JPH02240772A - Image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the capacity of the image data and to improve the space efficiency of an external storage by holding the original picture image data as it is and securing the linkage between the original picture image data and the difference information between the original picture image data and the image data updated based on the processing/editing result. CONSTITUTION:An original picture image (primary image) that is used for the processing/editing jobs is read into an original picture image memory 11 out of an external storage 8 and processed/edited via an editing memory 12 serving as a working area. When the processing/editing jobs are over, the difference of contents between both memories 11 and 12 is stored in a difference memory 13. The contents of the memory 13 are compressed as necessary and written into the storage 8 and linked with a file stored in the storage 8 storing the original picture image. As a result, the space efficiency of the storage 8 is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention edits and processes image data stored in an external memory device, and stores the processed image data in the external memory device as images before and after processing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing system in which data can be stored so that it can be retrieved as desired and requires a small memory capacity for storage.

(B) Conventional technology In conventional word processors and document filing systems, created documents are managed using a single file name.
When the content of the document data is updated, the original document is saved by giving it a new file name and saving it.

In addition, in file management in computer systems, a version number is attached to a single file name and a history of updates can be kept, but the data capacity that occupies the external storage device of the storage light is required for each version. However, when creating a new version by changing part of the contents of a file, it has the disadvantage that it occupies separate data areas even though most of the data is the same.

In addition, certain computer systems (for example, DEC's VAX
), based on the source code of the program, the portions of the source code that have been changed using an editor are used as difference information, and when saving the changed source code to an external storage device, the difference information is written to the external storage device. It is linked to the original source code. However, this management method targets character information such as program source code, and currently does not support image data.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention solves the problems of conventional image processing systems that process and edit image data and store them in an external storage device when managing the history of changes to the latest image data. This paper takes into account the problem of requiring the same data area size as the latest image data, and reduces the total image data capacity required to reproduce the image before and after changes, including historical information, by using smaller data. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing system capable of version management of image data with limited capacity and improved space efficiency of an external storage device.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a system main unit having a central control unit for controlling the system, an external data input means for inputting external data into the system main unit, and a control unit for controlling the central control unit. an image display device that receives image data in an image display memory in the system main body, converts the image data into visible information, and expresses the image data; and an external storage device configured to enable exchange of image data with the system unit and having a capacity to store image data for a plurality of pages; a function of forming a secondary image by processing a primary image based on external data from the external data input means to a primary image; and a function of expressing the secondary image on the image display device. In an image processing system having a function of storing image data in an IA memory and a function of displaying the secondary image on the image display device, the system main unit further calculates a difference between the image data before and after the processing. It has a function of storing in a differential memory, and a function of controlling the external storage device to store and reproduce the contents of the differential memory in a manner linked to the data regarding the primary image or the secondary image. The present invention relates to an image processing system characterized by the following.

(e) Operation In the image processing system of the present invention, an original image (primary image) to be processed and edited is read from an external storage device into the original image memory, and the processing and editing is performed on the Mia memory, which is a work area. At the end of the processing/editing work, ■ store the difference between the contents of the original image memory and the editing memory in the difference memory, compress the contents of the difference memory as necessary and write it to an external storage device, and save the original image with the original image. Link with a file in an external storage device that stores image data, or ■ At the same time as the contents of the editing memory, which has become the latest version of the image data, the difference between the contents of the original image memory and the 14th edition memory is stored in the differential memory. The contents of the differential memory are compressed as necessary and written to the external storage device, and the previous latest version image data is deleted from the external storage device.

(f) Examples The present invention will now be explained based on drawings showing examples thereof.

It is a principle diagram for calculating the difference from Ichiyuki. Below, in order to easily explain the principle, image data is set to 0 or 1.
This is binary information.

The image data before editing and the image data after editing are
Both have nxm pixels, and each image has a value of 0 or 1. The contents of the image data before editing and the image data after editing match, and the result of processing and editing becomes the image data after editing. Here, when obtaining difference information, an exclusive OR (XOR) is performed for each pixel of the image data before editing and the image data of edited Jl&, and the result is used as the difference information of nXm pixels. (Part 1 (a)
(Refer to) Next, when reproducing the image data before editing from the image data after editing and the difference information, XOR is performed for each pixel of the image data after IM and the difference information 9 (Figure 1 ( (See b)) Furthermore, when reproducing the edited image data from the unedited image data and the difference information, XOR is performed for each pixel of the unedited original image data and the difference information. (See FIG. 1(c)) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image processing system according to the present invention. This image processing system uses a central control unit F (CPU) that controls the system.
11, and a keyboard (3) for inputting external data into the system main body (2).
and a data input means (5) such as a mouse (4) and a CP.
Based on the control of U (1>), the system main unit (
2) an image display device (7) such as a CRT or liquid crystal display that receives image data in the image display memory (VRAM) (6) and converts the image data into visible information and expresses it; and a CPU (1). The external storage device (8) is configured such that image data can be exchanged with the system main unit (2) based on the control, and has an FDD, HDD, etc., and has a capacity to store image data for multiple pages. It is equipped with

The system main unit (2) includes the CPU (11) and the image display memory (6), a main memory (9), a display control device (10), and an original (primary) image memory (11).
), editing (secondary), memory (12), differential memory (13)
), MH decode circuit (!4), MH encode circuit (
15), and an XOR (exclusive OR) circuit (16), and each element is interconnected via a pass line (17). The system main unit (2) also includes the data input means (5) and an image display device (
7), and so-called external devices such as an external storage device (8) are also connected via the path line (17).

The main memory (9) stores program codes for the CPU (11) to control the entire image processing system.The display control device (10) updates stored data etc. under the control of the CPU (1). The data stored in the controlled image display memory (6) is controlled to be displayed on the screen of the image display device (7).The original image memory (111) is to be edited.

Memory that stores image data, and edit memory (
12) is a memory for editing and processing the image using this area, and the differential memory (13) is an XOR circuit for each data bit of the original image memory (11) and the editing memory (12). This is a memory that stores the data resulting from the XOR operation in (16). Therefore, the memory capacity of each memory (61 (11) (12) (131) is set to be large enough to store data of one screen size in bits.

The image data stored in the external storage device (8) is compressed information. In this embodiment, the image data is compressed using the same compression method as the differential information compression method, which is the MH method.

Read the compressed data of the image data read from the external storage device (8) into the main memory (9). The contents of 11) are copied to the editing memory (12).

On the other hand, if the differential information is linked, the differential information is read from the external storage device (8) to the main memory (9), and the differential memory (1
3) The XOR circuit (16) performs an XOR operation on the content of the original image memory (11) and the content of the difference memory (13) for each pixel, and the result is stored in the editing memory (12). Ru.

In subsequent processing/editing work using one editing memory,
The contents of the editing memory (12) are transferred to the image display memory (6) and displayed on the screen of the image display device (7) by the display controller (10). Then, processing and editing operations are performed on the displayed original image using a keyboard and a mouse, which are data input means (5). The results of this processing and editing are reflected on the image display memory (6) and editing memory (12), and are actually
Drawing circles and straight lines, reducing and filling rectangular areas, etc. are performed.

After finishing the processing and editing work, the original image memory (11)
and the contents of the Mj 4th collection memory (12) in the XOR circuit (16)
is stored in the difference memory (13) as difference information.

Next, the contents of the differential memory (13) are compressed by the MH encoding circuit (15), and the compressed data is stored in the main memory (9) and written to the external storage device (8).

There are two ways to store the difference information in the external storage device (8): ■ Storing the difference information by linking it to the original image; ■ Storing the difference information by linking it to the edited image. However, the user can make a selection depending on the purpose, that is, whether to prioritize information before or after processing/editing.
), in method ■, the first version image data and difference information are linked and stored, and in method ■, the latest version image data and difference information are linked and stored (in this case,
(The image data of the first version will be deleted.)

In method (2), in order to display the processed and edited image on the screen, the original image is developed into the original image memory (11), and the difference information is stored in the external storage device (11).
8) into the main memory (9), is decoded onto the differential memory by the MH decoding circuit (14), and
The OR circuit (16) performs an XOR operation for each pixel of the original image memory (111) and the difference memory (13), and the result is stored in the editing memory (12). This is the image data of a new version.If you want to view a newer version, you can do this by repeating this procedure.

On the other hand, in method (2), when viewing the old version of the image data, the latest version of the image data is expanded to the original image memory (Ill), and the difference information is stored in the external storage device (8).
) is incorporated into the main memory (9), decoded onto the differential memory (13) by the MH decoding circuit (14), and transferred to the original image memory (11) by the XOR circuit (l).
) and the contents of the difference memory (13) for each pixel, and the result is stored in the editing memory (12). Here, what is stored in the editing memory is the one older version of the image data. Furthermore, if you want to view an older version, you can do so by repeating this procedure.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the management of original image data and difference information in an external storage device when method The difference area pointed to by the pointer also has a pointer pointing to the next difference information and the size of the difference information in the header part, and a list. It has a structure. The compressed difference information is added and written at the end of the file that stores the original image data, and the pointer at the bottom of the previous difference information area points to the area where the new difference information is written. updated to point to

On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the management of the latest version of image data and difference information in an external storage device in the case of method (2) above. The file to store f&new version image ivy has a pointer indicating the difference information area in the header and the size of the compressed latest version image data, and the difference area indicated by the pointer also shows the next difference information in the header. It has a list structure with a pointer and the size of difference information. The latest version image data is deleted when a newer version of the pig is generated, and the image of the new version is created. Since the difference information is linked to the original image data, it is also possible to keep the latest version of the image data as is and retrieve any version of the image data that has been updated in the past, leaving a history of image data processing and editing. I can do it. Furthermore, when storing differential information, compression is performed as necessary, which has the effect of increasing the space efficiency of the external storage device. In particular, by combining the method of obtaining difference information using XOR described in the example and the compression method of the MH method, the compression mv
This has the effect that the size of the difference information of t becomes extremely small.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of determining the difference between image data before editing and image data after editing, which is the result of processing and editing, in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the image processing system of the present invention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are conceptual diagrams showing management within an external storage device in different embodiments of the present invention. (1)... Central processing unit (CPtJ), (2)...
System main unit, (5)...data input means, (6)
...Image display memory, (7)...Image display device, (8)...External storage device, (9)...Main memory, (10)...Display control device, (11)...・・・
Original (primary) image memory,...XOR circuit. Fig. 1 fa) Five-minute light-viewing (b) Fortune-telling image bow “te°-ari 41”

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A system main unit having a central control device that controls the system, an external data input means for inputting external data to the system main unit, and a system that controls the system under the control of the central control device. Image data is exchanged between an image display device that receives image data in an image display memory in the main body, converts the image data into visible information, and expresses the image data, and the system main body under the control of the central controller. an external storage device that is configured to be exchangeable and has a capacity to store image data for multiple pages; , a function of processing an image based on external data from the external data input means to form a secondary image, and storing image data for expressing the secondary image on the image display device in an editing memory. and a function of displaying the secondary image on the image display device, wherein the system main unit further includes a function of storing a difference between the image data before and after the processing in a difference memory; An image processing system characterized by having a function of controlling an external storage device to store and reproduce the contents of the differential memory in a manner linked to the data regarding the primary image. 2. A system main unit having a central control unit for controlling the system, an external data input means for inputting external data into the system main unit, and an image display memory in the system main unit under the control of the central control unit. The system is configured such that image data can be exchanged between an image display device that receives image data therein, converts the image data into visible information, and expresses the image data, and the system main body under control of the central controller. an external storage device having a capacity to store image data for a plurality of pages; a function of forming a secondary image by processing the image based on external data from the image display device; a function of storing image data for expressing the secondary image on the image display device in an editing memory; In the image processing system having a function of displaying the next image on the image display device, the system main unit further has a function of storing the difference between the image data before and after the processing in a difference memory, and a function of storing the difference between the image data before and after the processing, and a function of storing the difference between the image data before and after the processing, An image processing system characterized by having a function of controlling the content of the differential memory to be recorded in a manner linked to the data regarding the secondary image and to be reproduced. 3. The external storage means links differential data formed by forming the difference between the primary image and the secondary image using an XOR circuit to the primary image, and compresses and stores the differential data. The image processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: 4. The external storage means links differential data formed by forming a difference between the primary image and the secondary image using an XOR circuit to the secondary image, and compresses and stores the differential data. The image processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that: