JPH0260277A - image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image processing system capable of processing and outputting image information such as characters and graphics.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a plurality of image creation devices, one image reading device each,
2. Description of the Related Art An image processing system is known in which a network is configured such that a plurality of image creation devices share an image reading device and an image output device by connecting an image output device with a communication means such as a communication cable. This image creation device is a workstation such as a word processor or a personal computer (personal computer) that has an information transmission function (communication function), and is composed of a control unit, a CRT (cathode ray tube) display device, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. Image information such as graphics can be freely created and edited. The image reading device is, for example, a document reader that reads a document image necessary for image creation, converts it into an electrical image signal, and outputs it.

The image output device is, for example, a high-speed printer such as a laser beam printer or an inkjet printer that actually forms and records images.

In such an image processing system, relatively expensive and space-consuming image reading devices and image output devices can be used efficiently with one unit each, which reduces equipment investment and office space, and also saves energy. There are possible benefits such as contributing to

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional system as described above, even when a document image read by an image reading device is directly output to an image output device, the image information of the document image is not transferred to the image creation device. There is a problem in that the image needs to be transferred once to the image creation device and then transferred again from the image creation device to the image output device. The drawback was that it could not be used effectively as a.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and to make it possible to directly output an image read by an image reading device to an image output device as it is without the intervention of an image creation device, thereby making it possible to An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system that can make more effective use of an output device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of image creation devices that perform image information creation and editing processing, an image reading device that reads an image of a document using photoelectric conversion means, and an input device. an image output device that forms and outputs an image based on image information; a communication device that connects multiple image creation devices; and an image reading device and an image output device that can be connected to the multiple image creation devices via the communication device. and an input/output control device that also enables direct transmission of image information from the image reading device to the image output device without going through a communication means, and the image creation device has an input/output control device that allows the image information to be transmitted from the input/output creation control device. It is characterized by having a display means for displaying whether or not the image reading device and the image output device are used based on control information.

[Function] According to the present invention, with the above configuration, a path for direct image transfer from the image reading device to the image output device is provided separately from the communication means (bus) that connects the plurality of image creation devices. It is now possible to operate the device and the image output device like a copying machine when the image creation device is not in use, and it is also possible to determine whether the copying machine is operating at regular intervals and to display the results. Since it is displayed on the display screen of each image creation device, the above operating status can be accurately communicated to the operator at all times, thereby improving operational efficiency and making more effective use of the image reading device and image output device. be able to.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, 1 to 4 are image creation devices (A-D), respectively.
), and each of these devices, as shown in FIG. 2, is called a workstation consisting of a control main body 1O1, a CRT display device 9, a keyboard 11, a mouse (coordinate data input device) 12, and the like. 5 is a bus (bus) that constitutes a communication line, and is a 5C5I bus that can transfer information such as commands, addresses, and image data at high speed.
(Small Computer Systems Interface)
Use buses such as Reference numeral 6 denotes an input/output device control device, which will be described in detail later. 7 is an image reading device, which reads document information of a document (not shown) placed on a document table (not shown) (:C
A so-called digital document reader is used, which converts the image into an electrical signal using an image pickup device such as a charge-coupled device (D). Reference numeral 8 denotes an image output device, which uses a high-speed printer such as a laser beam printer that records an image on a recording material (paper) using ink or toner based on digital information converted into an electric signal.

As shown in the figure, the image reading device 7 and image output device 8 described above are not directly connected to the bus 5, but an input/output device control device 6 is connected between the bus 5 and the bus 5. Therefore, image information is transferred between each of the image creation devices 1 to 4 and the image reading device 7 or the image output device 8 via the bus 5 and the input/output device control device 6. Transfer of image information between the output devices 8 can be performed directly under the control of the input/output device control device 6 without going through the image creation devices 1 to 4 and the bus 5.

That is, the input/output device control device 6 controls the image creation devices 1 to 4.
Based on the command, the image information of the document read by the image reading device 7 is individually transferred to the image creation device that has been instructed through the bus 5, and the image information sent from the image creation devices 1 to 4 through the bus 5 is transferred. Input/output control such as the operation of transferring the image information to the image output device 8 and outputting the image, and the operation of directly transferring the image information read by the image reading device 7 to the image output device 8 without passing through the bus 5 and outputting the image. perform an action.

