 via connection cable 804.
It is connected to the interface 60-23.

With this system, image information is MH encoded and
The method of MR encoding and transmitting it to other systems is based on CCITT's T.4 recommendation, but the following points should be considered when applying the T.4 recommendation to the present invention.

(1) In the device of the present invention, the vertical direction (297 mm direction) of an A4 size document is one line, and the resolution is 16 bits/mm, so the maximum run length, that is, one line is all white or all black. The run length is 4752, which is the maximum expression range of the extended MH code of 2623 (=2560
63).

(2) The device of the present invention performs transmission using a two-dimensional encoding method with parameter K set to infinity. In other words, for an A4 size document, the first line that is transferred to the DDX interface 60 is
After MH encoding, the remaining 3359 lines are MR
encode.

Regarding point (1), the reason why the length direction is set as one line is as follows. In other words, (i) reducing the number of transmission lines to reduce the transmission time; and (ii) reducing the overall moving distance of the sensor in the sub-scanning direction in the reader unit 500, 500 will be made smaller.

Regarding point (2), the reason why the parameter K is set to infinity is to set the parameter K to a small finite value and save the time of repeating MH encoding every K times, and the parameter K is set to infinity. The reason for this is that the image information to be transmitted is already in the CCD driver 5.
This is because the value is binarized by 0 and stored in the buffer memory 22, and the meaning of reducing the reading error by setting the parameter K to a small finite value is lost.

The process of transmitting image information from this system to another system via the DDX line 800 will be described.

First, one line (4752 bits) is transferred from the buffer memory 22 via the signal line 137.
The image information of
6. This image information is transferred to line buffers 60-4, 60-5, or 60-6 at a transfer rate of 1 bit per 0.1 microseconds (μs) in synchronization with a 10 megahertz (MHz) clock signal. That is, the transfer time for one line of image information is 475.2 μs. The image information of the first line transferred first is first supplied to the line buffer 60-4 by the switch 60-3, and when the line buffer 60-4 finishes storing the image information of the first line, the switch 60-3 60-7 opens the gate of the line buffer 60-4, and the line buffer 60
-5 and 60-6 are closed to feed the stored image information to the RL counter 60-8 for which the white and black run lengths are counted and the run length encoded The image information of the first line is converted into MH code by the RL←→MH/MR converter 60-10. While line buffer 60-4 is outputting image information, switch 60-3 closes the gates to line buffers 60-4 and 60-6, opens the gate to line buffer 60-5, and outputs the image information on the second line. The information is supplied to line buffer 60-5. If all the image information of the first line is MH encoded, the image information of the second line is supplied to the RL forward/reverse counter 60-7 by the switch 60-7, and the image information of the second line is supplied to the RL forward/reverse counter 60-7.
Relative pixel change positions from the line are counted and MR
encoded. The image information of the third line transferred to the line buffer 60-6 is also processed in the same way as the second line.
The image information output from -4, 60-5 and 60-6 passes through the RL forward/reverse counter 60-7.
←→Supplied to MH/MR converter 60-10, MR
encoded.

Next, the run-length encoded image information supplied to the RL←→MH/MR converter 60-10 is
Compress by MH encoding or MR encoding.

As mentioned above, in the device of the present invention, the maximum run length is 4752, which exceeds the maximum expression range of 2623 for the expanded MH code, so the MH code is further expanded by the following method.

(1) When run length RL < 2560 Represented by normal MH code. That is, RL<
64 is represented by one terminating code. If 64≦RL<2560, it is represented by one make-up code and one terminating code.

(2) When run length RL≧2560 The make-up code “00000001111” of 2560 is regarded as a special code and handled as shown in (a) and (b) below.

(a) When 2560≦RL≦2623=2560+63 As in case (1), one make-up code (in this case, the make-up code of 2560)
and one terminating code.

(b) When 2623<RL≦4752 After adding one more make-up code as required following the 2560 make-up code,
It is represented by adding one terminating code. That is, in case (2), 2560
There are cases (a) in which a make-up code of 2560 is immediately followed by a terminating code of the same color, and cases (b) in which a make-up code of 2560 is followed by a make-up code of the same color, followed by a terminating code. An example of processing in case (2) is shown below. The underlined numbers are the added make-up codes.

Example: 2560=2560+0 2561=2560+1 2623=2560+63 2624=2560+ 64 +0 4289=2560+ 1728 +1 4752=2560+ 2176 +16 Next, Figure 11 A, B and C, and 12
The meaning of each signal flowing along the signal line interconnecting the image processing unit 10 and the DDX interface 60 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.

FIG. 12-2 is a diagram showing each signal, its name, and the direction (arrow) of the signal between the image processing section 10 and the DDX interface 60. Here, FG and SG are a safety ground line and a signal ground line, respectively. The call request signal (CRQP) is a signal in which the image processing unit 10 requests the DDX interface 60 to connect (make a call) with another system, and this signal is activated when the connecting signal (CND) is activated. It is deactivated at the same time as the connection failure signal (NRYD) is activated, and it is treated as invalid when the connection failure signal (NRYD) is activated. The call signal (CIP) is a signal that the DDX interface 60 indicates to the image processing unit 10 that a call has arrived from another system, and the processing for CND and NRYD is similar to CRQP.

The Dial Number Signal (DLN) is activated at the same time as CRQP is activated, and transfers the 7-digit station number of the other system.

The connection request signal (CNQ) is sent by the image processing unit 10.
This is a signal requesting a DDX line connection to the DDX interface 60, and is activated at the same time as either CRQP or CIP is activated, and is disabled when NRYD is activated. In addition, CNQ is activated while line acquisition is necessary.
If CNQ is defeated, the line will be disconnected.

The non-receivable signal (NRYP) is sent to the image processing unit 10.
is activated when the device cannot become ready to transmit or receive within 6 seconds. NRYD indicates that the line cannot be connected when the DDX line 800 is busy or the not ready switch of the NCU 802 is activated. this
The NRYD line is permanently activated or deactivated, depending on whether the line connection is disabled or enabled, respectively. Also, if CND is not activated even after a certain period of time has passed after CRQP is activated,
The image processing unit 10 determines that connection is impossible.

CND is activated when the communication conditions between this system and the other communication partner system (partner station) are established by activation of CRQP or CIP and activation of CNQ, and the line connection is completed and the main Indicates that the system is ready for communication. CND when CNQ is deactivated or the other station disconnects the line.
will be annihilated. The ready-to-send signal (RDS) and ready-to-receive signal (RDR) are each sent to the image processing unit 10.
indicates that it is possible to send and receive image information for one A4 size document within 6 seconds, and RDS or RDR is activated at the same time as CNQ is activated.

The transmit mode signal (MDS) and receive mode signal (MRR) indicate that the system is set to transmit and receive image information, respectively, and these modes are used by both the calling and called parties. Determined by looking at RDS and RDR. It is also possible to perform reception or transmission immediately after completion of transmission or reception, respectively.

A transfer ready signal (RDT) is activated within 6 seconds after the MDS or MDR is activated, indicating that image information can be transferred in transmit or receive mode.

The transmission data request signal (RQS) is activated and deactivated at regular intervals, and the DDX interface 60 requests the image processing section 10 to transfer one line of image information. When RQS is activated, the image processing unit 10 activates a transmission data valid signal (SVA) and transfers one line of image information (SDT) from the buffer memory 20 to the DDX interface 60. RQS is deactivated upon completion of the transfer. The RQS repetition period is longer than the minimum transmission time. SVA is energized according to RQS and SDT
Indicates that sampling is allowed in synchronization with the transmit clock (SCK), and is deactivated upon completion of SDT transfer. The RVA is energized at regular intervals, requests the DDX interface 60 to receive one line of decompressed image information (RDT) received from another system, and synchronizes the RDT with the reception clock (RCK). Indicates that sampling is permitted. The repetition period of RVA is
It is similar to RQS.

SDT and RDT are binary image information transmitted and received in white and black, respectively, and SCK
and RCK are the SDT and RDT sampling clocks, respectively.

In the device of the present invention, when transmitting between this system and other systems on the DDX line 800,
The transmission direction is determined by comparing RDS and RDR on both the calling side system (calling side station) and the called side system (called side station), as shown in Figure 12-3. This will prevent errors in the transmission direction. That is, in Figure 12-3, as shown by the energized state with ○, the transmission direction with an arrow, and the deactivated state and transmission disabled state with x, only the RDR on the calling side and at least RDS on the called side When the RDR and RDS on the calling side and only the RDS on the called side are activated, the transmission direction is from the called side to the calling side. Also, when only the calling party's RDS and at least the called party's RDR are activated, and when the calling party's RDS and
When at least the RDR and the RDR on the called side are activated, the transmission direction is from the calling side to the called side. Transmission is disabled for combinations of RDS and RDR of both the calling and called stations other than those described above.

