JP2000165631A - Image input / output device, image input / output method, and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] Even if it is detected that further image data cannot be stored in a memory such as a hard disk, the image data already stored is efficiently used without wasting. Make image processing possible. SOLUTION: In a device for storing input image data on a hard disk 6 and outputting the stored image data, when it is detected that further storage of image data on the hard disk 6 is disabled, the image data is output. A first mode in which both the input of the image data and the output of the image data are stopped, and the input of the image data is stopped and the image data is stored in the hard disk 6 before it is detected that further storage of the image data in the hard disk 6 is disabled. The input and output of image data are controlled in one of the second modes for outputting the output image data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image input / output device for inputting / outputting various image data via a storage medium, an image input / output method, and an image processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the digitalization of copiers in recent years, facsimile transmission / reception using scanners and printers of copiers, and PDL (Pag
A multifunction machine having a plurality of functions, such as developing and printing out eDescription Language data, has been put to practical use. Such a multifunction machine is configured to be operable not only with a single function such as a copier function, a facsimile function, and a PDL print function, but also with a plurality of functions such as facsimile transmission of a PDL expanded image. In addition, the MFP can be connected to LAN
By connecting to various devices such as a computer device via the MFP, the computer device or the like is configured to be able to use the functions of the multifunction peripheral.

In such a multifunction peripheral, a control program for a printer part is shared between the copier function, the PDL print function, the facsimile print function, and the like, and the copier function, the facsimile read function, the scanner function, and the like are used. By sharing the control program of the reader portion, the capacity of the control program for realizing various functions can be reduced, and desired functions can be realized economically and simply.

Further, such a multi-function device is provided with a large-capacity hard disk for storing image data, and an image read from a scanner, a PDL expanded image, a facsimile received document, and the like are input to the hard disk and stored in the hard disk. By repeatedly outputting the processed image / document to a printer or the like, efficient image processing can be performed.

[0005]

However, in a conventional multifunction machine having a large-capacity hard disk for storing image data, the storage of image data on the hard disk progresses, and the free space of the memory becomes small. If it becomes impossible to store further image data at this point, all running jobs are stopped at this point, and the image data stored on the hard disk is temporarily discarded until the maximum storage capacity is reached. After waiting for an area to be created, it was necessary to start again from the input of image data.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has an input means for inputting image data from at least one image input unit, and stores the image data input by the input means. Storage means for performing, output means for outputting the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output unit, and detection means for detecting that storage of further image data in the storage means has become impossible ,
Control means for controlling the input and output of image data in accordance with the detection output of the detection means, wherein the control means detects that the storage means has become unable to store further image data by the detection means The first mode in which the input of the image data by the input unit and the output of the image data by the output unit are both stopped, and the input of the image data by the input unit is stopped, and the detection unit stores the image data in the storage unit. In one of the second modes, wherein the image data stored in the storage means is output by the output means before it is detected that further storage of the image data has become impossible, the input and output of image data And an image input / output device for controlling the image input / output.

According to the present invention, there is provided an input unit for inputting image data from at least one image input unit, a storage unit for storing the image data input by the input unit,
Output means for outputting the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output unit; detection means for detecting that further storage of image data in the storage means has become impossible; and input of image data. And control means for controlling image processing in which a unit of output is one unit in parallel, wherein the control means detects that the storage means has become unable to store further image data by the detection means. In this case, the input of the image data by the input means and the output of the image data by the output means, which stop the output of the image data, constitute one unit of the image processing designated from among the plurality of units of the image processing controlled in parallel. An input / output device is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, image data is input from at least one image input unit, the input image data is stored in a storage unit, and the image data stored in the storage unit is output to at least one image output unit. An image input / output method of an image input / output device for outputting to a storage means, wherein a step of detecting that storage of further image data in the storage means has become impossible; and a step of detecting further image data in the storage means in the detection step. When it is detected that the storage of the image data has become impossible, the first mode in which the input of the image data and the output of the image data are both stopped, and the input of the image data is stopped, and further in the detection step, the data is further stored in the storage means. Any one of the modes in the second mode for outputting the image data stored in the storage means before it is detected that the image data cannot be stored. In de, it is to provide an image output method and a step of controlling the input and output of the image data.

Further, according to the present invention, image data is input from at least one image input unit, the input image data is stored in a storage unit, and the image data stored in the storage unit is output to at least one image output unit. An image input / output method of an image input / output device for outputting to an image input / output device, wherein a step of detecting that further storage of image data has become impossible in the storage means, and an image in which input and output of image data are defined as one unit. A step of controlling the processing in parallel for a plurality of units, and, if it is detected in the detecting step that the storage of the further image data has become impossible, the image processing of the plurality of units being controlled in parallel And stopping the input of image data and the output of image data constituting one unit of image processing instructed by the image input / output unit.

The present invention also provides an image processing system for storing image data input from at least one image input means in a storage means and outputting the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output means. And detecting means for detecting that further image data cannot be stored in the storage means, and control means for controlling input and output of image data according to a detection output of the detecting means, The control unit is configured to input image data from the image input unit and to output image data to the image output unit when the detection unit detects that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled. A first mode in which output is both stopped, and a step in which input of image data from the image input unit is stopped and further image data is stored in the storage unit by the detection unit. The input and output of image data are controlled in any one of the second modes in which the image data stored in the storage unit is output to the image output unit before it is detected that data storage has become impossible. To provide an image processing system.

