JP2001230898A - Image processing system and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an image processing system capable of sharing an operation panel of a first image processing apparatus with a second image processing apparatus and a control method thereof. SOLUTION: An operation panel 102 for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording unit 104 for recording an image.
A facsimile apparatus 101 having: a control panel 102 and a recording unit 10 connected to the facsimile apparatus 101;
4, the PDL operation display control unit 111 transmits and receives a signal for operating and displaying the PDL processing device 108 and the operation panel 102 via the PDL interface 110, and The operation and display of the operation panel 102 are controlled based on the operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a first image processing apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording means for recording an image, and the first image processing apparatus.
And an image processing system having a second image processing apparatus connected to the image processing apparatus and sharing the operation panel and recording means, and a control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the market of a single facsimile apparatus and a printer apparatus has been expanding. In particular, a PDL processing apparatus which is connected to a facsimile apparatus via an interface with a host computer and performs printing from an application on the host is provided as an option. The number of cases in which functions are added, such as connection and the use of a recording portion of a facsimile machine as a printer, is increasing.

In such a system having a plurality of functions, the facsimile function and the PDL processing function are each configured and executed by independent control blocks. In this case, the facsimile has an operation panel and performs operations necessary for facsimile such as transmission and reception. On the other hand, the PDL processing device
It has a function of controlling a normally dedicated operation unit, displaying an internal state and inputting user settings.

Conventionally, when recording and outputting are performed by a common output device by connecting both devices, the following means are used as a means for displaying an operation used by a PDL processing device. (1) As shown in FIG. 9, all operation displays from the PDL processing apparatus are performed on the facsimile apparatus side. The facsimile side decodes the recording unit control command sent by the PDL, and generates and displays data to be input / output to / from the operation panel. (2) As shown in FIG. 10, an operation panel different from the facsimile apparatus is connected to the PDL processing apparatus, and the control function of the dedicated operation unit originally provided in the PDL processing apparatus is used as it is.

[0005]

However, the above conventional example has the following problems.

[0006] In the above (1), since the hardware required for operation and display is common, the cost of the optional PDL processing device can be reduced.
It is necessary to decode the DL command and perform the operation and display control, and it is necessary to have a large-scale control software, and the load on the software is increased as compared with the case where each device operates alone. Further, since the operation / display control of the PDL processing device is limited to the range incorporated in the control software of the facsimile device, the option specifications are limited.

In the above (2), the independence of each apparatus is high, and the function as a single PDL processing apparatus can be fully used regardless of the specifications of the facsimile apparatus, but an operation unit dedicated to the PDL is required. Cost. Also, P
Since the situation on the DL side is not interpreted on the facsimile machine side,
The operation of the PDL processing device cannot be instructed from the facsimile device side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides an image processing system in which an operation panel of a first image processing apparatus can be shared by a second image processing apparatus and a control method thereof. With the goal.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first image having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording means for recording an image. In an image processing system including a processing device and a second image processing device connected to the first image processing device and sharing the operation panel and the recording unit, the second image processing device and the operation panel Signal transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving a signal for operation / display control, and control means for controlling operation / display of the operation panel based on the signal transmitted / received by the signal transmission / reception means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first image processing apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording unit for recording an image. In a control method of an image processing system having a second image processing apparatus connected to the first image processing apparatus and sharing the operation panel and the recording unit, operating the second image processing apparatus and the operation panel A signal transmitting / receiving step of transmitting / receiving a signal for display control, and operating the operation panel based on the signal transmitted / received in the signal transmitting / receiving step
And a control step of controlling display.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing system according to the embodiment. In the embodiment, a system in which a facsimile apparatus that receives image data from a public line or a dedicated line and performs printing and connects a PDL processing apparatus that receives print data from a host computer, interprets the print data, and performs printing will be described. I do.

Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a facsimile machine, and an operation panel 1 having a button SW for inputting a user's operation, an LED and an LCD for displaying a status, etc.
02, facsimile function unit 103 for transmitting and receiving images,
A facsimile operation display control unit 105 and a panel drive unit 10 which are three blocks of a recording unit 104 for recording and outputting an image, and an interface for connecting the blocks.
6. It includes the recording control unit 107, and further has a PDL interface 110 with the PDL processing device and a PDL operation display control unit 111. Reference numeral 112 in the operation panel 102 denotes a switching button, and reference numeral 113 denotes a switching state display LED. The switching button 112 and the switching status display LED 11
Details of 3 will be described later.

