JP3807474B2 - Image information management device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image information management apparatus that stores and manages image information together with the management information.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The image information management apparatus has various types of management information in order to manage image information individually. For example, it has ID information for identifying each image information individually, or stores the storage address of the image information separately from the image information in order to improve the convenience of accessing each image information. .
[0003]
In addition to this, all information related to image information is held as management information. For example, when incorporated in a device having a communication function such as a facsimile device, information such as an encoding method and a line density is stored as management information. In addition, when incorporated in an apparatus having a copying function, information for various copying functions such as a rotation direction is stored as management information.
[0004]
In recent years, the function of an apparatus incorporating an image information management apparatus has been improved, and the number of items stored as management information has been increasing. Therefore, the data amount of management information increases with the increase of the items stored as management information. In a conventional image information management apparatus, management information is managed separately from image information, and is associated with image information by a storage address or the like of the image information as described above. As described above, as the number of items stored as management information increases and the data amount of management information increases, there is a problem that the storage area for storing the management information needs to be expanded.
[0005]
Furthermore, each time the number of items stored as management information increases, the data structure of the management information must be changed. Recent improvements in functionality are remarkable, and frequent changes to data structures are required. For this reason, the burden of dealing with changes in the data structure has increased, and the handling on the side using the image information management apparatus has also become a burden.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. Even when management information for managing image information increases, an increase in the area for storing the management information is suppressed, and a burden associated with the increase in management information is present. An object of the present invention is to provide an image information management apparatus that reduces the above-mentioned problem.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to an image storage means for storing image information and an address at which image information corresponding to at least the image storage means is stored among management information for managing the image information stored in the image storage means. An image information management apparatus having management information storage means for holding basic management information including the above-mentioned information, wherein detailed management information other than basic management information among the management information is stored in the image storage means.
[0008]
As described above, the basic management information including at least the address where the image information corresponding to the image storage unit is stored in the management information is stored in the management information storage unit, and the other detailed management information is stored in the image storage unit together with the image information. Thus, even when the management information increases, the increased management information can be stored using the image storage means. Therefore, an increase in the storage capacity of the management information storage means due to an increase in management information can be suppressed. Further, since the management information can be added without changing the basic management information, the burden on the part using the basic management information can be reduced.
[0009]
Further, the image storage means can be configured to store the detailed management information corresponding to the unit in a predetermined unit with respect to the image information, and can manage the image information for each unit. Furthermore, if detailed management information is unnecessary, it can be configured not to be stored in the image storage means, and the storage area of the image storage means can be used effectively.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of an image information management apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a main control unit, 12 is a display unit, 13 is an operation unit, 14 is a reading unit, 15 is a recording unit, 16 is an NCU, 17 is a modem, 18 is an image memory, 19 is an index information storage unit, 20 Is an image information storage unit, 21 is a RAM, 22 is a ROM, and 23 is a bus.
[0011]
The main control unit 11 controls the entire apparatus and operates each unit to realize an image transmission / reception function, a copy function, and the like. The copy function includes a function of temporarily storing an image read by the reading unit 14 in the image memory 18 and then recording and outputting it from the recording unit 15 such as a plurality of copies and an electronic sort function. Further, as an image transmission function, a memory transmission function for transmitting an image read by the reading unit 14 once in the image memory 18 is transmitted, and as an image reception function, a received image is temporarily stored in the image memory 18 and then the recording unit 15. It also has a memory reception function to record and output from
[0012]
When an image is accumulated in the image memory 18 in each of these functions, the image information read by the reading unit 14 or received image information is stored in the image information storage unit 20. At the same time, basic management information including at least essential information among the management information for managing the image information is stored in the index information storage unit 19. If management information other than the basic management information needs to be stored, the management information is stored in the image information storage unit 20 together with the image information as detailed management information. In addition, when image information stored in the image memory 18 is recorded and output from the recording unit 15 or transmitted, first, basic management information corresponding to the image information is extracted from the index information storage unit 19. Further, if the extracted basic management information includes information indicating that the detailed management information exists, the detailed management information is extracted from the image information storage unit 20 as necessary. In this way, various management information corresponding to the image information to be read out is acquired, and various settings at the time of recording output or transmission are performed. Thereafter, the image information is read from the image information storage unit 20 and recorded or transmitted.
[0013]
The display unit 12 can display various information such as a message for the user, a message indicating the state of the apparatus, and operation guidance. The operation unit 13 is used when the user makes various settings and instructions. Using the display unit 12 and the operation unit 13, for example, a transmission function or a copy function can be selected, an instruction to execute the selected function, and various settings regarding the selected function can be performed.
[0014]
The reading unit 14 is configured by an image input device such as an image scanner or a digital camera, and reads image information to be transmitted or copied. The recording unit 15 records the received image or copy image on a recording sheet according to the control of the main control unit 11. As a recording method, various methods such as an electrophotographic method and an ink jet method can be adopted.
[0015]
The NCU 16 communicates with an external device by controlling the line. The modem 17 modulates / demodulates image data to be transmitted / received. The NCU 16 and the modem 17 can be used to send and receive images to and from other facsimile machines.
[0016]
The image memory 18 stores image data to be transmitted, received image data, image data read by the reading unit 14, image data to be recorded by the recording unit 15, other image data being processed, and the like. The image memory 18 is provided with an index information storage unit 19 and an image information storage unit 20. The index information storage unit 19 holds basic management information including at least essential information among management information for managing image information stored in the image information storage unit 20, and functions as a management information storage unit. The image information storage unit 20 holds image information and also holds detailed management information, which is management information other than basic management information, among management information for managing each image information, and functions as an image storage unit. .
[0017]
The RAM 21 is used when it is necessary to save data in processing of the main control unit 11 and other units. The RAM 21 may be provided with the index information storage unit 19. Further, the image memory 20 and the RAM 21 may be integrated. The ROM 22 stores a program that defines the operation of the main control unit 11, fixed data, and the like.
[0018]
The bus 23 interconnects the main control unit 11, the display unit 12, the operation unit 13, the reading unit 14, the recording unit 15, the NCU 16, the modem 17, the image memory 18, the RAM 21, the ROM 22, and the like. Data transfer is possible. Of course, in addition to these, various devices such as an external storage device may be connected to the bus 23. Further, for example, an interface connected to an external computer or the like may be provided, and image information may be input / output via this interface.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the index information storage unit and the image information storage unit. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the index information storage unit 19 is configured as a table having one record for each page of image information stored in the image information storage unit 20. Each record indicates basic management information. In this example, No. , Page, type, storage destination address, presence / absence of detailed management information, line density, size, and encoding method.
[0020]
No. The item is a number assigned to uniquely identify each page of image information stored in the image information storage unit 20. The page item indicates the page number of the image information. The type item indicates whether the image information is stored in a copy function, an image reception function, or an image transmission function. In FIG. 2, “RX” indicates image information received by the image reception function, and “copy” indicates image information temporarily stored by the copy function.
[0021]
The item of storage destination address indicates the head address where the corresponding image information is stored in the image information storage unit 20 (or the head address of the detail management information when the detailed management information is stored together with the image information). Yes. In this example, since the storage area of the image information storage unit 20 is managed in units of blocks, a block number is stored as an address in the storage destination address item.
[0022]
The item of presence / absence of detailed management information indicates whether or not detailed management information is stored in the image information storage unit 20 together with corresponding image information. In this example, when the value is “0”, there is no detailed management information, and when the value is “1”, the detailed management information is stored in the image information storage unit 20. Note that this item need not be provided when an area for detailed management information is always secured in the image information storage unit 20.
[0023]
The item of line density indicates the line density of the image information stored in the image information storage unit 20. For example, in the image transmission function or the image reception function, a line density such as 3.85 lines, 7.7 lines, and 15.4 lines per 1 mm is generally set. In this item, such linear density information is stored. In the size item, for example, size information including the size of image information such as A4, B4, and A3 and the direction such as the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is stored. In the item of the encoding method, in particular, in the image transmission function or the image reception function, the encoding method used for transmission or the encoding method used for the received image is stored. For example, information specifying an encoding method such as MMR, MR, MH, and JBIG can be stored. Also, in the case of the copy function, an image can be encoded and stored in the image information storage unit 20, and in this case, an encoding method when encoded is shown. Of course, it is also possible to store the image information in the image information storage unit 20 without encoding, and in this case, information indicating that it is not encoded may be stored as an encoding method.