Further, the present invention is an image processing system for storing image data input from at least one image input means in a storage means, and outputting the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output means. A detecting unit that detects that further storage of the image data in the storage unit has become impossible; and a control unit that controls a plurality of units of image processing in which input and output of the image data as one unit are performed in parallel. The control unit has an instruction from among a plurality of units of image processing that are controlled in parallel when the detection unit detects that further storage of image data in the storage unit is disabled. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system which stops input of image data and output of image data constituting one unit of image processing.

The above and other objects and effects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image input / output control device to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a reader unit 1 photoelectrically reads an image of a document by a CCD image sensor or the like and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to an image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 is, for example, a laser beam printer, and records an image corresponding to image data from the image input / output control unit 3 on recording paper. The image input / output control unit 3 is connected to the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2, and includes a facsimile unit 4, a storage unit 5, a computer interface unit 7, a RIP (Raster Image Process).
Ssor) unit 8, operation unit 9, core unit 10, and the like.

The facsimile unit 4 decompresses the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the decompressed image data to the core unit 10, and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10. The compressed image data is transmitted via a telephone line. Image data to be transmitted and received can be temporarily stored in a hard disk 6 connected to the storage unit 5.

A hard disk 6 is connected to the storage unit 5. The storage unit 5 compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and stores the compressed image data together with an ID number for searching for the image data.
The storage unit 5 searches compressed image data stored in the hard disk 6 based on the code data transferred via the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses the image data, and decompresses the decompressed image data. Core data 1
Transfer to 0. The hard disk 6 has a storage capacity of, for example, 2 gigabytes and depends on the content of the image.
Approximately 1000 pages of 4 size images can be stored.

Further, the storage unit 5 determines whether or not the hard disk 6 is connected and whether or not the hard disk 6 has failed, by writing a command / response via the hard disk interface, and writing / reading predetermined data.
It is detected by performing collation.

The computer interface unit 7 includes a personal computer or a workstation (PC / PC).
This is an interface between the WS / WS 11 and the core unit 10, and may be connected to the PC / WS 11 via a one-to-one local interface or via a network.

The RIP unit 8 develops code data (PDL) representing an image transferred from the PC / WS 11 into image data that can be recorded by the printer unit 2.

The operation unit 9 has a touch panel display and hard keys, and performs operation instructions and operation settings to the image input / output control device through a user interface.

The details of the core section 10 will be described later.
The core unit 10 controls the flow of data among the reader unit 1, printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, storage unit 5, computer interface unit 7, RIP unit 8, and operation unit 9.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2. The document feeder 101 of the reader unit 1 feeds a plurality of documents set at a predetermined mounting position by the user onto the platen glass 102 one by one in order from the first page, and after the document reading operation is completed, Glass 102
The upper document is discharged to a predetermined discharge place. When the original is conveyed onto platen glass 102, lamp 10
3 is turned on, and the movement of the scanner unit 104 is started, and the original is exposed and scanned. The reflected light from the original at this time is guided to a CCD image sensor (hereinafter referred to as a CCD) 109 by mirrors 105, 106, 107 and a lens 108. Thus, the scanned image of the document is photoelectrically converted by the CCD 109 and read. The image data output from the CCD 109 is A / D
After performing predetermined processing such as conversion, shading correction, and desired editing processing, the image is transferred to the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3.

The laser driver 221 of the printer unit 2 drives the laser light emitting unit 201, and emits a laser beam corresponding to the image data output from the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 to the laser light emitting unit 201. Let it. The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 202, and a latent image corresponding to the laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 202. A developer is attached to the latent image portion of the photosensitive drum 202 by a developing device 203.

Further, at a timing synchronized with the start of the laser beam irradiation, a recording sheet is fed from one of the cassettes 204 and 205 and conveyed to the transfer section 206 to record the developer adhered to the photosensitive drum 202. Transfer to paper.
The recording paper on which the developer is loaded is conveyed to the fixing unit 207, and the developer is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the fixing unit 207. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208.
The finisher 220 bundles a plurality of discharged recording papers to sort them, and performs stapling processing on the sorted recording papers. When double-sided printing is set, the recording sheet on which single-sided printing is performed is conveyed to the discharge roller 208, the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208 is reversed, and the recording paper is guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 by the flapper 209. . The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 is supplied to the transfer unit 206 at the above-described timing, and an image is recorded on the other surface.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the core unit 10.

The image data from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 122. The data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing, and compresses and decompresses image data, and has a page memory 125 capable of storing image data equivalent to A4 / Letter size for four pages. Having.
The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 is temporarily stored in the page memory 125,
The data is compressed and transferred to the storage unit 5 via the interface 120.

The computer interface unit 7
Data (PDL) representing an image input through
Is the data processing unit 12 via the interface 120
1 is transferred to the RIP unit 8 and expanded into image data. The image data is transferred to the data processing unit 121, temporarily stored in the page memory 125, and then compressed and stored in the storage unit. 5 is transferred.

The image data from the facsimile unit 4 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, and then transferred to the page memory 125.
After that, it is compressed and transferred to the storage unit 5.

The image data from the storage unit 5 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, decompressed and temporarily stored in the page memory 125, and then transferred to the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, computer interface unit. 7 is transferred.

After inputting various image data to the data processing unit 121 and temporarily storing the image data in the page memory 125, before transferring the image data to the storage unit 5,
The transfer to the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, and computer interface unit 7 can also be executed by switching the internal selector.

The CPU 123 controls the above various operations in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 124 and a control command transferred from the operation unit 9. Also,
The memory 124 is also used as a work area of the CPU 123.