A PDL processing unit 108 has a function of analyzing input data transferred from the host computer 109 and outputting the result to the facsimile apparatus 101. Facsimile machine 101 and PDL processor 108
Are connected by three systems of image data VIDEO developed in PDL, a recording control command CPRT, and a PDL operation display control signal CPNL.

FIG. 8 shows a PDL operation display control signal CPNL.
It is a figure showing an example of. As shown in FIG. 8, CPNL includes serial input / output SI and SO, a signal DENB for identifying whether communication data of the SI / SO is a command signal for instructing operation of the operation panel or data indicating display contents, and an enable signal. It comprises a signal SCEN and a clock CLK for serial communication.

FIG. 2 shows a facsimile apparatus 101 and a PD.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an L processing device 108. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU, which is a facsimile machine 1
01 performs overall operation control. Reference numeral 202 denotes a ROM, which stores an operation program of the CPU 201 including display control in the present embodiment, control data, and the like. 203 is R
AM, which is used as a work area in the processing of the CPU 201. An image memory 204 stores transmission / reception images. A reading unit 205 optically reads an image and outputs image data. 206 is encoding /
This is decoding, which encodes a read image and decodes received code data. Reference numerals 207 and 208 denote a MODEM and a network control device for transmitting and receiving images via a network.

Here, the network controller 2 is used as a facsimile.
08 and the received image once stored in the image memory 204 are usually encoded, so that they are decoded by the encoding / decoding unit 206 at the time of recording, and are converted into raster image data by the printer control circuit. 10
7 and recorded by the recording unit 104.

The image data instructed to be recorded by the PDL processing unit 108 via the PDL interface 110 is output from the recording control unit 107 to the recording unit 104 as it is.

On the other hand, in the PDL processing device 108,
Reference numeral 251 denotes a CPU, which controls the operation of the entire apparatus. 2
Reference numeral 52 denotes a ROM, which stores an operation program of the CPU 251, control data, and the like. A RAM 253 is used as a work area in the processing of the CPU 251. Reference numeral 254 denotes an interface (I / F) for exchanging the signals VIDEO, CPRT, and CPNL with the facsimile apparatus 101, and specifically includes the operation unit interface and the printer interface shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 255 denotes a host interface (I / F) for exchanging data with the host computer 109. 2
Reference numeral 56 denotes a PDL analysis unit which develops PDL into recordable image data. An image memory 257 temporarily stores the image data developed by the PDL analysis unit 256.

Facsimile machine 10 having the above configuration
1 and the PDL processing device 108, and the operation panel 10
The operation in the case of sharing 2 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows a ROM 202 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a memory map of each module stored in the memory module. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an address map in the RAM 203 according to the present embodiment.

Here, the PD in the facsimile apparatus 101
The operation unit control data obtained by communicating with the PDL processing device 108 at regular intervals via the
The data is temporarily stored in the serial input data buffer 403 in the AM 203. Then, the CPU of the facsimile machine 101
201 reads the contents of the buffer and converts the control data into a form suitable for display on the operation panel 102 according to the control program stored in the ROM 202. This conversion is performed by the CPU 201 activating the PDL operation display control unit 111. Then, the data is stored in each data buffer of the PDL display data storage unit 402 in the RAM 203.

On the other hand, normal facsimile operation display data is stored in each data buffer of the facsimile display data storage unit 401 of the RAM 203 independently of the above-mentioned operation. Then, the CPU 2 of the facsimile machine 101
01 selects the contents of either the PDL display data storage unit 402 or the facsimile display data storage unit 401 as necessary, and sends the data to the panel drive unit 106.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a command sent from the PDL processing device 108 in the present embodiment. The command shown in FIG. 5 is a command for instructing an operation to the operation panel 102 among the operation unit control data transmitted from the PDL processing device 108 and stored in the serial input data buffer 403. Hereinafter, the commands shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

When the "RST" command is received, the PD
The L operation display control unit 111 clears the LED lighting data, LCD display data, and switch input data currently held in the PDL display buffer, and returns to the initial state.