[0024]
The index information storage unit 19 can be configured as a set of fixed-length records having such items. As a result, each record (basic management information) can be easily accessed. The storage area of the index information storage unit 19 is also preferably fixed. In this example, the basic management information is stored for each page. However, the unit for providing the basic management information is arbitrary, for example, for each job.
[0025]
The image information storage unit 20 manages the storage area in blocks for each predetermined capacity, and stores image information using one or more blocks according to the data amount of the image information. In this example, both image information 1 and image information 2 are stored using three blocks.
[0026]
Detailed management information can be stored at the head of each image information as required. In the detailed management information, management information not stored in the index information storage unit 19 is stored as necessary. For example, information indicating the size of image information such as the number of dots or lines of image information, the total amount of bytes, information indicating the unit of linear density (for example, inches or millimeters) included in the basic management information, Information indicating the rotation direction of the image can be stored. These are merely examples, and the detailed management information can include various management information necessary for executing various functions. For example, when information that must be stored together with image information is generated due to addition of a function or the like, the information can be included in the detailed management information. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with improvement of the function of the device. Even when the function is expanded, it is not necessary to change the data structure of the index information storage unit 19, so that the burden on using the basic management information can be reduced.
[0027]
Note that this detailed management information is stored in the image information storage unit 20 when the detailed management information in the basic management information indicates that there is detailed management information. Further, by setting the area for storing the detailed management information to a fixed length, subsequent image information can be easily taken out.
[0028]
Among items that must be stored in association with image information as management information, for example, No. There are management information that is always stored in the index information storage unit 19 such as a storage address, and management information that is not necessarily stored in the index information storage unit 19. Information other than the management information that is always stored in the index information storage unit 19 may be included in either the basic management information or the detailed management information. However, for example, management information that is commonly used by each function or frequently used management information may be included in the basic management information, and other management information may be included in the detailed management information.
[0029]
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, management information used for facsimile transmission / reception and copying using basic functions is stored in the index information storage unit 19 as basic management information. As a result, facsimile transmission / reception and copying using the basic function can be handled only by the basic management information without storing the detailed management information in the image information storage unit 20. Therefore, it is not necessary to store all management information including application functions in the index information storage unit 19, and an increase in the storage capacity of the index information storage unit 19 due to function expansion can be prevented. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, if the detailed management information is not stored if unnecessary, the overall capacity required for storing the management information can be reduced.
[0030]
Next, an example of the operation of the facsimile apparatus including one embodiment of the image information management apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation when an image read in the copy function is stored in the image memory. When performing copy using the copy function, first, in S31, the display unit 12 and the operation unit 13 are used to select the copy function and make settings for various copy functions. For example, image quality setting, magnification setting, paper setting, and the like can be performed. At this time, for example, application functions such as an electronic sort function and an automatic rotation function can be set.
[0031]
After such various settings are completed, when an operation for starting the copy function is performed, an image reading operation in the reading unit 14 is started. Note that the page No. Is reset to 0. Prior to image reading, in S32, the width of the original is first detected, and the number of dots in one main scanning line is set. At this point, various setting values can be automatically set. For example, when the automatic rotation function is used, the rotation direction can be set from the number of dots and the set paper size. Also, other setting values such as magnification can be automatically set.
[0032]
In page S33, page No. 1 is added, and the number of lines is initialized to 0. Thereafter, one line of the image on the original is read in S34. At this point, various processing such as enlargement or reduction processing may be performed. Also, here, as an example, the image information read by the copy function is also encoded, and as an example, encoding is performed by the MMR method. In S35, 1 is added to the number of lines. In S36, it is determined whether or not the reading for one page is completed, and the reading operations in S34 to S36 are repeated until the reading for one page is completed.
[0033]
When reading of one page is completed, a process of storing the read image information of one page in the image memory 18 is performed in S37. At this time, at least a page number as management information. , Type information (in this case, copy), line density and size information obtained from image quality settings are used as basic management information. When an application function is set, other information is set as detailed management information and stored together with image information for one page. The storing process in the image memory 18 will be described later.
[0034]
In S38, it is determined whether or not image reading of all pages has been completed. If there is still a document to be read, the process returns to S32 and the reading process is repeated. When all pages have been read, the image reading process in the copy function is ended.
[0035]
The operation of reading an image to be transmitted by the reading unit 14 and storing it in the image memory 18 in the image transmission function is substantially the same as in the case of the copy function described above. However, when the image transmission function is used, the management information for storing image information and management information in the image memory 18 in S37 is different. For example, the type information in the basic management information is “TX”. The line density and size are set values. The encoding method is set according to the transmission mode.
[0036]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation when an image received by the image receiving function is stored in the image memory. When the NCU 16 detects an incoming call from the line, the image receiving function is started. Page No. Is initialized to 0.
[0037]
In accordance with the facsimile procedure determined by the ITU-T recommendation, a DIS signal is transmitted in S41, and a DCS signal is received in S42. In S43, the document width, line density, encoding method, and the like are detected from the received DCS signal.
[0038]
In S44, page No. After 1 is added, image information reception processing for one page is performed. That is, after the number of lines is initialized to 0, image information for one line is received in S45, and 1 is added to the number of lines in S46. In S47, it is determined whether or not the image information for one page has been received. If the image information is in the middle of the page, the process returns to S45 to perform the receiving process for each line. Such line-by-line reception processing is performed, and image information for one page is received. When the image information for one page has been received, the number of lines of the received image information is counted.
[0039]
When the image information for one page has been received, the received image information for one page is stored in the image memory 18 in S48. At this time, the document width, line density, encoding method, etc. detected from the DCS signal in S43, the number of lines counted and the page number. Are stored in the image memory 18 in association with the image information as management information. Note that these pieces of information are not stored as management information as they are, but for example, if it can be determined that the size is a specific size from the document width and the number of lines, the information on the size may be used as management information. In addition, when storing image information received by the image receiving function in the image memory 18, the type information stored as management information is “RX”. The storing process in the image memory 18 will be described later.
[0040]
In S49, it is determined whether or not the reception of the image information of all pages has been completed. If further next image information is sent, it is determined in S50 whether or not the reception mode has been changed. If there is no change in the reception mode, the process returns to S44 to receive the next page of image information as it is. If the reception mode is changed, the process returns to S43 to detect the changed document width, line density, encoding method, etc., and then receives the image information of the next page. When the image information for all the pages has been received, the line is disconnected and the processing at the time of receiving the image information is terminated.
[0041]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for storing image information in the image memory. Here, the processing performed when the image information read by the reading unit 14 is stored in the image memory 18 in S37 of FIG. 3 and when the received image information is stored in the image memory 18 in S48 of FIG. An example is shown. When the process shown in FIG. 5 is called, it is assumed that various management information is also passed along with the image information.
[0042]
First, in S <b> 61, basic management information of the management information is stored in the index information storage unit 19 of the image memory 18. For example, when items as shown in FIG. Page No. , Information such as type, line density, size, and encoding method are stored. In addition, the head address (block) of the area of the image information storage unit 20 that stores detailed management information and image information is stored as a storage destination address. Further, when management information other than basic management information exists and needs to be stored as detailed management information, for example, “1” is stored as the presence / absence of the detailed management information to indicate that the detailed management information exists.
[0043]
Subsequently, in S62, it is determined whether or not the detailed management information exists. Only when the detailed management information exists, in S63, a predetermined address from the head of the address (block) indicated by the storage destination address of the index information storage unit 19 is determined. Detailed management information is stored in this area. For example, when the number of lines counted in the processing shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 must be stored separately from the size information of the basic management information, it is stored in the image information storage unit 20 as detailed management information. . In addition, for example, the number of dots in the document width direction, the number of pixels (bytes) of the entire image information, the unit system for the linear density stored as basic management information, the rotation direction of image information when using the copy function For example, various management information other than basic management information is stored as detailed management information.
[0044]
After storing the management information in this way, the image information is stored. Here, the image information is stored for each block of the image information storage unit 20. In S 64, image information for one block from the head of the address (block) indicated by the storage destination address in the index information storage unit 19 is stored in the image information storage unit 20. At this time, when the detailed management information is stored in a predetermined area from the head of the block in S63, the image information is stored in the remaining part of the block following the detailed management information.
[0045]
In S65, it is determined whether image information for one page has been stored. If there is image information that has not been stored yet, in S66, image information for one block is stored in the next block, and the process returns to S65. When all the image information for one page is stored in this manner, the image information storing process in the image memory 18 is terminated.