As described above, the reading of the original image, the printing of the image, the transmission and reception of the image, the storage of the image, the input and output of data from the computer are performed through the data processing unit 121 and the storage unit 5 with the core unit 10 as a center. It is possible to perform processing combining functions such as the above.

Next, in the image input / output control device according to the present embodiment, an example of job control executed by the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 when the hard disk 6 is operating normally will be described with reference to FIG. It will be described using FIG. FIG. 4 logically shows a unit of job control.

The unit of job control is a series of input and output processing for a set of image data including a plurality of pages. Jobs controlled by this are roughly classified into image input jobs and image output jobs.

An image input job 411 for sequentially recording image data read by the reader unit 1 in the storage unit 5, an image input job 412 for sequentially recording image data developed in the RIP unit 8 in the storage unit 5, An image input job 413 for sequentially recording image data received by the facsimile unit 4-1 in the storage unit 5, and an image input job 414 for sequentially recording image data input from the computer interface unit 7-1 in the storage unit 5.
It is further classified into

The image output job is sent to the storage unit 5.
An image output job 401 for sequentially outputting the image data read from the printer unit 2 to the printer unit 2, an image output job 403 for sequentially outputting the image data read from the storage unit 5 to the facsimile unit 4-2, and an image data read from the storage unit 5 Sequential computer interface unit 7-2
The job is classified into an image output job 404 to be output to the printer.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a unit (hereinafter referred to as a session) obtained by combining a plurality of jobs.

Reference numeral 501 denotes a PDL print session, which controls the combination of the image input job 412 and the image output job 401 as a session. 50
Reference numeral 2 denotes a copy session, which controls the combination of the image input job 411 and the image output job 401 as a session. A facsimile transmission session 503 includes an image input job 411 and an image output job 4
03 is controlled as a session. A facsimile reception session 504 controls the combination of the image input job 413 and the image output job 401 as a session. Reference numeral 505 denotes a scan session, which controls the combination of the image input job 411 and the image output job 404 as a session.

A session is a control unit including one or more jobs. In addition to the one shown in FIG. 5, for example, the image input job 412 is treated as one session, and the image output job 401 is treated as one session. Alternatively, the three jobs of the image input job 412, the image output job 401, and the image output job 403 may be combined and treated as one session.

FIG. 6 shows image data as session control tasks and job control tasks executed by the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 of the image input / output control device when the hard disk 6 is operating normally in this embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a session control procedure including an image input job for sequentially recording the image data in the storage unit 5 and an image output job for sequentially printing out the image data recorded in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2.
Note that (S601) to (S630) in the figure indicate each step, and the session control task (a), the image input job control task (b), and the image output job control task (c) each perform a multitask operation. It is.

Referring to FIG. 6, as a first example of session control and job control of the image input / output control device according to the present embodiment, the PDL print session 501 shown in FIG. The control procedure of the output job 401 will be described.

First, in the step (S601) of the session control tester (a), the user makes print settings on the PC / WS11. The print setting contents include the number of pages, the number of copies, the original size, the paper size, the enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, layout, page output order, sort mode, and whether or not stapling is performed. Here, it is assumed that the following print settings are made as an example.

Number of pages: 20 pages (P1) Number of copies: 10 copies (P2) Single-sided printing: Yes (P3) Document size: A4 (P4) Paper size: A4 (P5) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 100 % ... (P6) Layout: Not ... (P7) Page output order: Ascending order ... (P8) Sort mode: Yes ... (P9) Staple stop: Yes ... (P10)

After the print setting described above, the user operates the PC / W
A print instruction is given in S11. PC / WS1 with it
1 converts the document data to be printed into so-called PDL data by the driver software installed thereon, and sets the set print setting parameters (P1) to
Along with (P10), the image data is transferred to the computer interface unit 7 of the image input / output control device via the computer interface connected to the PC / WS11.

The PDL data representing the image input via the computer interface unit 7 is stored in the data processing unit 1.
After the transfer, the transferred PDL data is sequentially developed (rasterized) into image data in the RIP unit 8. When the RIP unit 8 starts receiving PDL data, a processing request is issued from the RIP unit 8 to the core unit 10. In the core unit 10, the issued processing request is
PU123 accepts. Here, the print setting parameters (P1) to (P10) set by the user are
3 is transferred.

In step (S602), the core unit 10 divides one unit of image processing function according to the processing request issued from the RIP unit 8 into at least one image input job or image output job, and internally A session constituted by the image input job or the image output job is generated and managed. FIG. 7 shows the session management table 7
00 is shown. In the session generation, a session management table 700 shown in FIG. 7 is created on the memory 124, and various information is held until the session ends.

The session ID field 701 is for generating and holding a unique session ID in the image input / output control device. The session type field 702 specifies the type of the generated session (PDL print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.).
The fact that this is an L print session is recorded. The session priority field 703 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the session. The session status field 704 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the session according to the execution state. The link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and image output jobs that make up the session. In this embodiment, the number of link job fields 705 and the number of image input jobs 412 that make up the PDL print session 501 are as shown in FIG. Since the image output job 401 includes two jobs, “2” is set as the number of components. First
The job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 412. Also, the second job pointer field 707 is
This is a pointer to the job management table 730 of the image output job 401. This job pointer field is prepared for the number of jobs constituting the session. Job management tables are also created for the number of jobs constituting a session.

In step (S603), a job management table 710 for the image input job 412 shown in FIG. 7 is created in the memory 124, and various information is held until the job is completed.

The job ID field 711 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output control device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment, the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 is sequentially recorded in the storage unit 5. The image input job 412 is recorded. The job priority field 713 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job. The job status field 714 holds the execution status of the job (executable status, execution status, interrupt status, end status, error status, etc.) according to the execution status. The page number field 715 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 716 is a pointer to a page management table 720 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The page management table 720 is recorded on the hard disk 6.