When the "LCD_IW" command is received, an LCD command requesting some operation to the LCD assumed by the PDL is sent as data at the next processing timing. The PDL operation display control unit 111 analyzes this data, and converts the data to the same operation on the LCD of the operation panel 102 (having a different command from the LCD assumed by the PDL) actually attached to the facsimile apparatus 101. Panel driving unit 106 is replaced with necessary LCD commands.
Output to

When the "LCD_DW" command is received, data to be displayed on the LCD assumed by the PDL and its attributes, for example, LCD data indicating the movement and shift amount of the cursor, are sent at the next processing timing. The PDL operation display control unit 111 stores the data in the PDL display data storage unit 4.
At the same time as writing to a predetermined address of the LCD buffer 02, data such as the cursor position is set according to the characteristics of the operation panel 102.

When the "LED_DW" command is received, data to be displayed on the LED is transmitted at the next processing timing. The data is stored in the PDL display data storage 4
02 is stored in the LED buffer, and at the same time, it is driven by applying to the corresponding LED of the operation panel 102.

When the "SW_DR" command is received,
The PDL operation display control unit 111 reads the current value of the key input port of the operation panel 102 and sets it in the serial output data buffer 404. At the next processing timing, the data set in the serial output data buffer 404 is output to the PDL processing device 108 side.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the PDL operation display control unit 111. First, in step S101, data IN_DATA is received from the PDL processing device 108 via the PDL interface 110 and stored in the display control data storage. Next, in step S102, the data IN_D is output by the signal DENB.
It is determined whether the ATA is “command” or “data”. If the ATA is “command”, the process proceeds to step S103, and the above-described processing is performed. Among them, the “RST” command (S10
3 (Yes in S105) and the “SW_DR” command (Y in S105).
In the case of (es), the processing ends in this processing routine (S104, S106), but in the case of another command (No in S105), processing cannot be performed unless data is received at the next processing timing. The type of the currently received command is stored to prepare for receiving the next data (S107).

In step S102, the data IN_D
If the ATA is "data", the process proceeds to step S108, where the buffer BU storing the previously received command is stored.
The processing is switched according to the value of F. Here, "LCD_
In the case of the "IW" command (Yes in S108), the LCD controller emulation is executed (S109),
In the case of the “LCD_DW” command (Yes in S110), data is written into the LCD buffer of the PDL display data storage unit 402 (S111), and in the case of the “LED_DW” command (Yes in S112), the LED buffer of the PDL display data storage unit 402 To store data.

As described above, the PDL processing device 1
The operation panel control data output from step 08 is converted for the operation panel 108 of the facsimile apparatus. In order to actually display this data, it is necessary to prevent the data generated by the normal facsimile operation display control unit 105 from conflicting with the converted data.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a switching button 112 and a switching state display LED 113 are provided in the operation panel 102 so that the user can manually select desired data. In the present embodiment,
The common part is the LCD only, and the LEDs and keys are prepared exclusively for the PDL. Therefore, no matter which LCD display is switched by the switching button 112, the status display by the LED on the PDL side is possible.

In the PDL processing device 108, operation and display control are performed regardless of which display is displayed on the operation panel 102. Therefore, the facsimile display data storage unit 401 and the PDL display data storage unit 40
2 always operates independently, and the panel driving unit 1 operates in response to the pressing of the switch button 112 in a state where both display data are held.
Control is performed so as to switch the buffer to be transmitted to 06.

Here, like the LED, the input key is also PDL.
The PDL display data storage unit 40 is provided for exclusive use.
2. Since the facsimile display data storage unit 401 can also be controlled independently,
Whichever the CD display is switched to, key input on either the PDL side or the facsimile side is possible. However, for example, when the LCD display is switched to the facsimile side, even if the user presses the input key for PDL and sets something, the result is not displayed on the LCD and it cannot be confirmed whether the correct input has been made. .

In this embodiment, in order to prevent an erroneous input in such a case, the CPU 201 constantly monitors the display switching state.
When the mode is switched to the facsimile side, any key input for PDL is ignored. Similarly, when the LCD display on the PDL side is performed, key input as facsimile is not accepted.

In this embodiment, the facsimile apparatus and the PD
The explanation of the connection of the L processing device has been described.
The same application can be applied to sharing of display means at the time of connection between various image processing apparatuses such as a processing apparatus, an image scanner and a printer. Of course, the method of communication between the devices is not limited to the serial communication described in the present embodiment, and it goes without saying that various applications are possible.

<Other Embodiments> In the above embodiment,
The switching between the facsimile display and the PDL display is manually switched by the switching button 112.
When there is no input from 2, it is possible to switch the display to the PDL side at a fixed cycle and display the state alternately.

Further, when a larger LCD is used, rather than switching the display, the two data are combined and, for example, the upper half of the LCD is displayed by facsimile,
A wide variety of applications are possible, such as displaying the lower half at the same time as PDL display. In this case, the LCD buffer shown in FIG. 4 is common to the facsimile / PDL. Instead, for example, the controller emulation in the PDL operation display module shown in FIG.
Processing such as moving the position of the PDL display data to the lower stage in the LCD is added.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the address map of the RAM 203 in this case. As shown in FIG.
203, a common data storage unit 701 is provided.
The combined display data is stored in the CD buffer and displayed simultaneously.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, a facsimile apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a facsimile apparatus having a recording means for recording an image, and a single operation panel and a recording apparatus In an image processing system in which a PDL processing device that does not have a device is connected and a recording unit is shared, the operation of an operation panel that the PDL processing device attempts to drive is converted into a drive operation of the operation panel of the own system by a facsimile device and driven By doing so, the operation panel is shared. As a result, the PDL processing device can be operated from the facsimile side without imposing an excessive load on both CPUs and without increasing the cost.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus including one device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile). Device).

An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (CPU or MP) of the system or apparatus.
It goes without saying that U) can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation panel of the first image processing device can be shared by the second image processing device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a facsimile apparatus 101 and a PDL processing apparatus 1
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 08.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory map of each module stored in a ROM 202 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an address map in a RAM 203 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a command sent from the PDL processing device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a PDL operation display control unit 111;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an address map of a RAM 203 according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PDL operation display control signal CPNL.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional image processing system sharing an operation panel.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional image processing system having a PDL operation panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 facsimile apparatus 102 operation panel 103 facsimile function unit 104 recording unit 105 facsimile operation display control unit 106 panel drive unit 107 recording control unit 108 PDL processing device 109 host computer 110 PDL interface 112 switching button 113 switching state display LED 201 CPU 202 ROM 203 RAM 204 Image memory 205 Reading unit 206 Encoding / decoding unit 207 MODEM 208 Network controller 251 CPU 252 ROM 253 RAM 254 Interface 255 Host interface 256 PDL analyzer 257 Image memory of PDL

Claims (7)

[Claims] A first image processing apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording unit for recording an image; and a first image processing apparatus connected to the first image processing apparatus, In an image processing system having an operation panel and a second image processing device sharing a recording unit, a signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving a signal for controlling operation / display of the second image processing device and the operation panel, Control means for controlling operation and display of the operation panel based on a signal transmitted and received by the signal transmission and reception means. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising designating means for designating which of the first and second image processing devices is to be operated / displayed. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the operation / display other than the operation / display specified by the specifying unit to be prohibited. 4. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls display of the first and second image processing apparatuses so as to be combined and displayed simultaneously. 5. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the display of the first and second image processing apparatuses to be switched at regular time intervals. 6. A first image processing apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording unit for recording an image, wherein the first image processing apparatus is connected to the first image processing apparatus, In a control method of an image processing system having an operation panel and a second image processing apparatus sharing a recording unit, a signal transmission / reception for transmitting / receiving a signal for operating / display-controlling the second image processing apparatus and the operation panel And a control step of controlling operation and display of the operation panel based on a signal transmitted and received in the signal transmission and reception step. 7. A first image processing apparatus having an operation panel for designating an operation and displaying an internal state, and a recording unit for recording an image, wherein the first image processing apparatus is connected to the first image processing apparatus, A computer-readable storage medium storing a program code of a control method in an image processing system having an operation panel and a second image processing device sharing a recording unit, wherein the second image processing device and the operation panel are A storage medium comprising: a code for a signal transmission / reception step for transmitting / receiving a signal for operation / display control; and a code for a control step for controlling operation / display of the operation panel based on the transmitted / received signal.