FIG. 12-4 shows an example of a procedure for transmitting data between a calling station and a called station. Here, IDS is a transmission capability identification signal, which is a signal that mutually informs the transmission capabilities of the calling and called stations, that is, RDS and RDR. The transmission format is
For example, the 8 bits of "0000RDS RDR10" will be transmitted sequentially from the most significant bit to the least significant bit, and both stations will receive the first
Determine the transmission direction as shown in Figure 2-3.

RDY is a transmission ready signal, and its transmission format is, for example, “00010010”.
It is sent in the same way as in the case of IDS, and indicates that preparations for transmitting and receiving image information for one document in the transmission direction determined by IDS communication are complete.

MH1 is MH encoded image information of the first line, MR2 to MRn+1 (1≦n≦3360) is MR encoded image information of the second to n+1 lines,
MHn is the image information of the nth line encoded by MH,
And MRn+1 to MR3360 are MR encoded image information of the n+1st to 3360th lines,
1 to MR3360 indicates image information for one A4 size document.

RTQ is a retransmission request signal, and if there is an error in one line of received image information, that is, if the called station demodulates the transferred image information, the length of one line is 0 or 4752 bits. If not, this information is not taken into the buffer memory 22 of the called station, and the called station issues a retransmission request to the calling station.

RTC is a transmission end signal, and the calling station transmits a signal obtained by adding 1 to the line end code EOL in the T.4 recommendation by CCITT to indicate completion of transmission of one frame of image information.

The DCN is a line disconnection signal, and its transmission format is, for example, "01000010", which is sent in the same manner as IDS to mutually notify each other of line disconnection.

Immediately after the line connection is established, the calling and called stations begin sending each other a series of IDSs, and continue sending at least 3 consecutive IDSs until they are ready for the transmission mode.
Repeat times. Here, for example, at time A,
If the transmission direction cannot be determined, transmission is impossible (12th
-Refer to Figure 3), both stations are connected to each other.
Send DCN and disconnect the line. When their own stations are ready, both stations send RDY at least three times until both stations are ready, and when both stations have finished preparing and RDY has been sent from both stations, that is, at time B, the station sends RDY. The calling station enters a receiving state without sending control signals toward the calling station, and the calling station enters a transmitting state.

When transmitting image information for one A4-sized document, for example, if a transmission error occurs in the image information of the nth line at time E, the called station will notify the calling station.
An RTQ is sent, and in response to this, the calling station performs MH encoding on the image information of the n-th line, and sequentially MR-encodes and transmits the image information from the (n+1)th line to the 3360th line.

When the transmission of image information is completed in this way, the calling station sends an RTC to the called station, and then both stations send an IDS to each other, and at this time, the transmission conditions are set as shown in Figure 12-3. If the above is satisfied, other image information is subsequently transmitted and received from time point C. Conversely, if the conditions are not met, they mutually send DCN and disconnect the line.

(3.8) Optical fiber toughace Figure 13 shows the optical fiber toughace circuit 70.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration. From the optical fiber network 700 to the optical fiber cable 7
Optical signals (VIDEO signals) carrying commands or image information transmitted via 01 and 702
The clock optical signal (CLK) synchronized with the VIDEO signal is converted into an electrical signal by optical/electrical signal converters (O/E converters) 70-1 and 70-2, and the signal line 70-101 and command/image identification circuit 70-3 via 70-102, and AND gates 70-4, 70-2.
0,70-30 and and gate 70-5,
70-21 and 70-31. The command/image identification circuit 70-3 is a circuit that identifies whether the transmitted signal is a command for specifying the size of a document or image information. If the transmitted VIDEO signal is command information, a command identification code is added to the beginning of the information, and the command/image identification circuit 70-3 extracts that code and identifies it as command information. , and if it is image information,
The CLK signal has a predetermined frequency (for example, 12.5 MHz), and the command/image identification circuit 70-3 identifies it based on the frequency.

As a result, if the transmitted VIDEO signal is identified as command information, the command/image identification circuit 70-3 generates a command recognition (CACK) signal, and during the command reception period, the command/image identification circuit 70-3 generates a command recognition (CACK) signal. , this signal is passed through the signal line 70-103 to AND gates 70-4 and 70-5,
Supplied to the CPU circuit block 10. At this time,
Since the VIDEO signal and the CLK signal have already been input to the AND gates 70-4 and 70-5 via the signal lines 70-101 and 70-102, respectively, the input of the CACK signal causes the AND gate 70-4 to and 70-5 are command registers 70-5 that receive command signals and clock signals.
-10. command reception is completed
When the CACK signal is deasserted, at that point the CPU circuit block 10 is interrupted and the CPU circuit block 10 issues an address to the receive command register 70-10 via signal line 136-1 and address decoder 70-11. Signal (ADR signal)
is supplied to specify the address of the receive command register 70-10, and an I/O read command (I/O RC) signal is supplied to the data buffer 70-12 via the signal line 136-2 to read the data buffer 70. -12 to output mode. Due to this operation, the reception command register 70-1
The command stored in 0 is transferred to the data buffer 70-
12 and data signal line 136-5.
It is read by the CPU circuit block 10.

On the other hand, the command/image identification circuit 70-3 is transmitted from the optical fiber network 700.
When it is determined that the VIDEO signal is image information,
Command/image identification circuit 70-3 generates an image recognition (IACK) signal, which is transmitted to AND gates 70-20 and 70-21 via signal line 70-104 during the period when image information is being received.
Supplied to the CPU circuit block 10. At this time,
ANDGATE 70-20 and 70-21 have
Signal lines 70-101 and 70-10, respectively
Since the VIDEO signal and the CLK signal are supplied via the IACK signal, AND gates 70-20 and 70-21 supply the image information signal and the clock signal to the reproduction circuit 70-25 in response to the input of the IACK signal. The reproduction circuit 70-25 is a CPU
In accordance with the original size designation signal (FULL FO signal) supplied from the circuit block 10, the PRINT START FO signal, which is a startup request signal for the printer section 600 from the transmitted image information, and the VSYNC FO signal, which is a vertical synchronization signal. , VIDEO, which is a signal indicating the effective output period of one line of image signals
ENABLE FO signal, SCAN ENABLE signal, which is a signal indicating the effective output period of image signals for one document, and image signals transferred to this system.
VIDEO FO signal and clock signal CLK
It reproduces the FO signals and outputs those signals to the exchange 40. In addition, if the received image information needs to be sent to another system within the optical fiber network 700, or if the received image information is not addressed to this system, the CPU circuit block 10
decodes the command signal in advance and recognizes it,
A transmission request signal (TRSMTR signal) is supplied to AND gates 70-30 and 70-31 via a signal line 70-110, and a VIDEO signal and a CLK signal are sent from both AND gates to OR gates 70-35 and 70-, respectively. 36, Electrical/optical signal converter (E/O converter) 70-40 and 7
0-41 and is transmitted to other systems via optical fiber cables 703 and 704.

From this system to the optical fiber network 700
When sending data to other systems above, first
Circuit block 10 deactivates the TRSMTR signal, terminating the output from AND gates 70-30 and 70-31. Next, a transmission command register 70-50, a command identification signal generator 70-51 and a transfer clock generator 70-52 are transmitted via a signal line 136-1 and an address decoder 70-11.
to specify its address by supplying an ADR signal to
Further, an I/O write command (I/O
WC) signal to the data buffer 70-1.
2 to input mode. As a result, the command identification signal generated by the command identification signal generator 70-51 is first written into the transmission command register 70-50, and then the command identification signal generated by the command identification signal generator 70-51 is written into the transmission command register 70-50.
Command data is written from 0-12. Once the command data has been written, the transfer clock generator 70-52 generates a number of clock pulses equal to the number by which the transmit command register 70-50 serially transfers the command data to the E/O converter, and Command data and clock pulses are sent to E/O converters 70-40 and 70-41 as VIDEO and CLK signals, respectively.
is output to optical fiber cables 703 and 704.

Next, when transmitting image information, the exchanger 40
PRINT output from signal selector F in
START FI signal, VSYNC FI signal, VIDEO FI
signal and CLK FI signal to the conversion circuit 75-55.
are converted into serial VIDEO and CLK signals by signal lines 70-111 and 70, respectively.
-112, Orgate 70-35 and 70-3
6, and E/O converters 70-40 and 70
-41, and is output to optical fiber cables 703 and 704.

(4) Reader operation section FIG. 14 shows a reader operation section 550, where 551 is an application file number display, which displays the registration number of the application file for editing work registered in the disk memory. do. Reference numeral 552 denotes a copy number display, which is used when copying is performed by the printer unit 600 (hereinafter referred to as local copy), and when image information is transmitted to another system on the optical fiber network 700 and copies are made in that system. Displays the set number of sheets. 553 is the paper size selection key, and by pressing the “PAPER SELECT” key
The A3 size and A4 size are switched, one is selected, and the indicator light on the selected side lights up. 554
is the numeric keypad for setting the number of copies, and 555 is "CLEAR" for clearing the set number of copies and file number.
The key 556 is “STOP” which interrupts the copying operation.
This is the key. 557 and 558 are respectively
This is an indicator light that indicates when image information is being received or transmitted.

561 is a select key group for selecting an off-premises system using the DDX line, 562 is a select key group for selecting an on-premises system on the optical fiber network 700, and among them, 563 is for selecting the printer section 600 of this system. It is a select key. Two indicators are placed under each key,
When a destination for transmission/reception is selected by pressing each key, the lower left indicator of the pressed key lights up, and if an error occurs during transmission/reception, the lower right indicator lights up.

565 is a "COPY" key, which is selected when performing local copy or transmission (hereinafter referred to as copy mode), and 566 is an "EDIT" key, which is selected when performing image editing using the reader unit 500 (hereinafter referred to as copy mode). , edit R mode).
Both keys are provided with indicator lights above them, and at that time, the indicator light on the selected side lights up. 56
7 is the "ENTER" key, which is pressed to set the number of copies during local copying or local transmission. Reference numeral 568 denotes an "EXECUTE" key, which is pressed when starting execution of copy mode or edit R mode.

(5) Printer status display section FIG. 15 shows the printer status display section 650.
Here, 651 is a power status indicator light, which lights up when the printer unit 600 is powered on. 652 is a ready light, and printer section 600
It lights up when the image processing controller 100 can accept image information from the image processing controller 100.

Reference numeral 653 denotes an online select key, which has an indicator light above it, and is pressed when connecting the printer section 600 and the image processing control section 100 online, and the indicator lamp lights up at the same time. A test print key 654 is pressed when checking the printer section 600 to cause the printer section 600 to draw a test pattern.

655 is a document size display and selection section;
In the online state described above, the document size cannot be set in this part. 656-1,65
6-2 and 656-3 are error indicators that display errors in the printer unit 600 that can be removed by the operator, 656-1 is a jam, 656-2 is no toner, and 656-3 is no copy paper. Display. Reference numeral 657 is an error indicator that displays an error in the printer unit 600 that cannot be removed by the operator.

(6) Image editing method Image editing is performed by appropriately performing DMA transfer between the buffer memory 22 and the disk memory 90. In other words, the A4 size read by the reader unit 500
Image information for one size original is stored at a predetermined address in the buffer memory 20, and part of the image information is stored in the disk memory 90 via the DMA controller 80. Therefore, by erasing the buffer memory 22, restoring the image information previously stored in the disk memory 90 to the desired address space of the buffer memory 22, and copying the image data by the printer unit 600, unnecessary parts of the original can be removed. You can obtain a cropped copy of the .

Image editing such as changing the image position and cropping can be done using the command menu section 220 in Figure 3-2.
This is done according to an image processing program created based on commands input from (described later). Such an image processing program can be stored in the disk memory 90, and the stored image processing program is defined as an application file. Further, image information stored in the disk memory 90 is defined as an image file. When registering these files in the disk memory 90,
As described above, a two-digit file number is assigned to the file as the file name, and an instruction is given as to whether or not the file can be deleted.

Figures 16A, B and C show examples of simple image editing. First, the first document L1 shown in FIG.
is read by the reader unit 500 and the image information is stored in the buffer memory 22. Original placement section 240
Then specify point A and point B with the stylus pen 280, extract image information within the range of M1 from the stored image information, and add to that image information M1,
For example, it is registered in the disk memory 90 with a file number "01". Similarly, for the second document L2, as shown in FIG. Register to 90. Next, erase all buffer memory 22,
As shown in FIG. C, by specifying point E and point F, image information in areas M1 and M2 stored in image files with file numbers "01" and "02" is transferred to N1 of buffer memory 22, respectively.
and the address space corresponding to the area N2. In other words, the buffer memory 22 contains A4
The image information for one size original is image information N1.
and N2 are arranged and stored as shown in FIG. 16C.

The contents of the buffer memory 22 are transferred to the printer section 6.
00, copy it, and create the desired edited image L3.
get.

(6.1) Meaning of commands This section explains the editing commands used when editing images. Editing commands are input through the command menu section 220 on the console section 200, as shown in FIG.
performs image editing based on the editing command.
Here, C is the command key group 22 in Figure 3-2.
This is a command in the block, and pressing the desired command key 222 or alpha key group 2
23 can be input to perform image processing corresponding to that command key. P is a parameter and specifies coordinates and the like. The procedure for inputting the parameter P is performed by pressing the command keys, opening the parentheses, inputting the parameter, and then closing the parentheses. Several types of parameters can be entered as needed based on their correspondence with commands, and the "," key is pressed between each parameter to distinguish between them. (CR) is a carriage return, which indicates that the key 225 in FIG. 3-2 is pressed at the end of inputting one editing command. The editing commands executed by the image processing unit 10 and their meanings are listed below. In addition, (CR) immediately after each command
indicates that the carriage return key 225 is added to the end of the command when inputting it.

(1) DZ (Dayther code A, Dayther code B,
0, Y0, X1, Y1) (CR) When binarizing the original image read by the reader unit 500, what kind of dither code A is used to read the entire original image, and is determined by X0, Y0, X1, and Y1. The dither controller 54 is instructed as to what kind of dither code B should be used to read the specified area. The dither codes A and B specify, for example, one of six types, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05. Here, 00 to 04 are inputs for adjusting the image density, which can be adjusted in five levels. Also, when reading photos etc. that specify 05, halftones are expressed. Note that multiple locations can be specified as the specific area.

(2) RE (CR) Start the reader section 500, and
Image information for one A4 size document read by 80 and 590 is stored in buffer memory 22. No parameters are added to this command.

(3) CR (file number, file type, X0,
Y0, X1, Y1) (CR) A space for storing an image file is secured on the disk memory 90, and file information is registered in the file index table (see FIG. 10-4). That is, the parameters include a two-digit file number arbitrarily specified by the operator, the file type "00", and the address positions X0 (mm) and Y of the buffer memory 20.
0 (mm) and image size X1 (mm) and Y1
(mm).

(4) ST (file number, file type) (CR) Stores the image information on the buffer memory 22 into the disk memory 90. This command is CR
(...) is executed based on the file information registered in the index table on the disk memory 90 by the command.

(5) LO (file number, file type) (CR) Changes the memory location written in the index table FIT2 of the image file indicated by the file number input here. In other words, when you enter this command, CPU circuit block 1
0 is a disk memory 90 due to oven treatment.
Search for the corresponding file information from the index table of
Display on CRT300. Since this is an image file operation command, the file type is "00".

(6) ADR (X0, Y0) (CR) Input the change positions X0 and Y0 of the image file specified by the LO (...) command.
Enter this command immediately after the LO(…) command.

(7) CL (CR) Erases the image information stored in the buffer memory 20.

(8) LD (file number, file type “00”)
(CR) Image file in disk memory 90,
Position information X shown in the file index table in the disk memory 90 corresponding to that file
0 and Y0, it is stored in the buffer memory 22.

(9) DE (file number, file type) (CR) Delete the file with the file number and file type input here from the disk memory 90.

(10) PR (number of copies) (CR) The image information stored in the buffer memory 22 is transferred to the printer section 600, and copies are made for the input number of copies.

(11) XR (file number, file type “02”
(CR) Used when the editing station control section 450 reads an application file from the disk memory 90. When the image processing section 10 receives this command, it retrieves the corresponding application file from the disk memory 90 and transfers it to the editing station control section 450.