The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job. In this embodiment, the setting contents of the print setting parameters (P1) to (P10) set in step (S601) are held. You.

The session control task (a) activates the image input job control task (b) after creating the job management table 710 for the image input job described above.

In step (S604), a job management table 730 for the image output job 401 shown in FIG. 7 is created in the memory 124, and various information is held until the job is completed.

The job ID field 731 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output control device. The job type field 732 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment, the image data recorded in the storage unit 5 is sequentially printed on the printer unit 2. It is recorded that the image output job 401 is out. Job priority field 7
Reference numeral 33 holds a priority order regarding the processing order of the job. Job status field 734
Indicates the execution status of the job (executable status, execution status,
Interrupted state, end state, error state, etc.) according to the execution state. The number of pages field 735 is
This holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 736 is a pointer to a page management table 740 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The substance of the page management table 740 is the same as the page management table 720 recorded on the hard disk 6 for the image input job 412.

The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In this embodiment, the number of pages, the number of copies, the paper size, the enlargement / reduction ratio, the one-sided / two-sided, set in step (S601). The parameters (P1) to (P10) relating to the page output order, sort output, and the presence / absence of stapling are stored.

The session control task (a) activates the image output job control task (c) after creating the job management table 730 for the above image output job.

In step (S605), processing of the generated image input job 412 is started. That is, from the session control task (a) to the image input job control task (b)
To start the job.

In step (S606), processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. That is, from the session control task (a) to the image output job control task (c)
To start the job.

In step (S607), a job end notification is received from the image input job control task (b), and the image input job end processing is performed. That is, the job status 714 of the job management table 710 of the image input job is set to the end state.

In step (S608), a job end notification is received from the image output job control task (c), and the image output job end processing is performed. That is, the job status 734 of the job management table 730 of the image output job is set to the end state.

In step (S609), session termination processing is performed. That is, the job management tables 710 and 730 of the image input job and the image output job and the image data for each page of the page management tables 720 and 740 are discarded to release the resources, and the session management table 700 is also discarded to release the resources. Release and end a series of processing.

Next, the image input job control task (b) in the PDL print session 501 will be described.

In step (S611), the image input job control task (b) receives a job start instruction from the session control task (a), and no other image input job is being executed. If the input job can be accepted, the designated job is started.

In step (S612), one page of image data expanded by the RIP unit 8 is received. That is,
Image transfer from the RIP unit 8 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 is performed.

In step (S 613), the image data transferred to the data processing section 121 is temporarily stored in the page memory 125.

In step (S614), a page output request is transmitted to the image output job control task (c). When reading of the image data of the page from the page memory 125 is completed in the image output job management task (c) described later, the process proceeds to step (S615).

In step (S615), the image data temporarily stored in the page memory 125 is recorded on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. At this time, various image attribute information (resolution, number of pixels, etc.) is recorded in the page 1 field 721 of the page management table 720. Here, it is assumed that the image data is correctly recorded on the hard disk 6. The operation when the storage capacity used for recording during the recording of the image data reaches the maximum storable capacity of the hard disk 6 will be described later.

In step (S616), it is determined whether or not all pages developed by the RIP unit 8 to be processed have been recorded on the hard disk 6 as image data.
If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step (S612), and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step (S617).

In step (S617), an end notification of the image input job is transmitted to the session control task (a).
The image input job control task (b) ends. As a result, the job status 714 of the job management table 710 of the image input job becomes an end state.

Next, the image output job control task (c) in the PDL print session will be described.

In step (S621), the image output job control task (c) receives an instruction to start this job from the session control task (a), and if the printer unit 2 is not being used by another job, If the print operation is possible, the designated job is started.

In step (S622), an output request for image data temporarily stored in page memory 125 is received from image input job control task (b).

In step (S623), reading of image data from page memory 125 is started.

In step (S624), the printer unit 2
After acquiring the right to use the image data of the read page,
The image is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface 122, and the printer unit 2 forms an image as described above and prints out.

In step (S625), it is determined whether the page output request from the image input job control task (b) is the last page. As a result of the individual determination, if there is a page that has not been processed, the process returns to step (S622). If all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step (S626). By the processing so far, the first one copy out of the ten copies set in (P1) is completed. At this stage, a stapling process may be performed on the print output as needed.

In step (S626), the image data for each page recorded in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in step (S615) of the image input job control task (b) is sequentially read out, and the data is processed through the interface 120. The image is transferred to the unit 121. The data processing unit 121 stores the transferred image data for one page in the page memory 125.

In step (S627), the printer unit 2
, The image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 and held in the page memory 125 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface 122, and the printer unit 2 forms an image and prints out.

In step (S628), it is determined whether all the image data for each page recorded on the hard disk 6 has been printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step (S626). If all pages have been processed, a stapling instruction has been given, and The set 2 staples one sheet of paper, and the process proceeds to step (S629).

In the step (S629), the step (S
It is determined whether all of the print copies set in 601) have been printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are unprocessed copies remaining, the process returns to step (S626), image data is read from the hard disk 6, stored in the page memory 125, and printed out by the printer unit 2. Execute If all copies have been processed, the process proceeds to step (S63).
Proceed to 0).

In step (S630), an end notification of the image output job is transmitted to session control task (a).
The image output job control task (c) ends. As a result, the job status 734 of the job management table 730 of the image output job becomes an end state.

Further, in the above example, the PC / WS 11 switches the P / P in accordance with the print settings set on the PC / WS 11.
The PDL print session 501 shown in FIG. 5 in which image information is transferred as DL data and the PDL data is expanded into image data and printed out by the image input / output control device has been described. Can be similarly applied to the case of the copy session 502 in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, a second example of session control and job control of the image input / output control device when the hard disk 6 is operating normally in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Session 502
And an image input job 41 for sequentially recording image data read by the reader unit 1 constituting the storage unit 5 in the storage unit 5
1, and an image output job 4 for sequentially printing out image data recorded in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2
01 will be described.

First, in step (S601), the user performs various settings for a copy operation on the operation unit 9 of the image input / output control unit 3.

FIG. 8 shows the appearance of the operation unit 9. Where 80
1 is a power key, 802 is a preheating key, 803 is a copy function selection key, 804 is a facsimile function selection key, 805
Is a personal box function selection key, 806 is a start key, 807 is a stop key, 808 is a reset key,
809 is an operation guide key, 810 is a user mode setting key, 811 is an interrupt copy key, 812 is a ten key, 8
13 is a clear key, 814 is a facsimile one-touch key, 815 is a one-touch key switching lid, and 816 is a touch panel. The various setting contents for the copy operation include the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, sort output, and whether or not stapling is performed.
2 and the user inputs according to the setting items displayed on the touch panel 816. Here, it is assumed that the following copy settings are made as an example.

Number of copies: 10 copies (C1) One-sided copy: Yes (C2) Paper size: A4 (C3) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 100% (C4) Layout: No (C5) Sort mode: Yes ... (C6) Staple stop: Yes ... (C7)

After the above copy settings, the user places the original on the reader unit 1 and presses the start key 806 to give a copy instruction. The operation unit 9 transfers the set copy setting parameters (C1) to (C7) to the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 and issues a processing request.

At step (S602), the core unit 10 divides one unit of image processing function according to the processing request issued from the operation unit 9 into at least one image input job or image output job, and internally A session constituted by an image input job or an image output job is generated, managed by the above-described session management table 700 in FIG. 7, and various information is held until the session ends.

The session ID field 701 generates and holds a unique session ID in the image input / output control device. The session type field 702 specifies the type of the generated session (PDL print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.), and in this embodiment, records that it is a copy session. Keep it. The session priority field 703 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the session. The session status field 704 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the session according to the execution state. The link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, the number of link jobs is the image input job 411 and the image output job 401 as the copy session 502 shown in FIG. Therefore, “2” is set as the number of components.
The first job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 411. Also, a second job pointer field 707
Is the job management table 730 of the image output job 401
Is a pointer to

In step (S603), a job management table 710 for the image input job 411 is created on the memory 124, and various information is retained until the job is completed.

The job ID field 711 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output control device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the image input job and the image output job described above). In this embodiment, the image data read by the reader unit 1 is sequentially recorded in the storage unit 5. The image input job 411 is recorded. The job priority field 713 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job. The job status field 714 holds the execution status of the job (executable status, execution status, interrupt status, end status, error status, etc.) according to the execution status. The page number field 715 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 716 is a pointer to a page management table 720 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The page management table 720 is recorded on the hard disk 6.

The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job. In this embodiment, the setting contents of the copy setting parameters (C1) to (C7) set in step (S601) are held. You.

The session control task (a) activates the image input job control task (b) after creating the job management table 710 for the image input job.

In step (S604), a job management table 730 for the image output job 401 is created on the memory 124, and various information is held until the job is completed.

The job ID field 731 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output control device. The job type field 732 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment, the image data recorded in the storage unit 5 is sequentially printed on the printer unit 2. It is recorded that the image output job 401 is out. Job priority field 7
Reference numeral 33 holds a priority order regarding the processing order of the job. Job status field 734
Indicates the execution status of the job (executable status, execution status,
Interrupted state, end state, error state, etc.) according to the execution state. The number of pages field 735 is
This holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 736 is a pointer to a page management table 740 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The actual state of the page management table 740 is the same as the page management table 720 recorded on the hard disk 6 for the image input job 411.

The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In this embodiment, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, single side / double side, and sort output set in step (S601). , Parameters related to the presence or absence of stapling (C
1) to (C7) are held.

The session control task (a) activates the image output job control task (c) after creating the job management table 730 for the image output job.

In step (S605), processing of the generated image input job 411 is started. That is, from the session control task (a) to the image input job control task (b)
To start the job.

In step (S606), processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. That is, from the session control task (a) to the image output job control task (c)
To start the job.

In step (S607), a job end notification is received from the image input job control task (b), and the image input job end processing is performed. That is, the job status 714 of the job management table 710 of the image input job is set to the end state.

In step (S608), a job end notification is received from the image output job control task (c), and the image output job end processing is performed. That is, the job status 734 of the job management table 730 of the image output job is set to the end state.

In step (S609), session termination processing is performed. That is, the job management tables 710 and 730 for the image input job and the image output job and the image data for each page in the page management tables 720 and 740 are discarded to release the resources, and the session management table 700 is also discarded to release the resources. Release and end a series of processing.

The image input job control task (b) in the copy session 502 will be described.

In step (S611), the image input job control task (b) receives a job start instruction from the session control task (a), and the reader unit 1 is not used by another image input job. If the new image input job can be accepted, the designated job is started.

In step (S612), one page of image data read by reader unit 1 is received. That is, image transfer from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 is performed.

In step (S613), the image data transferred to the data processing section 121 is temporarily stored in the page memory 125.

