JP2002223332A - System and method for image processing, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service using an image processing effect to a client device having a low throughput. SOLUTION: In this image processing system, a server device 10 receives an image generation request transmitted from the client device 20, an image generating part 13 generates an image instead of the client device 20 by using material data included in a material database 11, a video generating part 14 generates moving image data composed of a series of image data, and a video encoding part 15 encodes the moving image data and transmits the encoded moving image data to the client device 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing system using a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones have become more sophisticated, and Java
a (trademark) language can be executed, and information on the Internet can be accessed. At present, these mobile phones cannot be equipped with a high-speed arithmetic element or a large-scale memory due to a demand for miniaturization.

On the other hand, network-type games have been developed using such advanced mobile phones and the like, and there is a demand for mobile phones to produce various image processing effects.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional portable telephone, rendering of, for example, three-dimensional graphics on the basis of material data (for example, generation as image data) is difficult due to limitations of arithmetic elements and memory capacity. ) Cannot be performed, and the service content for a client device having a low processing capability such as a mobile phone is limited.

[0005] This situation is not limited to portable telephones, but also applies to portable terminal devices and personal computers used at home.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an image processing system capable of receiving a service utilizing an image processing effect even in a mobile phone having a relatively small arithmetic performance and a small memory capacity. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention according to claim 1 is an image processing system for generating image data based on material data, comprising: a server device; , A plurality of client devices,
Means for accumulating material data, means for receiving an image generation request from the client device, and means for generating image data using the material data on behalf of the client device; Generating means for generating image data, means for managing the generated image data for correction, and transmitting the generated image data to a client device that has requested image generation. It was done.

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, the present invention according to claim 2 is connected to a material data server that manages material data and utilizes material data provided from the material data server. An image processing system for generating image data, comprising: an image generation server; and a plurality of client devices connected to the image generation server via a communication line, wherein the image generation server is configured to generate an image from the client device. Means for receiving a generation request, obtaining material data from a material data server on behalf of the client device, and generating image data using the obtained material data; and generating image data for each client device. Means for managing the generation information relating to the correction of the generated image data. It is obtained by the sending to the client device which is requesting the image generated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the second aspect, the image generation server further includes a processing capability of each client device. Including means for managing information, the type and properties of image data to be transmitted are determined according to the processing capability of the client device that has requested image generation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the second aspect, the image generation server further includes a communication state of the communication line. It includes means for acquiring information, and determines the type and properties of image data to be transmitted based on the acquired information on the communication state.

[0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, the invention according to claim 5 is connected to a material data server that manages material data, and uses a material data provided from the material data server to generate an image. An image processing system for generating data, comprising: an image generation server; and a plurality of client devices connected to the image generation server via a communication line, wherein the image generation server manages a group of client devices. Means, receiving an image generation request from a client device included in the group,
Means for acquiring material data from the material data server on behalf of the client device and generating image data using the acquired material data; and a means shared by client devices included in the group and associated with the client device. Storage means for storing generation information relating to generation of image data to be generated, and synchronization management means for simultaneously transmitting the generated image data to each client device included in the group.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image processing system according to the fifth aspect, wherein the image generation server further performs processing of each client belonging to the group. Means for managing information relating to the capability, wherein the synchronization management means refers to information relating to the processing capability of each of the clients subjected to the simultaneous transmission, and according to the processing capability of the client device that has requested image generation, This is to determine the type and properties of the image data to be transmitted to the client.

[0013] In order to solve the problems of the conventional example, an invention according to claim 7 is an image processing method, comprising the steps of: receiving an image generation request from a client side; Obtaining data, generating image data on behalf of the client side based on the material data, storing the generation information related to the generation of the image data, and providing the generated image data to the client side; , Is included.

[0014] In order to solve the problems of the conventional example, an invention according to claim 8 is an image processing method, comprising: a step of managing a client group including a plurality of clients; In response to the image generation request described above, and a step of simultaneously transmitting the generated image data to each client belonging to the client group.

[0015] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, an invention according to claim 9 is a program executed by a computer, comprising: a procedure for receiving an image generation request from a client; Obtaining the material data in response to the image data, generating image data on behalf of the client side based on the material data, storing the generation information regarding the generation of the image data, and providing the generated image data to the client side And a procedure for performing the above.

[0016] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, an invention according to claim 10 is a program executed by a computer, comprising: a procedure for managing a client group including a plurality of clients; A step of generating image data on behalf of the client in response to an image generation request from a client to which the client belongs, and a step of simultaneously transmitting the generated image data to each client belonging to the client group. It is.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The image processing system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The server device 10 basically includes a server device 10 and a plurality of client devices 20. The server device 10 includes a material database 11, a receiving unit 12, an image generating unit 13, a video generating unit 14, and a video encoding unit 15. And a transmission unit 16 as a transmission unit and a state database 17. Further, the client device 20 includes an operation unit 21, a transmission unit 22, a reception unit 23, a decoding unit 24, and a display unit 25. Then, the server device 10 and the client device 2
0 is connected via a network. The client device 20 may be connected to the network wirelessly via a wireless device connected to the network, as shown in the drawing, or may be directly connected to the network via a wire. It may be.

The material database 11 basically includes a model database 31, a texture database 32, and a motion database 33, as shown in FIG. The model database 31 stores, for example, three-dimensional shape data of a “right arm” which is a component of a human body as material data. Examples of the data of the three-dimensional shape include a polygon model. The texture database 32 stores texture data used to give a texture when rendering this three-dimensional shape as material data. The motion database 33 stores material data indicating an operation example of a three-dimensional shape,
For example, it is stored in association with a character string indicating the action content such as “throwing action”. As the material data indicating this operation example, for example, there is known BVH data (data generated by a so-called motion capture technique). The process of generating image data by using these model data, texture data, and motion data as material data is widely known, and therefore detailed description is omitted.

The receiving unit 12 receives the image generation request transmitted from the client device 20 via the network, and outputs it to the image generating unit 13. The image generation request includes information for identifying the client device 20 (IP address or the like), information on selection of model data, texture data, motion data, coordinates of a virtual light source required for rendering, coordinates of a viewpoint, and the like. Is included.

The image generation unit 13 as means for generating image data receives the input of the image generation request, acquires the material data from the material database 11, sets the data in combination, renders the data, and renders the image data. Generate Further, the image generation unit 13 transmits information (generation information) related to image generation, such as a combination of material data, information on a position of a virtual light source, and information on coordinates of a viewpoint, to a client device 20 that has issued an image generation request. When an image generation request (a request for correcting image data) such as a change in motion data or a change in a virtual light source position is received from the client device 20, the state is stored in the state database 17 in association with the identifier. The generation information stored in the database is read out, the information is reset according to the correction request, and the rendering is performed again to generate image data.

Since the motion data is used, the image data generated by the image generating unit 13 is a series of still image data constituting a moving image. Therefore, the video generation unit 14 generates moving image data by combining the still image data, and outputs the generated moving image data to the video encoding unit 15.

The video encoding unit 15 receives the input of the moving image data, converts the moving image data into a form suitable for transmission, such as MPEG compression encoding, and generates, for example, MPEG data. Output to Then, the transmitting unit 16
Transmits the MPEG data to the client device 20 that has issued the image generation request.

As described above, the state database 17 stores, for each client device 20, generation information necessary for rendering in response to the image generation request. This state database corresponds to a unit for managing generated information in the present invention.

The operation unit 21 of the client device 20
Is a numeric keypad, a switch, or the like, and receives input of information necessary for rendering, such as selection of data such as model data, texture, and motion from the user, and the position of a virtual light source and the position of a viewpoint, and Output.
The transmitting unit 22 transmits to the server device 10 as an image generation request together with information (an IP address or the like) of an identifier preset in the client device 20 together with the information input from the operation unit 21.

The receiving unit 23 receives moving image data such as MPEG data received from the server device 10 and outputs the data to the decoding unit 24. The decoding unit 24 decodes the encoded data such as the MPEG data into a state that can be reproduced and displayed, and outputs the decoded data to the display unit 25. The display unit 25 displays the data of the decoded image. The display unit 25 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like.

Next, the operation of the image processing system according to this embodiment will be described. The user of the mobile phone as the client device 20 accesses the server device 10 via the network, and transmits an image generation request including model data, texture data, and motion data. Then, the server device 10 receives the image generation request, reads out the corresponding model data and the like from the material database 11, generates a series of still image data by using a known method, and collects a series of still image data. This is image data, which is encoded and transmitted. In addition, the server device 10 holds information (model data and the like) related to the generation of the image data as generation information in case there is an instruction to correct the image data later. Client device 2
0 receives the encoded image data, decodes it, and displays it. As described above, the high-speed arithmetic processing and the rendering processing that requires a large-capacity memory are performed by the server device 10 instead of the client device 20.
The service using the image processing effect can be received regardless of the capability of the client device 20.

Further, since the generated information is managed for each client device 20 on the server device 10 side, even if the coordinates of the viewpoint, a part of the model, the motion data, etc. are changed or corrected later, the model data is re-established. The correction instruction can be dealt with smoothly without performing the readout or the combination processing.

When an instruction to end the processing is received from the client device 20, the client device 2
Preferably, the generation information associated with 0 is deleted. Further, in such a case, the generation information is transmitted to the client device 20 and held in accordance with an instruction from the client device 20 side. Thereby, when the rendering using the same model data or the like is desired to be performed again later, the generated information can be uploaded to the server device 10 and the processing can be restarted, thereby increasing the processing efficiency.

Embodiment 2 Next, an image processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image processing system according to the present embodiment is the same as the image processing system according to the first embodiment, except that the material database is connected to the server device 10 via a network instead of the server device. The points are different.

That is, in the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
And the plurality of client devices 20 and the content server 40 are connected to each other.
Is a material database 41, a transmitting unit 42, and a receiving unit 4
3 and a control unit 44. The server device 10
As in the first embodiment, the material database 11, the receiving unit 12, the image generating unit 13, the video generating unit 14, the video encoding unit 15, the transmitting unit 16, the state database 17 and the operation of each unit is different.

Material database 11 of server device 10
Accumulates the material data received by the receiving unit 12 from the content server 40. That is, in the present embodiment, the material database 11 is used to cache received material data. Here, the material data may be stored separately in the material database 11 into models, textures, motions, and the like, as shown in FIG. The receiving unit 12 transmits the image generation request received from the client device 20 via the network to the image generating unit 13
The image generation request is output to the transmission unit 16 and transmitted to the content server 40. Also,
When receiving the material data via the network, the receiving unit 12 outputs the material data to the material database 11. The video generation unit 14, the video encoding unit 15, the transmission unit 16, and the state database 17 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The material database 41 of the content server 40 stores data necessary for rendering, such as model data, texture data, and motion data, similarly to the material database 11 in the first embodiment. The transmission unit 42 transmits the material data to the server device 10 according to the instruction input from the control unit 44.
Further, the receiving unit 43 receives an image generation request from the server device 10 and outputs the request to the control unit 44. The control unit 44 reads material data such as model data from the material database 41 in response to the image generation request received by the receiving unit 43, outputs the data to the transmitting unit 42, and causes the server device 10 to transmit the data.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
0 to the server device 10 (S1), which is transmitted to the content server 40 by the server device 10 (S2). Then, the content server 40 reads out the material data in response to the image generation request, and
0 (S3), and the server device 10 generates image data using the material data. Then, the generated image data is transmitted to the client device 20 (S4). In this case, the client device 20
Will access the server device 10 using the address information of the server device 10.

Further, using the same configuration as in the present embodiment, the server device 10 generates image data based on the material data in response to a request from the content server 40 arranged on the content distributor side. The image data may be transmitted to the content server 40, and the content server 40 may transmit the image data to the client device 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, the client device 20 transmits an image generation request to the content server 40 (S11), and the content server 40 transmits the relevant material data to the server device 10 together with the image generation request. Is transmitted (S12), the server device 10 generates image data based on the image generation request and the material data,
The content is transmitted to the content server 40 (S13), and the content server 40 transmits the image data to the client device 20 (S14). In this case, the client device 20 accesses the server device 10 via the content server 40 using the address information of the content server 40.

Also in the present embodiment, it is necessary to delete the generated information in response to an end instruction from the client device 20 or to download the generated information to the client device 20 to perform processing in preparation for resuming the processing later. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3 Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image processing system according to the present embodiment basically includes a server device 50 and a client device 60, as shown in FIG. The server device 50 includes a material database 11, a receiving unit 12,
Image generation unit 13, video generation unit 14, video encoding unit 1
5, a transmission unit 16, a state database 17, a client-side capability determination unit 51, and a generated image type control unit 52. Here, the client-side ability judging section 51 corresponds to a means for managing the processing ability of the client in the present invention. In addition, the client device 60 includes
, A transmission unit 22, a reception unit 23, a decoding unit 24, a display unit 25, and a capability acquisition unit 61. Here, components having the same configuration as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

The client-side capability judging section 51 of the server device 50 stores information for identifying the client device 60 and information relating to the processing capability of the client device 60 in association with each other. Further, the client-side capability determination unit 51 refers to the information for identifying the client device 60 included in the image generation request received by the reception unit 12, and generates information on the processing capability associated therewith. Output to the control unit 52. The generated image type control unit 52 determines the type of image data (MPE) according to the processing capability information input from the client
G, motion JPEG, etc.) and information indicating the properties (compression ratio, etc.) of the image data are output to the video encoding unit 15. The video encoding unit 15 encodes the image data based on the information indicating the type of the image data and the property of the image data. Specifically, when the processing capacity on the client side is low, the compression rate is lowered to reduce the load at the time of decoding.

The capability acquisition unit 61 of the client device 60
Performs known benchmark tests and retains the results. The capability acquisition unit 61 holds information on the type of CPU and operation clock of the client device 60, information on the memory capacity, information on the type of video board, and the like.
The information held therein is transmitted to the server device 50 together with the information identifying 0.

A feature of the present embodiment is that the client-side ability judging section 51 outputs information on the processing ability of the client device 60 to the image generating section 13 together with the video encoding section 15, and The generation unit 13
According to this information, when the processing capability of the client device 60 of the transmission destination is higher than a predetermined processing capability set in advance, the image data is not generated by proxy using the acquired material data, This is to output itself to the transmitting unit 16 and cause the client device 60 to transmit it.

In this case, the client device 60
It is determined whether the data received by the receiving unit 23 is image data or material data. If the data is image data, it is output to the decoding unit 24. If the data is material data, the data is output to a rendering unit (not shown), rendering is performed by itself, and the result is output to the display unit 25 to display image data.

Embodiment 4 FIG. Next, an image processing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image processing system of the present embodiment includes a server device 50 and a client device 20, as shown in FIG. Here, the server device 50 has the same configuration as that according to the third embodiment. However, instead of the processing capability of the client device 60, the type and properties of image data are determined according to the state of the network. The point to instruct is different.
That is, in the present embodiment, the server device 50 includes the material database 11, the receiving unit 12, and the image generating unit 13
, Video generation unit 14, video encoding unit 15, transmission unit 1
6, state database 17, and generated image type control unit 5
2 and a network state monitoring unit 53.

The network status monitoring unit 53 sends a command such as a ping command to the client device 60.
Check the communication status between and. Specifically, this ping is
The packet drop rate can be obtained. Then, the generated image type control unit 52 instructs the type of the image data (whether to be a still image or a moving image) and properties such as a compression ratio according to the packet discard rate.

It should be noted that the client device 20 includes first and second
Since it is the same as that according to the embodiment, detailed description is omitted.

Also in the present embodiment, the network condition monitoring unit 53 determines whether the network condition (packet discard rate) is higher than a predetermined threshold value (the condition is poor and large data cannot be easily transmitted). Transmits the material data itself, which is smaller data. That is, the network state monitoring unit 53 outputs information on the state of the network to the image generation unit 13 together with the video encoding unit 15, and the image generation unit 13
If the state of the network is worse than the state corresponding to the preset threshold value, the material data itself is output to the transmission unit 16 without generating the image data by proxy using the obtained material data. And causes the client device 20 to transmit.

In this case, the client device 20
It is determined whether the data received by the receiving unit 23 is image data or material data. If the data is image data, it is output to the decoding unit 24. If the data is material data, the data is output to a rendering unit (not shown), rendering is performed by itself, and the result is output to the display unit 25 to display image data.

Embodiment 5 FIG. Next, an image processing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, a client group including a plurality of client devices 20 is formed, and within this client group, image data is generated using the same material data and the like. As a result, for example, image data different only in the viewpoint is formed, and the plurality of client devices 2
0 can share one virtual space, and can be applied to network games and the like.

That is, the image processing system according to the present embodiment includes a server device 70 and a client device 20, as shown in FIG. Also, the server device 70
Are a material database 11, a reception unit 12, an image generation unit 13, a video generation unit 14, a video encoding unit 15, a transmission unit 16, a state database 17, a space management database 71, a synchronization control unit 72. Note that the client device 20 is the same as the client device 20 in the first and second embodiments, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Here, the material database 11, the receiving unit 12, the image generating unit 13, the video generating unit 14, the video encoding unit 15, the transmitting unit 16, and the state database 17 are composed of first and second The state database 17 is the same as that of the second embodiment,
For example, only information relating to a viewpoint as generated information is managed, for example.

As shown in FIG. 8, the space management database 71 identifies the client device 20 sharing the virtual space in association with the space identifier, the material data arranged in the space, and the generation information. Information is stored in association with the information. Here, the space means a virtual space used when rendering image data. Model data and virtual light sources are arranged in this space, and rendering is performed. Specifically, in FIG. 8, the client device 20 identified by “a” and “b” is associated with the space identifier “1”. The synchronization control unit 72 monitors the space management database 71, and when there is a change in the contents of the space management database 71, specifies the client device 20 associated with the space identifier associated with the space whose contents have been changed. Then, it acquires the generation information associated with the specified client device 20 and outputs it to the image generation unit 13 to generate image data to be transmitted to the client device 20. The space management database 71 and the synchronization control unit 72 correspond to a synchronization control unit of the present invention.

That is, in this embodiment, the same combination of model data, texture data and motion data, and position setting of a virtual light source are used among a plurality of client devices 20 and are managed for each client device 20. According to the position information of the viewpoint, virtual three-dimensional data when viewed from the viewpoint is generated as image data. In addition, when an operation of changing information such as model data or texture data is performed in any one of the client devices 20 belonging to the client group, the operation is transmitted to the server device 70 as an image generation request, and is transmitted to the server device 70. In response to the request, a change is made to the generated information managed by the space management database 71 as generated information. Then, this change is detected by the synchronization control unit 72, and each client device 2
The image data to be transmitted to “0” is regenerated and transmitted to the respective client devices 20 at the same time.

Also in the present embodiment, information relating to the processing capability of each client device 20 is acquired and managed, and image data generated based on generation information and material data, etc., according to the information. It is also preferable to perform processing such as setting an encoding method and a compression ratio of the above or transmitting material data itself together with generation information. This allows each client device 20 to use the same material data and (part of) the generated information while using each client device 2
Appropriate data is provided according to the processing capacity of each zero so as to reduce the load on the entire system.

Further, in the first to fifth embodiments described above, based on the image data (or the material data itself) transmitted from the transmission unit on the server device side, it is set in advance for each type and property. It is also preferable to calculate a billing amount obtained by multiplying the calculated basic billing amount by a data amount and the like, manage the calculated billing amount for each client device 20, and perform billing.

[0053]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the server device is an image processing system for generating image data based on the material data, and the server device stores the material data, In response to an image generation request from a device, the client device generates image data using material data on behalf of the client device, and, for each client device, generates generation information regarding image data generation and corrects the generated image data. The image processing system manages the generated image data and transmits the generated image data to the client device that has requested the image generation. Can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing system which is connected to a material data server for managing material data and generates image data using material data provided from the material data server. Receiving an image generation request from a client device, obtaining material data from a material data server on behalf of the client device, generating image data using the obtained material data, and The image processing system manages the generation information related to the generation of the image data to correct the generated image data, and transmits the generated image data to the client device that has requested the image generation. A service using the image processing effect can also be provided to the client device. In addition, it is possible to provide a service using an image processing effect even to a client device having a low processing capability without changing existing content itself created without being aware of a client device having a low processing capability.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image generation server further manages information relating to the processing capability of each client device, and generates the image data according to the processing capability of the client device requesting image generation. In addition, since the image processing system is configured to determine the properties and the properties, it is possible to provide a service using an appropriate image processing effect even to a client device having a low processing capability.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image generation server further acquires information on a communication state of the communication line, and based on the acquired information on the communication state,
Since the image processing system determines the type and properties of the image data to be generated, it is possible to provide a service using an image processing effect to a client device with low processing capability while considering the communication state.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing system which is connected to a material data server for managing material data and generates image data using material data provided from the material data server. The image generation server manages a group of client devices, receives an image generation request from a client device included in any of the groups, acquires material data from the material data server on behalf of the client device, The image data is generated using the obtained material data, and generation information relating to generation of image data shared by the client devices included in the group and related to the client device is stored. Images to be broadcast to each client device included in the group Since the control systems, with respect to low processing capability client device can provide shared to service performed a virtual space associated with the image data.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image generation server further manages information regarding the processing capability of each client belonging to the group, and determines the type and properties of image data to be transmitted according to the processing capability. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the fifth aspect, the load on the entire system can be reduced.