(12) ED (file number, file type “02”)
(CR) Created by the operator using the console unit 200 and stored in the RAM 4 of the editing station control unit 450.
It is used when registering an image editing program consisting of a group of commands stored in 56 in disk memory 90 as an application file. At this time, the image processing section 10 searches the index table of the disk memory 90, confirms that no application file with the same file number is registered in the disk memory 90, and then sends the image processing section 10 to the editing station control section 450. Outputs a command signal to transfer a group of commands to.

(13) DIR (CR) Transfers the file numbers, file types, and coordinate information of application files and image files registered in the index table of the disk memory 90 to the CRT/console unit controller 470, and transfers them to the CRT/console unit controller 470.
to be displayed.

(14) KL (CR) The image processing section 10 is the editing station control section 4
50 from their control.

In the above commands, file number, area (X0, Y0, X1, Y1), position (X0, Y
0) and the number of prints can be input directly as numerical values or as variables. For example, an application file described below can be created by setting the file number to N, the area to F, the position to P, and the number of prints to S.

(6.1) Error Message If the image processing unit 10 recognizes an error in the process of processing the above commands, the image processing unit 10 supplies the error code and error comment to the editing station control unit 450, and the CRT 300
display on top. FIG. 18 shows its display format, where EN is an error code displayed in hexadecimal and EC is an error comment.

Error codes, error comments, and their contents are listed below.

(1) Error code 01: FILE NOT FOUND The file specified by the operator is not registered in the disk memory 90.

(2) Error code 02: COORDINATE ERROR Coordinate information X0, Y0, X1 input by the operator
And there is an error in Y1. The commands corresponding to this error code are the CR (…) command and
This is an ADR (...) command, and cases where this error code occurs include, for example, when the input coordinate information is a negative number, or when it contains characters other than 0 to 9 and the variable F or P. In addition, there are cases such as the following equation (2), which exceeds the A4 size range that can be edited in this embodiment.

X0+X1>297mm or Y0+Y1>210mm (3) Error code 06: INDEX BLOCK OVER This means that the total number of files registered in the disk memory 90 has exceeded a preset value, that is, 50 in this embodiment. That is,
When trying to register a new file using the CR (…) command or ED (…) command,
This error code indicates that the number of registered files in the disk memory 90 has already reached 50, and new registration cannot be accepted.

(4) Error code: NO VACANT SECTOR Refers to the sector bit map table (see Figure 10-3) that shows the usage status of the disk memory 90, and means that there are no free sectors necessary to register a new file. do. That is,
All disk memory 90 is used and CR
This error code indicates that a new file registration cannot be performed using the (...) command or the ED(...) command.

(5) Error code 08: FILE ALREADY
REGISTERED Indicates that when attempting to newly register a file with a certain file number, a file with the same file number has already been registered in the disk memory 90.

(6) Error code 0A: FILE TYPE ERROR Occurs when you enter the wrong file type for the file you are trying to register. For example, this problem occurs when "02", which indicates the file type of an application file, is used when inputting the CR(...) command that handles an image file.

(7) Error code 0B: VACANT FILE
The result of searching the index table using the INDEX DIR command shows that no files are registered in the disk memory 90.

(8) Error code 0C: PRINTER ERROR Indicates that a mechanical error such as a jam occurred on the printer unit 600 side when the printer unit 600 was started by the PR(...) command.

(9) Error code 0D:ILLEGAL COPY
This indicates that the number of copies specified by the VOLUME PR (...) command exceeds the set number of copies that can be made simultaneously by the printer unit 600, for example, 99 copies.

(10) Error code 0E: READER ERROR Indicates that the reader section 500 is not under the control of the image processing section 10. For example, it indicates that the power source of the reader section 500 is not connected, or that the signal line 501 is not connected.

(11) Error code 0F: PRINTER NOT
READY Indicates that the temperature of the fixing device (not shown) in the printer unit 600 has not reached the specified value.

(12) Error code 10: PRINTER NOT ON
Similar to LINE error code 0E, printer section 60
0 indicates that it is not under the control of the image processing unit 10.

(6.3) Editing procedure Figures 19, 20, 21 and 22-
Editing station 40 using figures 1 to 22-6.
The following shows an image information editing procedure using 0.

When the editing station 400 is activated, first, in step S1, the display division of the screen of the CRT 300 and the initialization of system constants are performed. CRT30
0 is a screen 301 that can display 40 characters horizontally and 24 lines vertically.
has. FIG. 22-1 shows an example of display division of the screen 301, where 310 from the 1st line to the 19th line is a working area, and the image processing unit 1
Characters transferred from 0 to the editing stage 400 are displayed. 320 on the 20th line is a blank area, and no display is made in this area.
The boundaries between the working area 310 and the following areas are made clear to the operator. 330 on the 21st line is a mode display area, which displays in which mode (described later) the operator is using the editing station 400. 340 on the 22nd line is a message area where the editing station control unit 450 displays to the operator the next command and parameters to be input, error codes, etc. 350 on the 23rd line is a user input area, which monitors characters such as file numbers input by the operator.
360 on the 24th line is a status display area, which is an area where the status of the image processing section 10 is displayed and notified to the operator.

As other initialization, when a command is input, the command echoed back from the image processing unit 10 is displayed in the working area 310,
The carriage return code is recognized and the next command sent back from the image processing unit 10 is displayed from the left end of the next line.
If up to the line is displayed, work area 3
10 is scrolled up line by line so that the commands are always contained in the working area 310.

The editing station 400 is the image processing control unit 10
22-1 when not online with 0.
For example, the drawing 301 in the figure may be all blue, and the message area 340 may contain a message "NOT READY.ENTER" that accepts the operator's online request, that is, the "REQUEST" key.
"REQUEST KEY" is displayed, and the "REQUEST" key is input in step S2.

Editing station 400 operates in two main modes: echo mode and edit mode. The echo mode is a mode in which characters input by the operator through the console section 200 are transferred as they are to the image processing section 10, and characters transferred from the image processing section 10 to the editing station 400 are displayed on the CRT 300 as they are. The edit mode is a mode in which an application file is created, modified, and execution commands are given to the image processing section 10. In this mode, characters input by the operator are first temporarily stored in the RAM 456 in the editing station control section 450. , the image is transferred to the image processing section 10 after being arbitrarily modified by the operator on the CRT 300. In addition, in the edit mode, the period during which an application file is received from the disk memory 90 via the image processing section 10 to the editing station control section 450 is particularly referred to as the command mode.

FIG. 21 shows the operation of the editing station control section 450 when a key input is made in each mode. First, the mode is determined in step SA, and if it is determined that the mode is echo mode, the process proceeds to step SB, where the character echoed back from the image processing section 10 is transferred to the working area 31.
0 and moves to step SG to return to the normal routine shown in FIG. 19. If it is determined that the mode is edit mode, proceed to step SC, and this
mode, the working area 310 is in use by the screen editor, so the character is displayed in the user input area 350 and the step SG
to move to. Further, if it is determined that the mode is the command mode, the process advances to step SD, and it is determined whether or not reception of the application file has been completed. Here, if the judgment is positive, move to step SF,
Set the application file reception completion flag and proceed to step SG. On the other hand, if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step SE, where the transferred characters are sequentially stored in the RAM 456, and the process proceeds to step SG.

By instructing the "REQUEST" key, the process advances to step S3, where the editing station 400 is set to the echo mode, and in step S4, an image editing program startup request signal is output to the image processing section 10. Next, in step S5, activation of the image editing program is confirmed, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S4, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the screen of the CRT 300 is made completely black, for example, and "ON-LINE" is displayed in green text in the message area 340 to notify the operator that the request to start the editing program has become valid. Furthermore, "ECHO MODE" is displayed in the mode display area 330 to inform that the editing station 400 operates in the echo mode, and waits for a command input in step S7.

In step S8, the command key input from the console section 200 is judged, and according to the judgment result, steps S10, S15, S20, S25 or
Move to S30.

In the echo mode, since the screen editing function of the CRT 300 does not exist, if there is an input from the key group 229 related to screen editing, it will be processed as an invalid input in step S10, and the process will proceed to step S7 to proceed to the next step. Wait for input. Also, the key for exiting edit mode,
That is, the same processing is performed when the edit reset key and edit end key are input.

When a command character in the key group 222 is input, the process goes through step S15.
Proceeding to S16, the input command is sent to the image processing unit 1.
0, and the system operates according to that command. For example, as shown in Figure 23-2,
When the “RE” key is input, the characters “RE” are displayed on the screen 301, and the carriage return key 22
5, a reader drive signal is supplied to the reader unit 500 to read the original image.

When the coordinate input request key 227, that is, the "position designation" key and the "area designation" key is specified,
Proceeding to step S20, it becomes possible to indicate a desired point on the document placement section 240 with the stylus pen 280. When editing an image by specifying the area to be edited, when the “area specification” key is pressed, a message such as “ENTER TOP” appears in the message area 340.
"RIGHT POSITION" and the left half of the working area 310 is displayed in white so that the operator can
While prompting for instructions on the points (see Figure 10-5),
The left half of the working area 310 is white, and an editing area 315 for image information is displayed.

When the operator indicates point A, a coordinate display line 312 is displayed in green, for example, in the vertical and horizontal directions of point A' corresponding to point A on the image editing area 311, as shown in Figure 22-3. Furthermore, the X and Y coordinates of point A, that is, X0 and Y0, are displayed in mm units in the user input area 350. next,
“ENTER” appears in the message area 330.
"BOTTOM LEFT POSITION" is displayed.
Prompt the operator to input point B. When point B is input, in step S21, the vertical and horizontal lengths X1 and Y1 of the edited image are calculated from the coordinates of point B and point A, and then in step S22, the lengths X1 and Y1 of the edited image are calculated. The editing area specified by the input is
2-4, the corresponding area 313 on the image editing area 311 is displayed in red, for example.
At the same time, the message area 330 displays “OK”.
AREA IS RECOGNIZED” is displayed to inform the operator that the editing area specification has been completed, and X0, Y0, X1 and Y1 are displayed as numerical values in mm in the user input area 350.
Proceeding to S16, these numerical values are transferred to the image processing section 10.

Also, if you want to edit the image by specifying the position,
Indicate the “position specification” key. In this case, only one point is designated, that is, only point A in the case of area designation. Once that point is entered, e.g.
A coordinate display line 312 is displayed in red, and X0 and Y0 are displayed in mm in the user input area 350. When the editing station 400 recognizes the specified position in this way, it displays "OK = POSITION IS RECOGNIZED" in the message area 330 to inform the operator that the coordinates have been validly input, and also sends X0 and X0 to the image processing unit 10. Y
Transfer numerical information of 0.

When you finish specifying the area or position, the step
Returning to S7, the editing station 400 waits for an input from the console unit 200 again, and by inputting a new command, changes the command and the specified coordinates that were displayed before executing area specification or position specification to the 22nd - Working area 3 as shown in Figure 2.
Display on 10. In addition, if the operator instructs another command key after instructing the "area specification" key or "position specification" key and before inputting coordinates, the coordinates for area specification or position specification will be input. The waiting state is released, and the command that was displayed before the instruction of the "area designation" key or the "position designation" key is displayed in the working area 310.

To release the editing station 400 from the control of the image processing section 10 and cancel the online state, input the KL command using the alphanumeric key group 223. At this time, the process advances to step S26 via step S25, where the character information "KL" is output to the image processing section 10, requesting termination of the image editing program, and the process advances to step S27. In this step S27, the editing station control section 45
0 detects that the editing program of the image processing section 10 has not been completed, a negative determination is made, the end input is invalidated, and the process moves to step S7. Further, if an affirmative determination is made in step S27, the online state is canceled and the process moves to step S1.

Key group 228 related to application files
, that is, when an instruction is given using the "Standard Work" key, the "Application File Call" key, and the "Application File Creation" key, the editing station 400 is activated in step S30, as shown in FIG. is set to edit mode.

Here, the "Application File Creation" key is a key for instructing when creating a new application file, and the "Application File Call" key is a key for calling an application file registered in the disk memory 90. This is a key for instructing when making corrections, and the "routine work" key is a key for instructing when editing an image by calling up an application file and sequentially transferring the command string to the image processing unit 10. .

When these keys are input, input determination is made in step S31 for each case of routine work, application file calling, and application file creation. In edit mode, since application files are handled, it is essential to specify the file number. Therefore, in any case, in step S32, the editing station control section 450 changes the screen of the CRT 300 to
For example, set it to blue and write “ENTER FILE NO.AND CARRIAGE” in the message area 340.
"RETURN" is displayed and the operator is requested to enter the file number.Then, "EDIT MODE" is displayed.
display in the mode display area 330 to inform the operator that the editing station 400 is in edit mode, and return the screen of the CRT 300 to black;
For each case, perform the following processing according to the respective processing procedure.

First, the procedure for creating an application file will be described. When the application file number is input in step S32, the editing station control section 450 displays "ENTER MENU" in the message area 340 in step S40, prompting the operator to create an application file. Then, the cursor 302 is blinked in the upper left corner of the working area 310 to indicate command input, and the operator sequentially inputs a desired group of commands to create an editing program. By entering a command and adding a carriage return, the command is transferred to RAM 456 in edit station control 450 and simultaneously displayed in working area 310. In this way, the input command group is
Since it is stored on the RAM 456, by instructing the screen edit key group 229,
Screen editing functions, i.e., erasing the line or character flashing at cursor 302, inserting a new line or character, and
02 movement etc. can be executed. By creating a new line in the editing program, the working area 310
If the number of lines that can be accommodated is exceeded, the working area 310 will be scrolled up and down line by line as in echo mode, and the working area 310 will also be scrolled up and down by moving the cursor 302 up and down. be done.

When creating an application file,
Area designation input processing is executed in the same way as in echo mode, but position designation input processing is performed as follows. The position specification input when creating an application file is the coordinates X0 and Y0 of the ADR (...) command that is input after the LO (...) command.
Since this is related to input, make sure that the LO (...) command is input in advance, and
Search for CR (...) from the command group that has already been input and find the coordinate information X0, Y of the same file number.
Extract 0, X1 and Y1. As a result, if the coordinate information cannot be extracted, the process shown in Figure 22-2 is performed in the same way as in the echo mode. On the other hand, if the coordinate information can be extracted, as shown in Figure 22-5, the working area 31
For example, the right half of 0 is white, and within that plane,
Area 314 defined by X0, Y0, X1 and Y1
For example, A is displayed in green. Then, the left half surface of the working area 310 is made white, and within that surface, an area 314B defined by the coordinates X0' and Y0' newly specified by the LO(...) command and the ADR(...) command is displayed in red. Furthermore, the file number FN of the image file is displayed at the upper right corner of both areas 314A and 314B.

Note that if the new editing area formed by X0', Y0', X1, and Y1 exceeds the editable area, the inputs of X0' and Y0' are invalidated, and a new valid input is awaited. The edited image area displayed by inputting coordinate information is erased by inputting a command, and the command group being created is displayed again.

When the “trace” key is input, the LO (…) command and the CR (…) command with the same file number as that file number are searched from the command group of the program being created, and the 22-6 As shown in the figure, the left side of the CRT300 screen, for example,
As white, coordinate information X0, Y0,
Areas 316A and 31 determined from 1 and Y1
7A is displayed in red, and the file number FN of that image file is also displayed in the upper right corner of that area. On the right side of the screen, for example, set this as blue,
Within that plane, there is an area 316 determined from the changed coordinate position information X0' and Y0' and X1 and Y1.
B and 317B are displayed in green. Further, a rightward arrow 318 is displayed in the center of the screen to indicate movement of the image.

When the image file movement display is complete, the message area 340 displays “END OF
"TRACE MODE" is displayed to notify the operator of the end of tracing.Then, when the operator points to an arbitrary point on the console section 200, the command group of the application file being created is displayed again.

In other words, it is possible to visually understand where the image information is moved depending on the application file that is currently being traced.

When creating an application file, as mentioned above, the image file number, edit image area (X0, Y0, X1, Y1), edit image change position (X0', Y0'), and number of prints are specified numerically. , you can create programs using them as variables and add flexibility to image editing. For example, the following command group can be configured as an application file that performs trimming using variables.

(1) RE (CR) The reader unit 500 reads the original and stores it in the buffer memory 22. (2) CR (N, 0, F) (CR) The file number N.
Secure space to store the image file of area F (X0, Y0, X1, Y1) (3) ST (N, 0) (CR) (2) Store the image file of area F (X0, Y0,
Register as file number N (4) LO (N, 0) (CR) Change position of image file with file number N (5) ADR (P) (CR) Set change position to P (X0', Y0') (6) CL (CR) Erase the buffer memory 22 (7) LD (N, 0) (CR) Store the image file with file number N in the buffer memory 22 (8) DE (N, 0) (CR) Delete the image file with file number N Delete image file (9) PR(S)(CR) Copy S copies of the image information stored in the buffer memory 22.

That is, an application file is created with the file number N, the edited image area F, the image position P, and the number of copies S.

In this way, when the operator creates an application program and the creation is completed, the operator inputs the editing end key in step S34. At this time, the process advances to step S35, and the editing station control unit 450 displays "STORE THIS COMMAND FILE?" in the message area 340, and determines whether or not to register the application program stored in the RAM 456 in the disk memory 90 as a file. Check. When the operator denies this message and inputs the "N" key, a negative determination is made in step S36, and the editing station 450 exits the edit mode.
The screen 301 is erased and the process moves to step S37 to return to the echo mode.

On the other hand, when the operator inputs the "Y" key to request file registration, an affirmative determination is made in step S36, and the process advances to step S38, where the file number set by the operator in advance in step S32 is The editing station control unit 450 is an ED
(...) Sends a command to the image processing unit 10 and obtains permission to transfer the application file. If a file with the same file number as that file number is not registered on the disk memory 90, a negative determination is made in step S39 and the process advances to step S40, in which the image processing section 10 sends a message to the editing station control section 450. Allow file registration,
File transfer is executed.

When the file registration is completed, the process moves to step S37 and returns to the echo mode. If a signal indicating that a file with the same file number as the created file has already been registered is transferred from the image processing unit 10 to the editing station control unit 450, an affirmative determination is made in step S39. is completed, proceed to step S41, and proceed to message area 3.
40, for example, “FILE ALREADY
REGISTERED.DELETE OLD? ” is displayed.
The operator is asked whether or not to erase the file with the corresponding file number in the disk memory 90.

If the operator agrees, the process proceeds to step S42, where the editing station control section 450 sends a DE(...) command to the image processing section 10, and then returns to step S38. If the operator denies it, the process advances to step S43, and the editing station control unit 45
0 is “ENTER FILE” in the message area 340.
NO.AND CARRIAGE RETURN” is displayed.
Prompt the operator to enter a new file number. When the operator enters a new file number, the step
Move to S38.

Note that if the response of the image processing unit 10 to the ED command is other than error code “08”, the editing station control unit 450 determines that it is impossible to transfer the application file, erases the screen 301, and shifts to echo mode. At the same time, a corresponding error code is displayed in the message area 340.

Next, the processing procedure when the application file call key is instructed will be described. step
When the file number is input in S32, the editing station 400 is set to command mode, and the editing station control section 450 outputs an XR (...) command to the image processing section 10 in accordance with the input file number. Therefore, in step S46, the image processing unit 10 calls the corresponding application file from the disk memory 90, and stores it in the RAM 456.
Transfer to. When the editing station control unit 450 completes receiving the application file, it resets to the edit mode in step S47, and then proceeds to step S33 to erase lines and characters using the same procedure as in creating the application file. , insert, etc., to modify the application file. Note that if an error code is sent from the image processing unit 10, the editing station control unit 450 erases the screen of the CRT 300 and returns to echo mode, and also displays the message area 340 and status display area 360 respectively. To display an error code, an error message corresponding to the error code, and a status.

Next, the procedure for routine business input processing will be described. When the operator points to the "routine work" key and enters the file number of the desired application file,
The editing station control unit 450 stores the specified file in the RAM 456 (step
S32, S45-S47). Then, in step S48, the editing station control unit 450 searches the command group stored in the RAM 456 from the beginning to find variables N, F, P, and S. At step S49,
If those variables are not found as a result of the search, the process moves to step S53, and the command group of the application file is transferred one by one to the image processing section 10. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a variable, the process advances to step S50. In step S50, when the editing station control unit 450 first discovers the variable N, it displays a comment in the message area 340 of the CRT 300 asking for the input of the file number, and then replaces the variable N with the numerical value input by the operator. . Next, when the variable F is found, it is displayed in the message area 340 so as to specify an image area, and the variable F is replaced with the values X0, Y0, X1, and Y1 input by the operator. Next, when we discover the variable P,
The message area 340 is displayed to specify the image position, and the variable P is set to the value X0′ input by the operator,
Y0′, and its positional input is
If it is related to a combination of CR (...) and LO (...) commands, the process shown in Figure 22-5 is performed, and if it is related to only LO (...) commands,
The process shown in Figure 22-2 is performed. Further, when the variable S is found, the message area 340 displays a message to input the desired number of sheets, and the variable S is replaced with the numerical value input by the operator.

In this way, when the operator replaces all variables in the command group with numerical values, the process advances to step S51.
The editing station control unit 450 performs tracing processing as shown in Figure 22-6 to display the editing form on the working area 310, and then steps
In S52, "OK?" is displayed in the message area 340 to confirm with the operator whether the image editing format is as desired. If the operator, for example, “N”
If you specify the key and deny the confirmation,
The editing station control section 450 erases the screen of the CRT 300 and moves to step S37. On the other hand, if the operator affirms this by instructing the "Y" key, for example, the process moves to step S53, where the editing station control section 450 saves the screen as it is and sequentially sends the command string to the image processing section 10. and execute the specified program.

The image processing unit 10 echoes the transmitted command character back to the editing station control unit 450, and the editing station control unit 450 displays the command in the status display area 360 so that the operator can recognize the status of this system. let When the image processing section 10 finishes executing the series of commands, the editing station control section 450 proceeds to step S37, ends the routine work, and returns to the echo mode. If an error occurs in the process of command execution by the image processing unit 10, the editing station control unit 450 interrupts sending the command, erases the screen of the CRT 300, displays an error code in the message area 340, and echoes the command. Move to mode.

In addition, in the processing in the above-mentioned edit mode, that is, in the processing of command file creation, command file calling, and routine work, if the operator instructs the edit reset key during the input processing in step S33 or step S50, the The screen of the CRT 300 is erased, and the process moves to step S37 to return to the echo mode. Also, if there is an end input, a KL command is output to the image processing unit 10,
The online state between the image processing unit 10 and the editing station 400 is canceled, and the process moves to step S2.

(7) Editing and transmission using the reader operation unit In this system, the reader operation unit 5 shown in FIG.
50 can be used not only to read original images, but also to perform copying, internal and external communication, and image editing using application files. As described above, the reader section 500 operates in the copy mode and the edit R mode. The following describes the procedure by which the operator selects one of these modes and performs copying, internal/external communication, and image editing.

(A) Copy mode (1) Press the “COPY” key 565.

(2) The sheet number display 552 displays “01” and blinks.

(3) Press any key from the off-campus select key group, the on-premise select key group, or the “LOCAL” key.

(4) Using the number of copies setting keys, set the number of copies for the destination selected in (3).
The number of sheets set at this time is displayed on the sheet number display 550. However, when off-premises communication is selected, the number of sheets that can be set is one, and in that case, "01" is displayed on the sheet number display 552.

(5) Press the “ENTER” key. By pressing this button, the destination and the set number of sheets are input to the image processing control unit 100.

(6) If you want to simultaneously send to other systems in addition to the destination selected in (3), repeat steps (3), (4), and (5).

(7) Specify the document size as A3 or A4 by pressing the “PAPER SELECT” key 553. However, if an off-premises destination is included, it is limited to A4 size only.

(8) By pressing the “EXECUTE” key, the device starts copying and transmitting operations. In local transmission, if a different number of copies is set for each destination, the reader unit 500 scans the original image the maximum number of times.

(B) Edit R mode (1) Press the “EDIT” key 566.

(2) Application file number display 55
1 flashes.

(3) Press the numeric keypad 554 and input the application file number. At this time, the input file number is displayed on the display 551.

(4) Press the “EXECUTE” key 568.

(5) The image processing unit 10 selects the application file corresponding to the application file number instructed by the reader operation unit 550.
The image is transferred from the disk memory 90 to the RAM 10-3, and image editing is performed by sequentially executing commands according to the contents.

Note that if the application file instructed by the reader operation unit 550 is not registered in the disk memory 90, the display 551 simply repeats blinking. Therefore, it is sufficient to press the "CLEAR" key 555 and check the registration status of the disk memory 90 using the "DIR" key on the console section 200.

As explained above, according to the image processing apparatus of this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) A reader unit that reads original images, an image processing control unit that controls image processing and stores processed images, an editing station that edits image information, and this system and other systems on the optical fiber network. This system and the optical fiber interface that communicates image information with each other.
Since the image processing apparatus of the present invention is composed of a DDX interface that performs mutual communication of image information with other systems on the DDX line network, and a printer unit that copies image information, it is possible to read image information and edit images. processing of image information such as, short-range communication of image information using optical fiber network,
Long-distance communication of image information and copying of image information using a DDX line can be performed easily, quickly, and at low cost.

(2) The image processing control unit is provided with a buffer memory to temporarily store image information, and is also provided with a switching device to transfer image information within the device of the present invention and from other systems to this system via an optical fiber cable. Switch the flow of image information that comes
Since one or more buffer memory, optical fiber interface, and printer section can be selected and transferred to each section, reading of image information, short-range communication, and copying can be processed in parallel, and image processing Time can be shortened.

(3) Image information transferred from other systems on the DDX line network via the DDX line network and DDX interface is stored in the buffer memory. The same effect as (2) can be obtained.

(4) When communicating image information between this system and other systems via the DDX line network, images of a specified size of document will be sent between this system and other systems within a specified time. A signal RDS indicating that information can be sent and a signal RDR indicating that information can be received are sent to each other, and both systems communicate with the RDS of both systems.
Since the transmission direction of image information is determined based on a certain combination with RDR, it is possible to prevent errors in the transmission direction and shorten the transmission time of image information using a DDX line (5) DDX The interface encodes the image information for one line in the vertical direction of the original image as a run length, and then
When data compressing a line's worth of image information using a two-dimensional encoding method, if the run length of one line's worth of image information exceeds 2623, the make-up code corresponding to the run length of 2560 is After adding one make-up code corresponding to the required run length length, data compression is performed by adding one terminating code, so that data can be transferred when communicating using a DDX line. The total number of lines in the original image can be reduced, and
Since data can be compressed efficiently, transmission time can be shortened.

(6) When communicating image information between this system and another system via the DDX line network, the image processing control unit sends a signal CRQP to the DDX interface requesting connection to the other system.
and a signal CNQ requesting capture of the DDX line,
A signal NRYP indicating that the image processing control unit cannot be in a state where it can transmit or receive image information within a predetermined time, and a signal indicating that it can be in a state where it can transmit or receive image information within a predetermined time. RDS and RDR, 1
A signal RQS indicating that a line's worth of image information is being supplied to the DDX interface during the valid period and image information SDT are transferred. In addition, the DDX interface sends to the image processing control unit a signal CIP indicating that a call has arrived from another system, and a signal NRYD indicating that the DDX line cannot be connected.
A signal GND indicating that the DDX line connection has been completed and communication is possible, a signal MDS indicating that the DDX interface is in a mode where it can send image information to other systems, and receiving image information from other systems. A signal MDR indicates that the mode is enabled, a signal RQS requests the transfer of one line of image information, and a signal RQS requests the reception of one line of demodulated image information received by the DDX interface from another system. Signal RVA and
Image information received and demodulated from other systems is transferred. These signal groups enable reliable communication of image information between this system and other systems.

(7) When communicating image information via a DDX line, once the relationship between this system and another system is determined between the calling system and the called system, both systems can communicate with each other. When the transmission conditions are met, both systems send a transmission ready signal to each other, and
The calling system starts transmitting image information line by line, and the called system starts transmitting image information line by line.
Transmission errors are monitored for each line. When the called system discovers a transmission error, it requests the calling system to retransmit the image information after the line where the transmission error occurred.
In response to the request, the calling system performs data compression using a two-dimensional encoding method that one-dimensionally encodes the line in which the transmission error occurred, and then two-dimensionally encodes the following line. Resume transmission. That is, image information can be transmitted reliably, and even if a transmission error occurs, the error can be quickly removed.

(8) Optical fiber interface converts optical signals transmitted serially from other systems on the optical fiber network into electrical signals, and reproduces image recording commands and image information from the signals to create images. The commands and image information related to image recording for other systems, which are supplied to the processing control unit and transferred from the image processing control unit, are converted into optical signals and output to the optical fiber network. In a system that performs image processing, image information can be recorded without requiring any operations, and image processing can be performed at high speed.

(9) The image processing section (CPU circuit block) sends a status request to the printer section,
The printer section notifies the image processing section of the printer's status in response to the status request, the image processing section sends a recording preparation command in response to the status, and the printer section responds to the command by notifying the image processing section of the printer section's status. Since the information is recorded, it is possible to record the image directly from the image processing information forming unit while recognizing the state of the printer section, thereby making it possible to record the image effectively.

(10) The image processing control section is equipped with a disk memory that can store image files, application files, and control programs for the image processing control section.
It is possible to easily store, edit, etc. a large amount of image information.

(11) The image processing control section sends a scan start command to the reader section, and the reader section scans the document image in response to the command, and supplies image information to the image processing control section. The reading of the original image can be directly commanded from the image processing information forming unit side, thereby making it possible to read the image efficiently.

(12) The reader section is equipped with a reader operation section, and the application file stored in the disk memory can be activated from the reader operation section.
Routine tasks such as image editing can be easily performed on the reader section side as well.

(13) Image information can be sent from the reader operation unit to multiple other systems on the optical fiber network and DDX line by specifying the destination, and in particular, it is possible to send image information to other systems on the optical fiber network. In this case, since the number of copies can be specified for each destination, image information can be transmitted easily and quickly.

(14) The editing station is equipped with a command menu section through which the operator inputs a group of commands for image editing, and a digitizer through which the operator inputs the coordinates of the image to be edited, making it easy to input information for image editing. It can be carried out.

(15) The editing station is equipped with a display means such as a CRT, and information for image editing and messages generated from the image processing control section are displayed on the screen of the CRT, so that the operator can You can proceed with your work while interacting, you can easily edit images and create application files for image editing, and even if there is an error in input information, you can quickly deal with it. can be done efficiently.

(16) A command to start the reader unit is provided in the command menu section of the editing station, and by inputting that command, the reader unit can read the document image.
When it is necessary to cause the reader unit to perform a reading operation during image editing work, such an operation can be performed simply by operating the command menu section, thereby simplifying the image editing work.

(17) The command menu section has a command that allows you to select a dither pattern, so you can make such a selection just by operating the command menu section.
Therefore, the same effect as the above item (16) can be obtained.

(18) In the command menu section, we have provided commands for specifying the areas to be shaded and the areas to be dithered in the image when reading the original image.
The image processing ability can be greatly improved and the work can be done easily.

(19) The command menu section includes a command to start the printer section, and inputting that command allows the printer section to perform image recording operations, so it is possible to have the printer section perform recording operations during image editing work. In cases where execution is necessary, the same effect as in the above item (16) can be obtained.

(20) The command menu section includes a command to input the file number as the file name of the image file, a command to register the image file with the file name in the disk memory,
Since a command for temporarily storing the registered image file in the buffer memory is provided, image editing can be performed easily, reliably, and quickly.

(21) Since the area on the digitizer and the address of the buffer memory are made to correspond, image editing can be easily performed without errors.

(22) When editing images and creating editing programs, the following information appears on the CRT display screen.
Since what the operator will do next is displayed, even an operator with no experience in image editing can understand the operating procedure and can edit images easily and quickly.

(23) When editing images, etc., if the image editing area specified by the editing station exceeds the editable area of the device, a warning will be displayed on the CRT screen, so image editing can be done reliably. I can do it.

(24) When editing an image, an identification number is attached to each specified editing area, and the area is displayed as a frame on the CRT screen, and the identification number is displayed within the frame. Therefore, the operator can visually confirm the editing area, and therefore can easily and reliably perform image editing.

(25) Since the execution form of the editing program can be traced on the CRT screen, the execution form can be visually confirmed, and therefore not only the operator who created the editing program but also other operators can see the image. Editing can be done easily and reliably.