Next, the configuration and operation of the above-described image creation devices 1 to 4 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The control main body 10 uses an internal control microcomputer (c) according to the control procedure (program) shown in FIG.
pu) performs one control operation according to the present invention. The control main body 10 also includes an image memory for creating an image therein;
It is equipped with a working memory (RAM) for the microcomputer, a video memory for displaying on the CRT display device 9, a content memory such as a hard disk for temporarily storing the program and image information, and an external memory such as a floppy disk. There is.

Further, image data is transferred to the bus 5 through an interface for 5C5I in the control main unit IO. The keyboard 11 and mouse 12 are information input devices for inputting operation commands for creating an image and image contents (image data). The CRT display device 7 has a keyboard 1
Images and operation instructions created in 1st grade are displayed.

The above-mentioned input/output device control device 6 constantly monitors and determines whether or not image transfer from the image reading device 7 to the image output device 8 is being directly performed. Further, each of the image creation devices 1 to 4 communicates with the input/output device control device 6 at regular intervals, and based on control information from the input/output control device 6, the image reading device 7
The operating state of the image output device 8 is determined, and the result of the determination is always displayed on a portion of the display screen of the CRT display device 9. Thereby, an operator who is creating images using the image creating devices 1 to 4 can accurately and easily determine whether the image reading device 7 and the image output device 8 are currently available for use.

When the operator issues an operation command from the keyboard 11 of the image creation devices 1 to 4 while the image reading device 7 and the image output device 8 are in a usable state, the image creation devices 1 to 4 issue a control instruction to the input/output device control device 6. conduct. Upon receiving this control command, the input/output device control device 6 performs a switching operation to connect either the image reading device 7 or the image output device 8 designated to the bus 5 to perform image transfer.

The flowchart in FIG. 3 shows the processing procedure of the control judgment operation of the image creation devices 1 to 4 described above. First, in step Sl, control communication is performed with the input/output device control device 6 via the bus 5, thereby performing a direct image transfer operation (hereinafter referred to as local copy) from the image reading device 7 to the image output device 8. Check to see if there is one. In the next step S2, it is determined whether local copying is in progress. If local copying is not in progress, a display indicating that the image reading device 7 and image output device 8 are not in use is displayed on the CRT in step S3.
Display device 9. On the other hand, if local copy is in progress,
In step S4, the CIIT display device 9 displays that the image reading device 7 and the image output device 8 are in use.

Here, if any one of the image creation devices (1 to 4) uses the image reading device 7 and the image output device 8 described above, the other image creation devices Since it is possible to determine whether or not the device is being used by detecting whether or not the device is in use, its operating state can also be displayed on the display screen of the CRT display device 9.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a path for directly transferring images from an image reading device to an image output device is provided separately from a communication means (bus) connecting a plurality of image creation devices. Therefore, it is possible to operate the image reading device and the image output device like a copying machine when the image creation device is not using them, and it is also possible to determine at regular intervals whether or not the copying machine is operating. Since the results are displayed on the display screen of each image creation device, the operating status can be accurately communicated to the operator at all times, thereby improving operational efficiency and making it easier to use the image reading device and image output device. It can be used more effectively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one circuit configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the image creation device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a control diagram of the image creation device shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure of judgment operation. 1-4... Image creation device, 5... Bus, 6... Input/output device control device, 7... Image reading device, 8... Image output device, 9... CRT display device, 10...Control body, 11...Keyboard, 12...Mouse.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of image creation devices that perform image information creation and editing processing; an image reading device that reads images of a document using photoelectric conversion means; and an image output device that forms and outputs images based on input image information; a communication means for connecting a plurality of image creation apparatuses; and a communication means for connecting the image reading apparatus and the image output apparatus to the plurality of image creation apparatuses via the communication means; an input/output control device that also enables direct transmission of image information from the image reading device to the image output device, and the image creation device generates the image based on control information sent from the input/output device control device. An image processing system comprising: a display means for displaying whether or not a reading device and the image output device are used.