[0046]
After the image information and management information are stored in the image memory 18 as described above, the image information stored in the image memory 18 is read at the time of the copy function shown in FIG. 3 and the image reception function shown in FIG. Thus, a recording process for recording on the recording medium is started in the storage unit 15. In the recording process, the basic management information stored in the index information storage unit 19 is referred to, and the type of “RX” or “copy” is selected. If the basic management information and the detailed management information are stored in the image information storage unit 20 in order from the first page, the stored detailed management information is read out. Further, the image information is read out, and the image information is recorded according to the management information read out earlier.
[0047]
For example, when the basic management information shown in the second row of the index information storage unit 19 in FIG. 2 is selected, the line density (15.4), size (A4), and encoding method (MMR) are selected from the basic management information. In addition to acquiring the information, the detailed management information stored in the predetermined area is acquired from the head of the block indicated by the storage destination address because the information on the presence / absence of the detailed management information is “1”. For example, it is assumed that 90 ° rotation information is stored as detailed management information.
[0048]
Then, the image information is acquired over 3 blocks from the continuation of the detailed management information, and is decoded according to the encoding method (MMR), and is rotated by 90 °, or the pixel density conversion process is performed according to the line density information as necessary. After this is done, an image may be recorded by selecting a sheet according to the size (A4).
[0049]
In the case of such recording processing, image information recording processing can be performed if there is at least basic management information, and detailed management information corresponding to other application functions is arbitrary. Therefore, if the detailed management information is separated from the basic management information as described above, an area for storing the detailed management information can be omitted if the detailed management information is unnecessary. As a result, enlargement of the area of the index information storage unit 19 can be prevented, and the storage efficiency can be improved.
[0050]
Further, when image information is stored in the image memory 18 in the image transmission function, the information of the type “TX” in the basic management information stored in the index information storage unit 19 is selected. Then, it is only necessary to transmit the information of the pages to the counterpart device via the modem 17 and the NCU 16 in order from the first page. At the start of transmission, negotiation with the counterpart device is performed in the facsimile procedure. At this time, management information stored as basic management information and detailed management information can be used as appropriate. Also in this case, since the information essential at the time of transmission is stored as basic management information, a basic transmission function can be executed without detailed management information. Thereby, an increase in the area of the index information storage unit 19 can be prevented, and the storage efficiency can be improved.
[0051]
As described above, in the recording process and the transmission process, when the detailed management information is stored, the detailed management information is often used before the image information. Therefore, the detailed management information is easily accessible. For example, it may be stored at the top of the image information as shown in FIG. Of course, it may be added to the end of the image information.
[0052]
In the above description, an example in which the image information management apparatus of the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus equipped with a copy function and a facsimile transmission / reception function is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a facsimile apparatus having a facsimile transmission / reception function alone, a copying apparatus having only a copying function, and a printer and an image database.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, only basic management information including essential management information is stored in the management information storage means, and other detailed management information is stored in the image storage means. For example, even if management information increases, it may be added as detailed management information. Therefore, even when the management information increases, the amount of data stored in the management information storage means does not increase, and it is not necessary to change the data structure, so the burden associated with the increase in management information can be reduced. In addition, by configuring so that detailed management information is not stored if unnecessary, the amount of data in the entire management information can be reduced even if the management information increases, and the storage area can be used effectively. There is an effect of becoming.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of an image information management apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an index information storage unit and an image information storage unit.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation when an image read in the copy function is stored in an image memory.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation when an image received by the image receiving function is stored in an image memory.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for storing image information in an image memory.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Main control part, 12 ... Display part, 13 ... Operation part, 14 ... Reading part, 15 ... Recording part, 16 ... NCU, 17 ... Modem, 18 ... Image memory, 19 ... Index information storage part, 20 ... Image information Storage unit, 21 ... RAM, 22 ... ROM, 23 ... bus.

Claims (3)

  Basic management including image storage means for storing image information, and at least an address at which image information corresponding to the image storage means is stored among management information for managing image information stored in the image storage means An image information management apparatus comprising management information storage means for holding information, wherein detailed management information other than the basic management information among the management information is stored in the image storage means.   The image information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image storage unit is capable of storing the detailed management information corresponding to the unit of the image information in a predetermined unit.   The image information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image storage unit does not store the detailed management information if it is unnecessary.

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