(26) When creating the editing program, the number of records, editing area, etc. can be entered as variables, making the system more flexible and making image editing easier. can be done.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, when an editing mode that requires positional input is selected as an editing process, guidance is displayed sequentially for inputting positional information, so even an inexperienced user can easily operate it. This allows for reliable position specification.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an image processing apparatus of the present invention and a block diagram schematically showing the apparatus of the present invention, respectively. 3-1
Figures 3-2 and 3-3 are, respectively,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an editing station in the apparatus of the present invention, a layout diagram showing an example of key arrangement in a command menu section of a console section, and a block diagram showing an example of an editing station control section. FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention, centering on the image processing control section 100. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image processing section (CPU circuit block), Figure 6-1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the buffer memory circuit block, and Figure 6-2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the buffer memory circuit block. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a memory controller that performs a DMA controller. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a multi-bus memory map.
FIG. 9-1 is a diagram showing an example of an address map of a buffer memory, and FIG. 9-2 is a diagram showing an example of an address map when viewing the buffer memory from a multi-bus. Figure 10-1A is a diagram showing an example of the physical address configuration of the disk memory, and Figure 10-1B is an explanatory diagram illustrating the sequence when changing the address of the disk memory and accessing data continuously. , Figure 10-2 is a diagram showing an example of an index table, Figure 10-3 is a diagram showing an example of an index table.
10-4 are diagrams showing examples of a sector bit map table and a file index table, respectively, and FIG. 10-5 is an explanatory diagram when specifying an area on an image to be edited.
FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C are block diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a circuit including an exchange and an optical fiber interface divided into three parts. Figure 12-1 is
A block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the DDX interface, FIG. 12-2 is a diagram explaining the direction of signal transmission between the image processing section and the DDX interface,
Figure 12-3 shows the relationship between this system and other systems.
A diagram showing the signal transmission direction when performing DDX communication,
FIG. 12-4 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for transmitting signals during DDX communication. 13th
The figure is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an optical fiber interface. FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are layout diagrams showing examples of key layouts of the reader operating section and printer status display section, respectively. 16A, B, and C are explanatory diagrams showing an example of simple image editing, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a command input format, and FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an error display format. . FIGS. 19, 20, and 21 are flowcharts showing examples of image editing, etc., and FIGS. 22-1 to 22-6 are diagrams showing examples of display division of a CRT screen. 1... Image processing information formation unit, 100...
...Image processing control section, 10...Image processing section (CPU
circuit block), 10-1...CPU, 10-2...
...ROM, 10-3...RAM, 10-4...Dual port controller, 10-5...Interrupt controller, 10-6...Timer, 10-7...
...Communication interface, 10-9...Baud rate generator, 10-10...Peripheral device interface, 10-11...Driver terminator, 10-12...Multibus interface,
20... Buffer memory circuit block, 21...
Memory controller, 21-1, 21-2...shift register for data writing, 21-3...data bus driver, 21-4...write timing generator, 21-5...OR gate, 21-6...
Address counter, 21-7... Address bus driver, 21-8... OR gate, 21-9...
Control bus driver, 21-21, 21-
22...Shift register for data reading, 21-
23...Terminator interface, 21-2
4... Read timing generator, 21-26...
Address converter, 21-27...Control bus driver, 21-41...Bidirectional data bus driver, 21-42...Address bus buffer, 21-45...Decoder, 21-46...Command control circuit , 21-50... Command control circuit, 21-55... Refresh control circuit, 21
-101,21-102,21-103,21-
104, 21-105, 21-121, 21-1
22, 21-123, 21-124, 21-12
5, 21-126, 21-131, 21-13
1', 21-132, 21-132', 21-13
3, 21-145, 21-146, 21-14
7, 21-154, 21-156...Signal line, 2
2... Buffer Memory, 23... Terminator,
24...Internal bus, 24-1...Data bus, 2
4...2...address bus, 24...3...control bus, 30...multibus, 40...exchange, 40...2...signal selector M, 40-6
... Signal selector P, 40-7 ... Signal selector F, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 4
8...Connector, L1, L2, L3, L4, L
5, L6, L7, L8, L9, L10, L11,
L12...Signal line group, 50...CCD driver,
52...Shift memory, 54...Dither controller, 56...I/O interface, 58...
Operation unit interface, 60...DDX interface, 60-1...data/clock interface, 60-2...control signal interface,
60-3, 60-7...Switcher, 60-4, 60
-5, 60-6... line buffer, 60-8...
...RL counter, 60-9...RL forward/reverse counter, 60-10...RL←→MH/MR converter, 6
0-11...V.35 interface, 60-20
... Control circuit, 60-21 ... Dial pulse generator, 60-22 ... Dial setting switch, 6
0-23...V.28 interface, 60-24,
60-25, 60-26, 0-27, 60-37
... Indicator light, 60-35 ... Power supply circuit, 60-3
6... Power switch, 70... Optical fiber interface, 70-1, 70-2... Optical/electrical signal converter, 70-3... Command/image identification circuit,
70-4, 70-5, 70-20, 70-21,
70-30, 70-31...and gate, 70
-10...Reception command register, 70-11...
...Address decoder, 70-12...Data buffer, 70-25...Reproduction circuit, 70-35,7
0-36...Or Gate, 70-40, 70-4
1... Electric/optical signal converter, 70-50... Transmission command register, 70-51... Command identification signal generator, 70-52... Transfer clock generator, 70-55... Conversion circuit, 70- 101,7
0-102, 70-103, 70-104, 70
-110, 70-111, 70-112...Signal line, 80...DMA controller, 80-1...
I/O processor, 80-2... bus arbiter,
80-3...Bus controller, 80-4...Address/data buffer block, 80-5...
Internal bus, 80-6...Clock generator,
80-7...Synchronization signal generation circuit, 80-8...
ROM, 80-10...address decoder, 80
-101,80-102,80-103,80-
104,80-105,80-107,80-1
10, 80-111, 80-112, 80-11
3,80-115,80-116,80-12
0,80-122,80-123,80-12
5, 80-126, 80-130, 80-13
1,80-135,80-140,80-14
1, 80-142, 80-143...Signal line, 9
0...Disk memory, 91...Drive, 92
...head, 93...track, 94...sector, FIT1, FIT2, FIT3...file index table, 111, 112, 113, 11
4,115...bus line, 121,122,1
23, 124, 125, 126, 127, 12
8,129,130,131,132,133,
134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 13
9,144,145,146,149,150,
151, 152...signal line, 400...editing station, 200...console section, 220...
Command menu section, 221... Start request and termination request key group, 222... Editing command key group, 223... Alphabet key group, 224...
...Numeric keypad, 225...Carriage return key, 226...Key group for parameter input, 227
. . . Coordinate input request key group, 228 . . . Keys input when creating an editing program, etc., 229 .
CRT, 301...Screen, 310...Working area, 311...Image editing area, 312...Coordinate display line, 313, 314A, 314B, 316
A, 316B, 317A, 317B...Area, 3
18...Arrow, 320...Blank area, 33
0...Mode display area, 340...Message area, 350...User input area, 360...
...display area, 450...editing station control unit, 420...RS232C interface, 470
...CRT/console controller, 451
...Clock generator, 452...CPU,
453...Data buffer, 454...Address buffer, 455...ROM, 456...RAM,
457...Bus line, 458...Peripheral device control circuit, 459...Basic I/O control circuit, 460...
...Video signal generator, 500...Reader section, 51
0...Optical system scanning motor driver, 520...Position detection sensor, 560...Motor unit, 57
0,580,590...CCD, 550...Reader operation unit, 551...Application file number display, 552...Number of sheets display, 553...
Paper size select key, 554...Numeric keypad, 5
55..."CLEAR" key, 556..."STOP"
Key, 557, 558... Indicator light, 561, 56
2,563...Select key group, 565...
"COPY" key, 566... "EDIT" key, 5
67..."ENTER" key, 568...
"EXECUTE" key, 600...Printer section, 6
10... Printer sequence controller circuit block, 615... Printer drive and sensor unit, 620... Laser driver, 625...
Laser unit, 630... Polygon motor unit, 635... Scanner driver, 640...
Beam detector, 650...Printer status display section, 651...Power status indicator light, 652...Ready indicator light, 653...Online select key,
654...Test print key, 655...Document size display and selection section, 656-1, 656-
2,656-3,657...Error indicator, 70
0... Optical fiber network, 701... Optical fiber for image information reception, 702... Optical fiber for clock signal reception, 703... Optical fiber for image information transmission, 704... Optical fiber for clock signal transmission, 800... ...DDX line, 801... Line termination equipment (DCE), 802... Network control unit (NCU),
803, 804... Connection cable.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image input means for inputting image information; a position information input means for inputting position information related to image editing processing; and an image editing means for editing the image information input by the image input means. a setting means for setting an image editing mode of the image editing means; a determining means for determining whether the editing mode set by the setting means is a mode that requires position information input; display means for displaying guidance on the procedure for inputting positional information by the positional information inputting means according to the positional information inputting means; An image processing apparatus comprising: a control means for causing an image editing means to execute the processing.