According to the seventh and ninth aspects of the present invention, an image generation request from a client is received, material data is acquired in response to the image generation request, and the image data is substituted for the client based on the material data. Is generated, the generation information regarding the generation of the image data is stored, and the generated image data is provided to the client side. Therefore, a service using the image processing effect can be provided to a client device with low processing capability.

According to the present invention, a client group including a plurality of clients is managed, and image data is generated in response to an image generation request from a client belonging to the client group. Since the transmitted image data is simultaneously transmitted to each client belonging to the client group, it is possible to provide a service including sharing a virtual space related to the image data to a group including client devices having low processing capacity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an image processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of a material database.

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram of an image processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image processing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of an image processing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram of an image processing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of an image processing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a space management database.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 50, 70 server device, 11, 41 material database, 12, 23, 43 receiver, 13 image generator, 14 video generator, 15 video encoder, 16, 2
2,42 transmission unit, 17 state database, 20,6
0 client device, 21 operation unit, 24 decryption unit, 25 display unit, 31 model database, 32
Texture database, 33 motion database, 40 content server, 44 control unit, 51 client-side ability judgment unit, 52 generated image type control unit,
53 Network status monitoring unit, 61 Capability acquisition unit, 71
Space management database, 72 Synchronization control unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hironobu Abe 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (72) Inventor Junichi Yokosato 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Electric Corporation F-term (reference) 5C062 AA06 AA35 AB20 AB23 AB38 AB40 AC24 AC38 AC58 BC01

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image processing system for generating image data based on material data, comprising: a server device; and a plurality of client devices, wherein the server device accumulates material data, and the client device Means for receiving an image generation request from the client device and generating image data using the material data on behalf of the client device; and for each client device, generating information relating to generation of image data, Means for managing the data for correction, and transmitting the generated image data to a client device that has requested image generation. 2. An image processing system connected to a material data server for managing material data and generating image data using material data provided from the material data server, comprising: an image generation server; A plurality of client devices connected to a generation server via a communication line, wherein the image generation server receives an image generation request from the client device, and transmits material data to the material data server on behalf of the client device. Means for generating image data using the obtained material data, and means for managing generation information relating to generation of image data for each client device for correcting the generated image data. And transmitting the generated image data to a client device that has requested image generation. Image processing system. 3. The image generation server further includes means for managing information relating to the processing capability of each client device, wherein the type of image data to be transmitted and The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the property is determined. 4. The image generation server further includes means for acquiring information on a communication state of the communication line, and determines a type and a property of image data to be transmitted based on the acquired information on the communication state. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein: 5. An image processing system connected to a material data server for managing material data and generating image data using material data provided from the material data server, the image processing system comprising: an image generation server; A plurality of client devices connected to the generation server via a communication line, wherein the image generation server manages a group of client devices, and receives an image generation request from a client device included in the group. Means for acquiring material data from a material data server on behalf of the client device, generating image data using the acquired material data, and sharing the client device included in the group with the client device. Storage means for storing generation information relating to generation of related image data; Image processing system characterized in that it comprises a and a synchronization management unit that broadcast to each client device included the image data the generated to the group. 6. The image generation server further includes means for managing information relating to the processing capability of each client belonging to the group, and wherein the synchronization management means includes information relating to the processing capability of each client which has been subjected to simultaneous transmission. 6. The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein the type and the nature of the image data to be transmitted to each client are determined according to the processing capability of the client device that has requested image generation. 7. A step of receiving an image generation request from a client side, a step of obtaining material data in response to the image generation request, and a step of generating image data on behalf of the client side based on the material data; An image processing method, comprising: storing generation information on data generation; and providing the generated image data to a client side. 8. A step of managing a client group including a plurality of clients; a step of generating image data in response to an image generation request from a client belonging to the client group; Transmitting the broadcast to each client belonging to the image processing method. 9. A procedure for accepting an image generation request from a client side to a computer, a step of obtaining material data in response to the image generation request, and a step of generating image data on behalf of the client side based on the material data. A program for storing generation information relating to generation of the image data; and providing the generated image data to a client. 10. A computer for managing a client group including a plurality of clients, a procedure for generating image data on behalf of a client in response to an image generation request from a client belonging to the client group, Transmitting the generated image data to each of the clients belonging to the client group at the same time.