In the step (S614), a page output request is transmitted to the image output job control task (c). When reading of the image data of the page from the page memory 125 is completed in the image output job control task (c), the process proceeds to step (S615).

In step (S615), the image data temporarily stored in the page memory 125 is recorded on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. At this time, various image attribute information (resolution, number of pixels, etc.) is recorded in the page 1 field 721 of the page management table 720. Here, it is assumed that the image data is correctly recorded on the hard disk 6. The operation when the storage capacity used for recording during the recording of the image data reaches the maximum storable capacity of the hard disk 6 will be described later.

In step (S616), it is determined whether all pages to be processed and read by the reader unit 1 have been recorded on the hard disk 6 as image data.
If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step (S612), and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step (S617).

In step (S617), an end notification of the image input job is transmitted to the session control task (a).
The image input job control task (b) ends. As a result, the job status 714 of the job management table 710 of the image input job becomes an end state.

The processing after the step (S621) of the image output job control task (c) in the copy session 502 is completely the same as that in the case of the PDL print session 501 described above, and therefore the description is omitted.

In the above example, the embodiment relating to the PDL print session 501 and the copy session 502 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 5, an example of an extended session is shown in FIG. Even if arbitrary sessions are configured in combination, the control procedure shown in the present embodiment can be similarly applied to those sessions.

The PDL print session 501 and copy session 502 described above can be processed simultaneously in parallel by providing a plurality of session management tables 700 shown in FIG.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, steps (S6
15) A method of securing a disk capacity and a used area when recording image data on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 will be described.

Generally, the FAT (File Alloc) shown in FIG.
Table 900) is used. 901
Indicates a FAT entry. One of the FAT entries 901 corresponds to a predetermined logical block. For example, if the logical block per FAT is 512 bytes, the total disk capacity is (number of FAT entries) × (512) bytes.

In the FAT entry 901, the use state and link relation of the FAT entry are written.
“0” indicates an unused FAT, and a value other than “0” is written in the FAT being used, and the number of the next FAT entry is written when continuous FATs are used.
Also, 0xFF is written in the last FAT entry of the link.

In FIG. 9B, reference numeral 902 denotes FAT9
This is a conceptual representation of the use state of the hard disk 6 indicated by 00. 903 is a plurality of logical blocks,
This shows a storage area which is the actual state of the FAT900. The shaded portions in the figure represent logical blocks representing the currently used area.

As a result, the use status of the storage area in the hard disk 6 can be known, and the step (S6) in FIG.
When image data is recorded on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in 15), a usable storage area and the area can be secured.

FIG. 10 shows an operation when no storage area can be secured (disk full) when recording image data on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in the step (S615) in FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing after occurrence. Note that (S100 in the figure)
1) to (S1010) represent each step.

The processing after the occurrence of a disk full will be described below with reference to FIG. In step (S1101), by checking the session management table 700, the image input / output session including the active image input job is interrupted, the session status field 704 of the image input / output session including the active image input job and the image Data indicating the suspended state is written in the job status field 714 of the input job management table 710.

In step (S1002), it is checked whether or not a plurality of image input / output sessions including the image input job exist simultaneously. If there are a plurality of image input / output sessions, the process proceeds to step (S1003). If there is one image input / output session, the process proceeds to step (S103).
Go to 04).

In step (S1003), which of the plurality of image input / output sessions interrupted in step (S1001) is to be canceled (canceled) is selected in accordance with the operator's instruction.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a selection screen displayed on the touch panel 816 when the hard disk becomes full. Reference numeral 1100 denotes a selection screen, and 1102 denotes the remaining memory capacity of the hard disk 6, which is the current disk full, that is
"0"%. 1103, 1104, 11
Reference numerals 05 and 1106 denote active image input / output sessions, 1103 and 1104 are PDL print sessions 501, and 1105 and 1106 are copy sessions 502, respectively. Reference numeral 1107 denotes a stop key, and 1108 denotes an up-down key. By operating the up / down key 1108, the operator highlights and instructs a plurality of image input / output sessions to be canceled out of the displayed image input / output sessions.
Operate. Thereby, an arbitrary one of the plurality of image input / output sessions is selected as the one to be stopped.

In step (S1004), it is determined whether or not to output the image data recorded on the hard disk 6 before the occurrence of the disk full with respect to the image input / output session to be canceled specified in step (s1103). Select FIG. 12 shows an example of a selection screen displayed on the touch panel 816. 1200 is a selection screen, 1201 is a “Yes” key for selecting to output image data, and 1202 is a “No” key for selecting not to output image data. "Yes" key 120
When 1 is pressed, the process proceeds to step (S1005),
If the “No” key 1202 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step (S1006).

In step (S1006), the image output job for outputting the image data recorded on the hard disk 6 before the occurrence of the disk full is stopped, and the flow advances to step (S1008).

In step (S1005), the image input job for the selected image input / output session is terminated, and the image output job is restarted for the image data recorded on the hard disk 6 before the hard disk full condition occurs. Then, the process proceeds to step (S1007).

In step (S1007), it is determined whether or not the image output job restarted in step (S1006) has ended. If the processing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step (S1007). If the processing has been completed, a process for ending the image input / output session is performed, and the process proceeds to step (S1008).

In the step (S1008), the session management table 700 is checked to determine whether there is another image input / output session interrupted by the hard disk full. If there is another interrupted image input / output session, the process proceeds to step (S1009). If not, the process ends.

In the step (S1009), the image input / output session including another image input job interrupted in the step (S1001) is restarted.
Go to 0).

In step (S1010), it is determined whether all the image output jobs restarted in step (S1009) have been completed. If the processing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step (S1010). If the processing has been completed, ending processing relating to the image input / output session is performed and the processing ends.

In the above example, the case where at least one page of image data is recorded on the hard disk 6 when the hard disk becomes full has been described. However, no image data is recorded on the hard disk 6. When the hard disk is full, or when the print setting specified in step (S601) is changed to an all-pages mode such as a binding mode in which a plurality of pages of images recorded on the hard disk 6 are output in combination or an N-in-1 mode, for example. Alternatively, when it is meaningless to output image data recorded halfway on the hard disk 6, such as when a specific image processing in which print output cannot be started until image data for a predetermined plurality of pages has been recorded on the hard disk 6 is indicated. Are the steps (S1004) and (S100
5) and (S1007) are omitted, and step (S1) is performed instead.
006) is always executed.

That is, in FIG. 10, step (S10
04) A step of determining whether or not at least one page of image data has been previously recorded on the hard disk 6 and / or a step of determining whether or not the suspended image input / output session is a specific image processing. One of them is provided, and steps (S1004), (S1005), and (S1007) are skipped and the process proceeds to step (S1006) according to the determination result in those steps.

Further, in the above example, the case where the image input / output is processed via the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 has been described, but without using the hard disk 6, for example, one page memory 125 of the data processing unit 121 can be used. It is needless to say that the above-described control can be executed in the same manner as described above according to the configuration in which the image input / output operation is performed by using the section and the free space of the page memory 125.

As described above, when the memory usage of the hard disk or the like reaches the maximum storage capacity, a job to be continued with priority (or a job to be canceled) can be selected, and a job to be canceled can also be selected. It is possible to provide an image input / output device capable of selecting an output operation of image data recorded halfway without immediately discarding the image data input up to that point.

[0133]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the input image data is stored in the storage means and the stored image data is output, when it is detected that the storage means cannot store the further image data, the input of the image data and the image A first mode in which both data output is stopped and a second mode in which input of image data is stopped and image data stored before it is detected that further image data cannot be stored in the storage means is detected. Since the input and output of the image data are controlled in one of the two modes, the intermediate image data can be output as necessary even if the image data is not completely stored, and the already stored image data can be output. The image processing can be efficiently performed without wasting the image data.

In the case where the input image data is stored in the storage means and the stored image data is output, when it is detected that further storage of the image data in the storage means is disabled, the parallel processing is performed. Since the input of image data and the output of image data constituting one unit of image processing designated from among the plurality of units of image processing controlled in the above are stopped, arbitrary image processing can be selectively interrupted. The image processing can be efficiently performed according to the priority of the processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image input / output control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reader unit and a printer unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a core unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an image input job and an image output job.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a session.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image input / output control.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of a session management, job management, and page management table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing area management of a hard disk.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control positions when a hard disk is full.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example on the touch panel of the operation unit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example on a touch panel of an operation unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reader part 2 Printer part 3 Image input / output control part 4 Facsimile part 5 Storage part 7 Computer interface part 8 RIP part 9 Operation part 10 Core part

Claims (30)

[Claims] An input unit configured to input image data from at least one image input unit; a storage unit configured to store the image data input by the input unit; and at least one image data stored in the storage unit. Output means for outputting to an image output unit, detection means for detecting that further storage of image data in the storage means has become impossible, and control for controlling input and output of image data according to the detection output of the detection means Means for inputting image data by the input means and outputting the image data by the output means when the detecting means detects that further storage of the image data in the storage means is disabled. A first mode in which the output of the image data is both stopped, and a storage mode in which the input of the image data is stopped by the input unit and the detecting unit detects the image data. In one of the second modes of outputting the image data stored in the storage unit by the output unit before it is detected that further storage of the image data is disabled, An image input / output device for controlling output. 2. The image input / output device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit that selects one of the first mode and the second mode. 3. If the detecting means detects that further image data cannot be stored in the storage means before one page of image data is stored in the storage means, the control means 2. The image input / output device according to claim 1, wherein the input / output device controls input and output of image data in the first mode. 4. The control means controls input and output of image data according to an image processing parameter representing an image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameter is a specific image processing. At one time, when it is detected by the detection unit that the storage of the further image data is disabled, the input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image input / output device according to claim 1. 5. An input unit for inputting image data from at least one image input unit, a storage unit for storing the image data input by the input unit, and at least one image data stored in the storage unit. An output unit for outputting to an image output unit, a detecting unit for detecting that further storage of image data in the storage unit has become impossible, and a plurality of units of image processing in which input and output of image data are defined as one unit. And control means for controlling, the control means,
When it is detected by the detection unit that further storage of the image data in the storage unit has been disabled, one unit of image processing designated from among a plurality of units of image processing controlled in parallel is configured. An image input / output apparatus, wherein input of image data by said input means and output of image data by said output means are stopped. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an instruction unit that instructs the input unit to input image data and the output unit to stop outputting the image data among the plurality of units of image processing. 6. The image input / output device according to 5. 7. The control means, when the detection means detects that further image data cannot be stored in the storage means, the input of the image data by the input means and the image by the output means. A first mode in which both output of data are stopped, and before the input means stops inputting image data and before the detection means detects that further storage of image data in the storage means is disabled. 6. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 5, wherein input and output of image data are controlled in any one of a second mode in which the image data stored in the storage unit is output by the output unit. . 8. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a selection unit for selecting one of the first mode and the second mode. 9. When the detecting means detects that further image data cannot be stored in the storage means before the image data of one page is stored in the storage means, the control means The image input / output device according to claim 7, wherein the input / output device controls input and output of image data in the first mode. 10. The control means controls input and output of image data according to image processing parameters representing image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameters is a specific image processing. At one time,
8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the detection unit detects that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled, the input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image input / output device according to the above. 11. An image inputting image data from at least one image input unit, storing the input image data in a storage unit, and outputting the image data stored in the storage unit to at least one image output unit. An image input / output method for an input / output device, comprising: a step of detecting that further storage of image data in the storage unit has become impossible; and a step of detecting further storage of image data in the storage unit in the detection step. Is detected, the first mode in which the input of the image data and the output of the image data are both stopped, and the input of the image data is stopped, and the image data is further stored in the storage means in the detecting step. In any one of the second modes for outputting the image data stored in the storage unit before it is detected that the image Controlling input and output of data. 12. The image input / output method according to claim 11, further comprising a step of selecting one of the first mode and the second mode. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the one-page image data is stored in the storage means, if it is detected in the detection step that further storage of the image data is disabled in the storage means, the first 12. The image input / output method according to claim 11, wherein input and output of image data are controlled in the mode of (1). 14. In the control step, input and output of image data are controlled according to image processing parameters representing image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameters is a specific image processing. At one time, when it is detected in the detecting step that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled, input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image input / output method according to claim 11. 15. An image receiving image data from at least one image input unit, storing the input image data in a storage unit, and outputting the image data stored in the storage unit to at least one image output unit. An image input / output method for an input / output device, the method comprising: detecting that further storage of image data has become impossible in the storage means; and performing image processing using input and output of image data as one unit. In the step of controlling in parallel, and when it is detected in the detecting step that the storage of the further image data is disabled in the storage unit, an instruction is given from the image processing of a plurality of units that are controlled in parallel. Stopping input of image data and output of image data constituting one unit of image processing. 16. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of instructing image processing to stop inputting image data and outputting image data among the plurality of units of image processing.
6. The image input / output method according to 5. 17. A first mode in which both input of image data and output of image data are stopped when it is detected in the detection step that further storage of image data in the storage unit is disabled. Any one of a second mode in which input of data is stopped and image data stored in the storage unit is output before it is detected in the detection step that further storage of image data in the storage unit is disabled. 16. The image input / output method according to claim 15, wherein input and output of image data are controlled in one of the modes. 18. The image input / output method according to claim 17, further comprising a step of selecting one of the first mode and the second mode. 19. The method according to claim 19, wherein, before the image data of one page is stored in the storage unit, when it is detected in the detection step that further storage of the image data in the storage unit has been disabled, the first 18. The image input / output method according to claim 17, wherein input and output of image data are controlled in the following modes. 20. In the control step, input and output of image data are controlled according to image processing parameters representing image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameters is a specific image processing. At one time, when it is detected in the detecting step that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled, input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image input / output method according to claim 17. 21. An image processing system for storing image data input from at least one image input means in a storage means, and outputting the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output means. Detecting means for detecting that further image data can no longer be stored in the storage means, and control means for controlling input and output of image data according to the detection output of the detecting means, wherein the control means, When it is detected by the detection unit that the storage of the further image data is disabled in the storage unit,
A first mode in which both the input of image data from the image input means and the output of image data to the image output means are stopped, and the input of image data from the image input means is stopped, and the storage is performed by the detection means. Means for outputting the image data stored in the storage means to the image output means before it is detected that the storage of the further image data in the means is disabled. An image processing system for controlling input and output. 22. The image processing system according to claim 21, further comprising a selection unit that selects one of the first mode and the second mode. 23. If the detecting means detects that further image data cannot be stored in the storing means before the image data of one page is stored in the storing means, the control means Controlling input and output of image data in the first mode.
2. The image processing system according to 1. 24. The control means controls input and output of image data according to image processing parameters representing image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameters is a specific image processing. At one time,
22. The image processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein when the detection unit detects that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled, input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image processing system described in the above. 25. An image processing system which stores image data input from at least one image input means in a storage means, and outputs the image data stored in the storage means to at least one image output means. Detecting means for detecting that further image data can no longer be stored in the storage means, and control means for controlling a plurality of units of image processing in which input and output of image data is one unit in parallel,
The control means, when the detection means detects that further storage of the image data in the storage means is disabled, one unit designated from among a plurality of units of image processing being controlled in parallel An image processing system, wherein input of image data and output of image data constituting the image processing are stopped. 26. An image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an instruction unit for instructing image processing to stop inputting image data and outputting image data among the plurality of units of image processing.
6. The image processing system according to 5. 27. The control means, when the detection means detects that further storage of the image data in the storage means is disabled, inputting the image data from the image input means and outputting the image data. A first mode in which output of image data to both means is stopped, and a state in which input of image data from the image input means is stopped and further storage of image data in the storage means is disabled by the detection means. 26. An input and output of image data is controlled in any one of a second mode in which image data stored in the storage unit is output to the image output unit before the image data is detected. An image processing system according to claim 1. 28. The image processing system according to claim 27, further comprising a selection unit that selects one of the first mode and the second mode. 29. If the detecting means detects that further image data cannot be stored in the storing means before one page of image data is stored in the storing means, the control means Controlling input and output of image data in the first mode.
8. The image processing system according to 7. 30. The control means controls input and output of image data according to image processing parameters representing image processing to be executed, and the image processing represented by the image processing parameters is a specific image processing. At one time,
28. The image processing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein when the detection unit detects that further storage of the image data in the storage unit is disabled, input and output of the image data are controlled in the first mode. The image processing system described in the above.