JPH11238034A - Data transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently transfer data even if data quantity is large. SOLUTION: The data processor 10 of a transmission side and the data processor 20 of a reception side are connected by a plurality of lines 40. Data division means 21 and 11 divide transmission data into the number of lines in use. Divided data transmission means 21 and 11 distribute the divided data into a plurality of lines and transmit them to the data processor 20 of the reception side. A data synthesis means 11 and 21 synthesize a plurality of received divided data so as to restore to that identical to the transmission data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a data transfer system, and more particularly to a system capable of performing efficient data transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when an image is taken in a personal computer, a scanner is sometimes connected to the personal computer. In such a case, the scanner is connected to the personal computer by a single cable capable of transmitting and receiving the control signal and the image data, the scanner is activated by a reading instruction from the personal computer, reads the original, and transmits the read image to the personal computer. Is performed.

[0003]

However, the conventional data transfer method has a problem that it takes time to transfer data when the amount of image data to be transferred is very large.

[0004] In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data transfer system capable of performing efficient data transfer.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a data transfer system according to the present invention is a data transfer system for transferring data from one data processing device to another data processing device, wherein the data processing device on the transmitting side is provided. And a data processing device on the receiving side, a plurality of lines each capable of transferring data, data dividing means for dividing into a plurality of lines using transmission data, and the plurality of divided data A divided data transmitting means for distributing and transmitting to the plurality of lines, and a data synthesizing means for synthesizing the plurality of received divided data to restore the same data as the transmission data are provided.

One of the features of the present invention is that data processing devices are connected by a plurality of lines, data to be transmitted is divided into the number of lines to be used for transmission, and the receiving side synthesizes the divided data. This is to restore the transmission data. Thereby, data can be efficiently transferred.

In the present invention, a data processing device means a device having a function of processing data. In the case of an image forming system, a personal computer, a scanner, and a printer all have a function of performing data processing. ,
In this sense, in the present invention, everything can be treated as a data processing device. That is, the two data processing devices for transferring data include a personal computer and a personal computer, a personal computer and a scanner, a personal computer and a printer, and a combination of a scanner and a printer.

[0008] The transmission data may be divided simply into the number of lines to be used, regardless of the communication speed of the line. However, in order to further improve the efficiency, the data is divided according to the number of lines in consideration of the communication speed. It is preferable to divide so that the time is the minimum.

The transmission data may be divided into the number of lines using the total data amount. In the case of image data, the data may be divided into the number of lines in page units.

[0010] Further, in synthesizing the divided data, the transmission data cannot be restored unless the relationship between the divided data is clarified. Therefore, when the transmission data is divided, information for combination, for example, block number information assigned to each divided block, and page information in the case of the above-described image data divided in page units are added to each divided data. Is good.

[0011] Further, the data processing device on both the transmitting side and the receiving side of the present invention is novel. That is, according to the present invention, one data processing device and the other data processing device are connected by a plurality of lines, and data is transferred from one data processing device to the other data processing device by a plurality of lines. A data processing device on the transmission side used in a data transfer system adapted to perform the above operation, wherein the data division means divides the number of lines using transmission data into a plurality of lines, and the plurality of divided data are divided into the plurality of lines. And a divided data transmitting unit that distributes and transmits the divided data to the data processing device on the reception side.

Further, according to the present invention, one data processing device and the other data processing device are connected by a plurality of lines, and one data processing device is connected to the other data processing device by a plurality of lines. A data processing device on the receiving side used in a data transfer system capable of transferring data, wherein a plurality of divided data transmitted from the data processing device on the transmitting side are combined into the same data as the transmitted data. A data processing device comprising a data synthesizing means for restoring can be provided.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the data processing devices are connected by a plurality of lines, the transmission data is divided into the number of lines to be used for transmission, and the reception side divides the plurality of division data. Since the data is synthesized and restored to the transmission data, the data can be transferred efficiently when transferring a large amount of data,
Transfer time can be greatly reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to specific examples shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 6 show a preferred embodiment of a data transfer system according to the present invention, which is an example applied to a system for taking in an image to a personal computer using a scanner. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the above system. This system comprises a personal computer 10, a scanner 20, and a plurality of lines 40 connecting the two.

The personal computer 10 includes a CPU 11 for performing various arithmetic processing, a ROM 12 for storing programs and / or data, a RAM 13 and a storage device 14,
An operation unit 15 for operating the PU 11, a plurality of input / output ports 18, a selector 17 for switching the ports 18,
The display unit 16 is configured to perform various displays. Note that the CPU 11 and the bus may be provided by the number of the input / output ports 18 and processing may be performed by multitasking.

On the other hand, a scanner 20 includes a CPU 21 for performing various arithmetic processing, a reading unit 24 for reading an image,
It comprises a storage device 22 for storing programs and / or data, a RAM 23, a plurality of input / output ports 26, and a selector 25 for switching the ports 26. In addition,
CPU 21 and buses are provided by the number of input / output ports 26,
Processing may be performed by multitasking.

The line 40 is connected between the plurality of input / output ports 18 of the personal computer 10 and the plurality of input / output ports 26 of the scanner 20.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the selector 17. The selector 17 comprises a plurality of input buffer memories 170..., A plurality of output buffer memories 172... And switching means (not shown). Are input in advance and stored, and a plurality of output buffer memories 172.
.. Are transmitted to the line 40 almost simultaneously. The switching means switches to the next input buffer memory 170 when about one page of image data is accumulated in the selected input buffer memory 170. The selector 25 on the scanner 20 side has the same configuration, but a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

If the data transfer rates of all the lines 40 are equal, the data transfer rate of the line 40 is set to M bit / sequence.
c, When the capacity of the output buffer memory 172 is X bit and the number of lines is N, if X bit ÷ (M bit / s × N) = T sec, the switching means switches the line 40 to be output to T sec. , And transmits data from the input buffer memory 170 to the input / output port 18 through the output buffer memories 172. Since the transfer speed in the selector 17 is higher than the transfer speed of the line 40 ahead of the input / output port 18, data is accumulated in the output buffers 172... In order to match the speed, and the data is output at a predetermined timing. As a result, the data transferred on each line 40 is transmitted almost simultaneously, and can be transferred faster than when data is transferred on a single line.

Next, a data transfer method will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process in the personal computer 10, and FIG.
0, FIG. 4 shows the screen of the display unit 16 of the personal computer 10, and FIG. 5 shows the divided data (a) before synthesis and the image data (b) after synthesis.

First, when "read" is designated on the screen of the display unit 16 of the personal computer 10, an image reading application program is started, a request signal for image transmission is transmitted to the scanner 20, and the image data is transmitted from the scanner 20 to the image data. Wait until there is a transmission (Fig. 2
Steps S10 and S11).

On the other hand, when the lines 40 are connected, the scanner 20 writes the number of lines 40 and the transfer speed ratio of each line 40 into the storage device 22, and a request signal for image transmission is transmitted from the personal computer 10. It waits until it comes (steps S20 and S21 in FIG. 3). When an image transmission request signal is transmitted, the scanner 20 causes the reading unit 24 to read the original and store the image data in the storage device 2.
2 (step S22 in FIG. 3) and the storage device 22
Then, the number of lines and the transfer rate ratio are read out from (step S23 in FIG. 3), and it is determined whether or not the transfer rate ratios are all equal (step S24 in FIG. 3).

If the transfer speed ratios are all equal, the storage device 2
2 is read out and divided into pages in the ratio of the number of lines, page number information is inserted in the header of each divided data, and transferred to the personal computer 10 through a plurality of lines 40 (steps in FIG. 3). S25 and step S26).

If the transfer speed ratios are not equal, the storage device 2
2 is read out, divided into pages by the transfer speed ratio, page number information is inserted in the header of each divided data, and transferred to the personal computer 10 through the plurality of lines 40 (steps in FIG. 3). S26 and step S27).

When image data is transmitted from the scanner 20, the personal computer 10 receives the divided image data, synthesizes and restores the same data as the original image data based on the header information of each divided data, Writing to the storage device 14 (steps S12 and S13 in FIG. 2) allows the personal computer 10 to capture an image.

Next, an example of a method of synthesizing image data will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of the divided data and the synthesized data before the synthesis. As shown in FIG. 5A, the divided data transmitted from the scanner 20 has a form in which a job number, a page number, a next page number, and other information are added to each divided data.

When the personal computer 10 receives the divided data via the plurality of lines 40, the divided data is stored in the storage device 14 in the order in which the divided data was received. At this time, the data corresponding to the next page number has already been stored in the storage device 1.
4 is written to the next address. If it is not stored, it is set to XXXX for the time being. Further, by then, the storage device 1
In the case of a page corresponding to the next address in the data stored in No. 4, the address of the corresponding next address XXXX is rewritten. When the writing of all the next addresses is completed, the synthesis ends.

For example, page numbers 1, 3, 2, 4, 6,
When data is received in the order of 5 and 7, the operation is as follows. . When the page number 1 is received, the data of the page number 2 is not stored yet, so the data is stored at the address 0000, and the next address is XXXX as a temporary address.
Write. Further, since there is no need to write the address of page number 1 in the next address, the processing is not performed. . When page number 3 is received, the data of page number 4 is not stored yet, so the data is stored at address 0010 and XXXX is written at the next address. Also,
Since there is no need to write the address of page number 3 in the next address, the processing is not performed. . When page number 2 is received, since the data of page number 3 has already been stored, the data is stored at address 0020, and the address 0010 where the data of page number 3 is written is written at the next address. Further, since it is necessary to write the page number 2 to the next address, the temporary address XXXX written temporarily after the address 0000 is rewritten with 0020. . Similar processing is performed on page numbers 4, 6, and 5. . Finally, when the page number 7 is received, since the next page number is 0000 (the last page), the data is stored in the address 0060 and NULL is written in the next address. Since it is necessary to write the page number 7 at the next address, 0060 is written at the next address of the address 0040. Further, since all the next addresses have been written at this stage, the data combination is completed.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention, which is an example applied to a system for forming an image by a printer using a personal computer. FIG. 7 shows the overall configuration of the above system. The system includes a personal computer 10, a printer 30, and a plurality of lines 40 connecting the two.

Since the personal computer 10 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. On the other hand, a printer 30 includes a CPU 31 for performing various arithmetic processing and a printer unit 3 for forming an image.
4. Storage device 3 for storing programs and / or data
2 and RAM 33, a plurality of input / output ports 36, port 3
6 comprises a selector 35 for switching. In this example, the CPUs 31 and the buses may be provided by the number of the input / output ports 36, and the processing may be performed by multitasking.

The line 40 is connected between the plurality of input / output ports 18 of the personal computer 10 and the plurality of input / output ports 36 of the printer 30.

Next, a data transfer method will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is a flowchart of a process in the personal computer 10, FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process in the printer 30, and FIG. 4 is a screen of the display unit 17 of the personal computer 10.

First, when "print" is designated on the screen of the display unit 16 of the personal computer 10, an image forming application program is started, and the number of lines 40 and the transfer speed ratio of each line 40 are read from the storage device 14, It is determined whether the transfer speed ratios are all equal (FIG. 8).
Steps S30 and S31).

When the transfer speed ratios are all equal, the storage device 1
4 is read out, divided into pages by the line number ratio, the page number information is put in the header of each divided data, and transferred to the personal computer 10 through a plurality of lines 40. S32 and step S33).

If the transfer speed ratios are not equal, the storage device 1
4 is read out and divided into page units at a transfer speed ratio, page number information is entered in the header of each divided data, and transferred to the personal computer 10 through a plurality of lines 40. S34 and step S35).

On the other hand, the printer 30 waits until there is data transfer, and when image data is transmitted from the personal computer 10, the printer 30 receives the divided image data and, based on the header information of each divided data, returns the original data. The image data is combined with the same image data and restored, and an image is formed by the printer unit 34 (steps S40 to S42 in FIG. 9). Thus, an image is formed by the printer 30.

FIG. 11 shows an example of divided data and combined data in the case where the data of each page to be transmitted is divided in units of blocks. Is shown as an example. As shown in FIG. 11A, the transmitted divided data has a form in which a job number, a block number, a next block number, and other information are added to each divided data. In addition,
The method of synthesizing the image data is the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in which the image data is divided on a page basis, and can be easily understood, so that the description thereof is omitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a data transfer system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of the personal computer in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a scanner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen of a display unit in the personal computer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating divided data before synthesis in the embodiment.
FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of data after combination (b).

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a selector in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the data transfer system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing of the personal computer in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen of a display unit in the personal computer.

FIG. 11 shows divided data (a) before combination and data after combination in an embodiment in which transmission data is divided into blocks.
It is a figure showing an example of (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 personal computer (data processing device) 11 CPU (data dividing means, divided data transmitting means, data synthesizing means) 20 scanner (data processing means) 21 CPU (data dividing means, divided data transmitting means, data synthesizing means) 30 printer ( Data processing means) 31 CPU
(Data synthesis means) 40 lines

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A data transfer system for transferring data from one data processing device to another data processing device, wherein a connection is made between the transmitting data processing device and the receiving data processing device. A plurality of lines that can transfer data, a data dividing unit that divides the data into a plurality of lines using transmission data, and a divided data transmitting unit that distributes the plurality of divided data to the plurality of lines and transmits the divided data. And a data synthesizing means for synthesizing the plurality of divided data received and restoring the same data as the transmission data. 2. A data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the data processing apparatuses is connected to the other data processing apparatus by a plurality of lines, and data is transferred from one data processing apparatus to the other data processing apparatus by the plurality of lines. A data processing device on the transmission side used in the data transfer system, wherein the data division means divides the transmission data into a plurality of lines, and the plurality of divided data are distributed to the plurality of lines. A data processing device comprising: a divided data transmission unit that transmits the data to the data processing device on the receiving side. 3. One data processing device and the other data processing device are connected by a plurality of lines, and data can be transferred from one data processing device to the other data processing device by a plurality of lines. A data processing device on the receiving side used in the data transfer system according to the above, wherein the data synthesizing means for synthesizing the plurality of divided data transmitted from the data processing device on the transmitting side to restore the same data as the transmission data is provided. A data processing device comprising: