JPH10173836A - Image processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a plurality of functions to be conducted efficiently as parallel processing at a high speed. SOLUTION: A digital copying machine 10 executes simultaneously a copying function, a printer function and a facsimile function single or in combination. In this case, a recognition means 60 recognizes an operating state of a page buffer 46 and a hard disk 50 and an operating state of an image bus 24 and a code bus 34 and a control means 58 revises at least either of a processing path and a processing procedure for the various functions depending on the operating states.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus having a plurality of processing units capable of executing a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a printer function, a facsimile function, and a file function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in addition to reading an image of a document and recording the image on a predetermined sheet, a function of recording an image created by a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a PC), a facsimile (hereinafter, referred to as a facsimile), etc. As described above, an image processing apparatus having a plurality of functions, such as a function of recording an image received via a communication line, such as a digital copying machine, has been actively developed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-336385). ).

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the digital copying machine. The digital copying machine 500 includes an image processing unit 502 that performs image processing, and is connected to an image output device 506 as an output unit. Further, a scanner 504, a PC 534, and a FAX 538 are provided as input means of an image processed by the image processing unit 502. A user interface 522 is also connected to the image processing unit 502 so that designation by an operator can be set. PC534 and FAX5
An IOCP (Inpu) 38 controls these external devices.
t Output Co-Processor) 530 via a PC decomposer 536 and a FAX interface 540, respectively. Thereby, the PC 534 and the FAX 538
Is sent to the image processing unit 502 via the IOCP 530.

The image processing section 502 includes a compressor 508 for compressing input image data and an expander 510 for expanding compressed image data. The image processing unit 502 includes a page buffer 512 for temporarily storing image data and a hard disk 514 as a storage unit for temporarily storing image data. Since the page buffer 512 temporarily stores the image data and transfers the image data to the image output device 506 at a stable speed, the image output device 506 can output the image efficiently. These components are connected to each other via an image bus 516 and connected to a control circuit 520 so as to be controlled as a whole. The hard disk 5
14 is connected to an image bus 516 via a hard disk controller 518.

[0005] The IOCP 530 includes a multiplexer 53.
2 and the multiplexer 532 includes a PC
One of the data from the 534 and the FAX 548 is selected, and processing on the selected data can be executed. In addition, the IOCP 530 includes a page buffer 542 for temporarily storing data. Such an I
The control circuit 546 performs overall control of the OCP 530. The IOCP 530 is connected to the image processing unit 502 via an IOCP-I / F (interface) 544, transfers image data from the PC 534 and the FAX 548 to the image processing unit 502, or connects the image bus 5
The image data is received via the PC 16 and transferred to the PC 534 or the FAX 538. At this time, after the image data from the PC 534 and the FAX 538 is temporarily stored by the page buffer 542, the IOCP is executed at a stable speed.
Since the image data is transferred to the image processing unit 502 via the I / F 544, the image processing unit 502 can efficiently perform image processing.

[0006]

However, in this digital copying machine 500, the image processing unit 502 and the IOCP
Since it is necessary to arrange the page buffers 512 and 542 at 530, respectively, the cost may be extremely high.

[0007] Further, since the IOCP 530 has a multiplexer configuration for selecting data with the PC 534 and the FAX 538, the FCP is activated while the decomposer 536 is operating.
If there is an AX reception or if there is a print request from the PC 538 during FAX reception, only one of the operations of the PC 534 and the FAX 538 is executed, and the other processing is put on standby, so that parallel processing cannot be executed. There's a problem. In this case, it is possible to temporarily store the image data of one of the PC 534 and the FAX 538 in a hard disk or the like, but this requires the hard disk to be arranged in the IOCP 530, which leads to an increase in cost. . Further, it is conceivable to use the hard disk 514 or the like provided in the image processing unit 502 in a plurality of processes. However, in order to simultaneously use these processes, an expensive hard disk with a large capacity must be used. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus capable of efficiently performing a plurality of processes at high speed.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an image processing apparatus including a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processes on the same or different image data, and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units,
A plurality of resources that can be used in any of the processing units, a recognition unit that recognizes a use state of the resources, and an instruction to execute a process by at least one of the plurality of processing units are instructed. When an execution of a process by a new processing unit is instructed, a usable resource is selected based on the recognition result by the recognizing unit, and a resource to be used at the time of execution of the process by the processing unit instructed to be executed Or a process changing means for changing a resource use procedure.

According to the present invention, when execution of a process by a new processing unit is instructed, a resource or a procedure for using the resource to be used at the time of execution of the process by a plurality of processing units is determined according to the resource use state. Since the processing is changed, when the processing by a plurality of processing units instructed to execute attempts to use the same resource at the same time, this can be quickly avoided.

Thus, there is no need to wait for processing by another processing unit instructed to execute until the resource to be used becomes available, and processing by a plurality of processing units can be performed in parallel. it can. In addition, since parallel processing by a plurality of processing units can be performed efficiently only by changing the resources to be used and the procedure for using the resources, there is no need to provide a special device, and existing resources can be used.
Also, the cost is not increased. Therefore, a plurality of processes can be efficiently performed at high speed.

The recognition by such a recognition means can be performed by recognizing the amount of data occupying the resources. With this, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the processing by the plurality of processing units can be efficiently performed in parallel based on the predetermined reference value, and it is possible to more efficiently perform the parallel processing by the plurality of processing units.

The processing change means may change only the resources or only the procedure of using resources when the processing is executed by the processing unit instructed to execute, or change both the resources and the procedure of using resources. You may.

The processing to be newly instructed to execute is 1
The processing may be performed by one processing unit, or may be performed by a plurality of processing units. In the case of a plurality of processes by a plurality of processing units, the resources to be used or the use procedure can be changed in accordance with the priority set in advance or set each time. Thereby, for example, 3
Even if the processing by two processing units overlaps, parallel processing can be performed efficiently.

The processing of the processing unit for which execution is instructed may be one or plural. For example, the execution of processing by another processing unit is instructed while the processing by one processing unit is being executed, the resources to be used or the procedure for using the resources are changed, and the parallel processing by the two processing units is being executed. This corresponds to the case where the processing is newly performed by another processing unit. Even in this case, according to the first aspect of the present invention, by changing the resources to be used in the processing by the processing unit newly instructed to execute or the procedure of using the resources according to the use state of the resources. , All of these processing units can be executed in parallel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processes on the same or different image data, and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units. , A first and a second storage means for storing the image data, a first and a second bus respectively connected to the first and the second storage means,
An input unit capable of inputting the image data to be processed by the processing unit via the first or second bus, and use of each of the first and second storage units and the first and second buses Recognition means capable of recognizing a state, and processing for determining a processing path of the input image data from first and second storage means and the first and second buses based on a recognition result by the recognition means. Route determining means.

According to the present invention, the use path of the image data input by the input means is selected from the first and second storage means and the first and second buses according to the use state. The processing path can be changed according to the means and the use state of the bus.

Thus, it is necessary to wait for the processing by another processing unit among the plurality of processing units until the storage unit and the bus used by the processing by one of the plurality of processing units are released. There is no. Further, since another processing unit uses another storage unit and bus, the amount of storage unit and bus used in the processing by the one processing unit is reduced, so that the use time is shortened, and the use time is shortened. It can be returned to the enabled state. As a result, it can be used for processing by other processing units, and parallel processing by a plurality of processing units can be executed efficiently.

The recognition by the recognition means is performed by the first and second
By recognizing the storage means and the amount of data occupying the first and second buses. This makes it possible to easily determine whether or not the printer can be used based on the reference value of the determination, so that the processing path can be easily determined. Further, the recognition can be performed based on the free space of the first and second storage units.

The recognizing means recognizes all use states of the first and second storage means and the first and second buses,
A usable storage means and a bus can be determined from these, but it is clear that either the first and second storage means and the first and second buses are in use. Then, the use state of only the other storage means and the bus can be recognized, and the use route can be determined from the recognized storage means and the bus. Thus, the number of resources for recognizing the use state can be reduced, the use state can be recognized in a short time, and the processing path can be determined efficiently.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processes on the same or different image data, and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units. Expansion means for expanding the image data when the image data input by the input means is compressed or code data, and expansion by the compressed image data or code data and the expansion means Storage means capable of storing any of the image data obtained, recognition means for recognizing a use state of the storage means, and storing the image data in the storage means based on a result of recognition by the recognition means. When it is determined that the means is usable, the image data after expansion is stored in the storage means, and overlapped with the processing in another processing unit. When it is determined it is characterized by time division compressed image data or encoded data to be provided with a processing determining means for storing in the storage means.

According to the present invention, when image data is stored in the storage means, compressed image data or code data is stored in a time-division manner and then expanded or decompressed, depending on the use state of the storage means. Since it is determined whether or not to store the image data after processing after expansion, a procedure for storing the image data in the storage means depending on whether or not the processing is overlapped with the processing by other processing units Can be changed. For this reason, in the case where the image data or code data is to be used repeatedly, the compressed image data or code data is stored in a time-division manner and then decompressed.
If they are not used repeatedly, they are expanded and stored.

Thus, while the storage means is used in one process, the processes can be performed in parallel without waiting for the process by another processing unit. In addition, since the expanded image data is stored when the storage unit is usable without overlapping with the processing in other processing units, the image data after expansion can be processed immediately when read from the storage unit, More efficient processing can be performed. Therefore, the processes by the two processing units can be efficiently performed in parallel.

The use state of the storage means may be recognized based on the amount of data occupying the storage means, or may be recognized based on the free space of the storage means. When the recognition is performed based on the free space of the storage unit, the storage unit recognizes that the storage unit is in use when the free space of the storage unit is small, and stores the compressed image data or code data before decompression in a time-division manner. When the available capacity of the means is large, it is determined that the means can be used, and the image data after the development processing is stored.

The compressed image data or code data and the decompressed image data according to claim 3 include, for example, compressed data obtained by compressing input code data or image data, and compressed data or code data. Image data corresponding to output image data obtained by expanding the image data corresponds to the image data. Therefore, when processing is finally performed on the image data, if the storage means is available, the expansion processing is executed first and stored as image data in the storage means, so that when the processing is instructed, Image data can be read out and processed immediately. On the other hand, if there is not enough free space in the storage means, the expansion processing is performed when necessary, and the parallel processing is efficiently executed by first storing the code data in the storage means in a time-division manner. Can be.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a digital copying machine 10 corresponding to the image processing apparatus of the present invention. The digital copying machine 10 is provided with a plurality of resources as described below to enable the processing in the digital copying machine 10 to be executed.

The digital copying machine 10 is provided with a scanner 26 and a printing means 30. The scanner 26 is an input unit for inputting a document, and is an IIT-I / F (Image I / F).
nputTerminal Interface) 28, and is connected to the image processing unit 12. The printing unit 30 is a unit that records and prints image data, and includes an IOT-I / F (Image Outpu
t Terminal Interface) 32 and the image processing unit 12
It is connected to the.

The image processing unit 12 includes a rotating unit 14 for rotating the image at an arbitrary angle, a scaling unit 16 for reducing and enlarging the image, and a binarizing unit 18 for converting multi-valued image data into binary data. And a compression unit 20 for compressing the image data when the image data to be output is in a compressed form, and a decompression unit 22 for decompressing the image data in the compressed form. It is connected to an image bus 24 corresponding to the bus.

The image processing unit 12 has a RAM serving as a work memory when processing such as temporarily storing image data and expanding code data into image data is performed.
38, and a CPU 36 for developing code data to create image data. These are connected to a code bus 34 corresponding to the second bus in the present invention.

The code bus 34 is connected as an image input means for inputting an image to the host interface 44 for receiving code data from a host (a personal computer or a workstation), and is connected to a network to receive code data from the network. A network interface 42 and a facsimile interface 40 for interfacing with a facsimile telephone line or communication line
And are connected. The host interface 4
4 can use Centronics, RS232C, or the like, and the net interface 42 can use Ethernet or the like.

The image processing section 12 is provided with a page buffer 46 for temporarily storing an input image, which corresponds to the first storage means of the present invention, and is provided with a page buffer interface (hereinafter referred to as "PB-I / F"). )) To the image bus 24 and the code bus 34. Further, the image processing unit 12 includes a hard disk 50 corresponding to the second storage unit of the present invention for temporarily storing image data, and has a hard disk interface (hereinafter, referred to as “HD-I / F”) 52. Are connected to the image bus 24 and the code bus 34 via the. Note that SCSI or IDE can be used for the HD-I / F 52.

The image processing unit 12 has a DMA (direc
t memory access) controller 54 and a DMA controller 56 are provided. DMA controller 54
Are connected to the image bus 24 and the page buffer 46
And data transfer between each processing means connected to the image bus 24. The DMA controller 56 is connected to the code bus 34,
Data transfer is performed between M38 and each processing means connected to the code bus.

The digital copier 10 has a page buffer 46 and a hard disk 5 in the image processing unit 12.
0, the image bus 24 and the code bus 34
A recognition means 60 for recognizing the use state of the device is provided. The recognition means 60 is connected to the page buffer 46 and the hard disk 50 via the image bus 24 and the code bus 34. The recognizing means 60 recognizes the use state of the page buffer 46 and the hard disk 50 by recognizing the amount of data occupying the page buffer 46 and the hard disk 50. The recognizing means 60
The use state of the image bus 24 and the code bus 34 can be recognized from the processing stage and processing mode of the processing using the page buffer 46 and the hard disk 50.

The digital copying machine 10 is provided with control means 58. The control unit 58 is connected to the image bus 24 and the code bus 34, and includes an instruction of a processing path and a processing procedure in the processing executed by the image processing unit 12 via the image bus 24 and the code bus 34. It controls the entire digital copying machine 10. The control means 58 is connected to the recognition means 60 via the image bus 24 and the code bus 34, and inputs a recognition result from the recognition means 60.

Next, the operation of the digital copying machine 10 according to the present invention will be described. In the digital copying machine 10, a copying function, a printer function, and a facsimile function are executed independently or in combination. In each function, data from a predetermined input unit is used as a processing unit using each resource provided in the digital copying machine 10 to execute a predetermined process. First, the processing of each function will be described. [Copy Function] Image data read by the scanner 26 is sent to the image processing unit 12 by the IIT-I / F 28. In the image processing unit 12, the image data is compressed by the compression unit 20 and transferred to the page buffer 46.
The transferred compressed image data is stored in a page buffer 46.
Are transferred to the hard disk 50 via the image bus 24, and are stored in the hard disk 50.

When all the originals are read by the scanner 26 and the compressed data of all the image data corresponding to all the originals is stored in the hard disk 50, the compressed data is transferred from the hard disk 50 to the page buffer 46 in an arbitrary page order. After being read, an arbitrary number is expanded by the expansion means 22. The expanded data is IOT-I /
It is sent to the printing means 30 via F32.

That is, in the copy function, the image bus 24, the page buffer 46, the image bus 24, the hard disk 50,
A processing path including the image bus 24, the page buffer 46, the image bus 24, and the printing unit 30 is formed.

The mode in which the image data is stored in the hard disk 50 after being transferred to the page buffer 46 is called an electronic RDH (Recirculate Document Handler) mode. By using the page buffer 46 in this mode, the transfer speed to the hard disk 50 is lower than the processing speed of the compression means 20, and a large amount of compressed data can be processed even in the electronic RDH mode in which the transfer speed is not constant. .

When rotation processing is necessary at the time of output, for example, when the original set on the scanner 26 is A4 portrait and the recording paper is A4 landscape, the page buffer 46 is used as a memory and the page buffer 46 is used. Before compressing the image data transferred to the printer, the rotation means 14 performs a rotation process. After executing the rotation processing, the image data is transferred to the compression means 20, and the processing is executed in the same manner as described above.

When a plurality of printouts are to be obtained from one original, the image data read once by the scanner 26 is sent to the image processing section 12 and then compressed by the compression means 20 without being compressed by the page buffer 46. Transfer to and memorize.
Such a mode is called a memory mode. At the time of printing, a predetermined number of pages are read from the page buffer 46 for each page and recorded and output. As a result, even if the compression processing by the compression unit 20 is an irreversible compression processing, image deterioration due to compression does not occur, and
Images can be printed.

[Printer Function] When code data from a host such as a personal computer (not shown) is taken into the digital copying machine 10 through the host interface 44, the RAM
38. When the code data is stored in the RAM 38, the CPU 36 expands the code data into image data. The developed image data is stored in RAM3
8 to the page buffer 46 via the code bus 34 and the PB-I / F 48. When a predetermined area of one page is developed, the image data is transferred to the page buffer 46, and the
38 can be made smaller.

At this time, if a rotation process of 90 degrees or the like is necessary, the rotation means 14 rotates the image data sent to the page buffer 46.

When one page of data is available in the page buffer 46, the image data is transferred to the PB-I / F.
Read by 48. The read image data is sent to the printing unit 30 via the image bus 24 and the IOT-I / F 32. Thus, a print output based on the image data is obtained.

That is, in the printer function, the code bus 34-RAM 38
A processing path including a code bus 34, a page buffer 46, an image bus 24, and a printing unit 30 is formed.

Although the development of the code data into the image data is performed in the RAM 38, it may be performed in the page buffer 46. In this case, the code data from the host interface 44 is transferred to the page buffer 46 and the page buffer 46
By U36, the image data is developed. When one page of image data is developed, the developed image data is read by the PB-I / F 48 and transferred to the printing means 30 via the image bus 24 and the IOT-I / F 32. As a result, it is possible to obtain a print output based on the image data developed in the same manner as described above.

The print output of the code data from the network interface 42 can be performed in the same manner as described above.

Next, spooling of print data will be described. If the amount of print data processing is large,
A spooling process for temporarily storing data on the hard disk 50 can also be performed.

At this time, the code data from the host interface 44 and the net interface 42
The data is stored in the hard disk 50 by the HD-I / F 52 through the code bus 34. The hard disk 50
Before being transferred to the RAM 38,
The data can be sent to the I / F 52 and then stored in the hard disk 50.

The code data stored in the hard disk 50 is sequentially read out to the RAM 38 and
Is developed into image data. When a predetermined area of one page is expanded, the expanded image data is transferred to the page buffer 46. The image data transferred to the page buffer 46 is printed out in the same manner as described above.

That is, in the spooling process, the code bus 34, the hard disk 50, the code bus 34, the RAM 38, and the code bus 3 are used until the code data input from the host interface 44 or the like is printed out.
A processing path composed of 4-page buffer 46, image bus 24, and printing means 30 is formed.

[Facsimile Function] At the time of reception, facsimile data connected to a telephone line or a communication line is taken in the facsimile interface 40 as compressed code data, transferred to the RAM 38 and stored. The CPU 36 expands the code data stored in the RAM 38 into image data. The developed image data is printed out in the same manner as the above-described copying function.

The expansion of the compressed code data can also be performed in the facsimile interface 40. In that case, the path of the image data is
From the facsimile interface 40 to the code bus 34
And is transferred to the page buffer 46 via the PB-I / F 48.

On the other hand, at the time of transmission, the image data read by the scanner 26 is sent to the image processing section 12 by the IIT-I / F 28.

The image data sent to the image processing unit 12 is
The image data is binarized by the binarization unit 18, compressed by the compression unit 20, and transferred to the page buffer 46. The compressed image data is transferred from the page buffer 46 through the image bus 24 to the hard disk 50 and stored therein.

All originals to be transmitted are sent to the scanner 2
6 and stored in the hard disk 50, the compressed data is read from the hard disk 50 to the page buffer 46.

The read compressed data is supplied to the decompression means 22.
And is written to the page buffer 46. If necessary by facsimile communication, a scaling process is performed by the scaling unit 16 in accordance with the resolution of the other party. If the rotation processing is necessary, the rotation processing is first performed by the page buffer 46 by the rotation means 14 before being binarized by the binarization means 18.

The binarized image data stored in the page buffer 46 is read out from the PB-I / F 48, transferred to the RAM 38 through the code bus 34, and compressed by the CPU 36 for facsimile communication. Processing is performed. The compressed data is sequentially sent from the RAM 38 to the facsimile interface 40 and sent out to a telephone line or a communication line. The compression process for facsimile communication is performed by the facsimile interface 4.
0 may be performed.

In the facsimile function, when the processing amount of the print data is large, the spooling process can be performed as described above. In this case, the code data from the facsimile interface 40 is H
The data is sent to the DI / F 52 and stored in the hard disk 50. Also, once transferred to the RAM 38, the HD-
The data can be sent to the I / F 52 and then stored in the hard disk 50. The code data stored in the hard disk 50 is printed out in the same manner as the spooling process.

[Parallel Processing by Copy Function, Printer Function, and Facsimile Function] Next, parallel processing that can be executed by the digital copying machine 10 will be described.

In the digital copying machine 10, the above-mentioned functions are combined and processed simultaneously (parallel processing). On this occasion,
The recognizing means 60 recognizes the use state of the page buffer 46 and the hard disk 50 and the use state of the image bus 24 and the code bus 34, and the control means 58 determines the processing path of each processing according to these use states. And
If necessary, change the processing path.

In the digital copying machine 10, when one function is in the process of being executed, if the execution by another function is instructed, the spooling process is performed.

For example, when there is a request for input of code data from the host interface 44, the network interface 42, or the facsimile interface 40 during copying, the code data is spooled (copy function + printer function). At this time, the copy data and the code data by the spooling are accumulated on the hard disk 50 in a time-division manner.

When code data from the host interface 44 or the like is expanded into image data by the CPU 36 in the RAM 38, for example, when input of code data is requested by the facsimile interface 40, the code data is Ringed (facsimile function + printer function).

The spooled code data is sequentially read out to the RAM 38 and expanded into image data by the CPU 36 when the execution of the other function (copying function + printing function, copying) is completed. The processing is executed.

In the parallel processing of the three functions of the copy function, the printer function, and the facsimile function, for example, when a facsimile and a print request are issued during copying, both the facsimile and print code data are spooled. . When copying is completed after spooling, the spooled facsimile data and print data are developed into image data in a predetermined prioritized order.

In order to improve the processing efficiency in the parallel processing, for example, the copying operation can be managed in units of pages, and for example, printing can be performed between pages during the copying operation.

Next, the processing path change processing in the spooling processing at the time of the parallel processing will be described as an example when the processing by the print function is instructed while the processing by the copy function is being executed.

In this case, the processing path of data from the facsimile interface 40, the network interface 42 or the host interface 44 to the output from the printing means 30 is determined based on the recognition result by the recognition means 60. Hereinafter, this processing path change processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, when there is a code data input request from the facsimile interface 40, the network interface 42, or the host interface 44, it is determined in step 100 whether or not to execute the spooling process of the code data input. If there is no need for spooling processing, the determination is negative and step 11
Then, the process proceeds to step 126, where the code data is transferred to the RAM 38, and the process proceeds to step 126.

On the other hand, when the data amount of the code data is large, or when other processing is already being performed and the code data cannot be expanded immediately, the spooling processing is performed on the code data. , Step 102
Move to

At step 102, the page buffer 46
Is being used by another function.
Here, the recognition unit 60 recognizes the amount of data in the page buffer 46. Digital copier 10 is an electronic RD
H or during the copying operation in the memory mode, or
Code data from the facsimile interface 40, the net interface 42, or the host interface 44 is developed into image data by the CPU 36 in the RAM 38, transferred to the page buffer 46, and occupying the page buffer 46 when printing is in progress. When the amount increases, the recognition means 60 recognizes the use of the page buffer 46, and the determination is affirmed.

If it is determined that the page buffer 46 is in use, it is determined in step 104 whether the mode is the copy mode. If the mode being used is the electronic RDH or memory mode copy mode, the determination is affirmative.

If the determination is affirmative, in step 106, the code data is transferred to the HD-
The data is transferred to the I / F 52 and is stored in the hard disk 50 in step 108.

At this time, the hard disk 50 is used in a time-division manner between the copy mode and the transfer of the code data. Note that the amount of compressed data to be copied is sufficiently smaller than the transfer data per unit time that can be transferred to the hard disk 50, and code data is added. Does not affect speed. As a result, the storage process can be executed without changing the copy output speed.

When the code data is stored in the hard disk 50, in step 110, the page buffer 4
It is determined whether or not No. 6 can be used. The determination is denied until the copy operation is completed and the page buffer 46 becomes usable. When the copy operation is completed, the determination is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 124.

On the other hand, if the page buffer 46 is not used in step 102, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 116.

If it is determined in step 104 that the use mode is the print operation mode but not the copy mode, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 114.
This is because, for example, the facsimile interface 40, the net interface 42 or the host interface 44 is newly added during the development of the code data into the image data.
This corresponds to the case where a request for inputting code data is made from the.
At this time, the code bus 34 is used for the image data expansion processing and the spooling processing by the CPU 36.

In step 114, the page buffer 46
, That is, whether the amount of image data developed in the page buffer 46 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
If the amount of image data expanded in the page buffer 46 exceeds a predetermined value and the capacity for storing code data in the page buffer 46 is small, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 106 where the code data is transferred to the code bus 34.
Is transferred to the hard disk 50. This is the case when the page buffer 46 has already been used and the page buffer 46 cannot be used sufficiently for the spooling process.

On the other hand, if the amount of expanded data in the page buffer 46 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, the determination is affirmative and the routine proceeds to step 116. Thereby, the page buffer 4
If 6 is available, the page buffer 46 will be used first.

At step 116, the code data from the facsimile interface 40, the net interface 42 or the host interface 44 is transferred to the page buffer 46. At step 118, the transferred code data is transferred to the hard disk 50 via the image bus 24. Are stored in the hard disk 50. Thus, the code data can be stored in the hard disk 50 without using the code bus 34.

The facsimile interface 4
0, the transfer speed from the net interface 42 and the host interface 44 is higher for the page buffer 46 than for the hard disk 50.

For this reason, if the page buffer 46 is usable, by transferring the code data to the page buffer 46, the processing time is reduced as compared with the transfer to the hard disk 50, and the code bus 34 is opened. Thus, it is possible to shorten the time until the state becomes available for other processing. As a result, other processes using the code bus 34 can be started in a shorter time than when the hard disk 50 is used. Therefore, when the code bus 34 becomes available, the image data expansion process described later can be performed by occupying the code bus 34, so that the time until the image data expansion can be shortened.

The code data storage processing from the page buffer 46 to the hard disk 50 via the image bus 24 can be performed in a short time.
6 can be processed in parallel, and the processing efficiency is not impaired. When the code data is stored in the hard disk 50, step 12
At 0, it is determined whether or not all code data has been stored, and the determination is negative until all code data has been stored.

When all code data are accumulated, the judgment is affirmative, and the routine proceeds to step 122, where it is judged whether or not an instruction to start printing has been given. When the print processing by the print function becomes executable, a print start is instructed, the determination is affirmed, and the routine proceeds to step 124.

In step 124, the hard disk 50
Is read out via the HD-I / F 52 and transferred to the RAM 38 via the code bus 34. In step 126, the CPU 36
Expands the code data into image data.

When the code data is developed into image data, it is determined in step 128 whether or not the image data of a predetermined area in one page has been developed. If the development into the image data has been completed for a predetermined area, the determination is affirmative and the process proceeds to step 130.

In step 130, the image data expanded for a predetermined area is transferred to the page buffer 46,
In step 132, it is determined whether or not all the image data for one page has been collected. If the image data for one page is not available, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 126, where the process of expanding the image data and the process of transferring the image data of the predetermined area to the page buffer 46 are repeated.

If one page of image data is available in the page buffer 46, the determination is affirmative, and in step 134, the one page of image data is stored in the PB-
The data is read out by the I / F 48, sent through the image bus 24 to the printing means 30 via the IOT-I / F 32, and the printing is executed, thereby completing a series of processing.

When printing a plurality of pages, for example, a plurality of pages can be printed by repeating Steps 126 to 134 for a predetermined number of sheets.

Thus, in the spooling process during copying, the processing path for accumulating the code data on the hard disk 50 is changed according to the use state of the page buffer 46 by the code bus 34 -page buffer 46 -image bus 24- The spooling process is determined to be one of the processing path configured by the hard disk 50 and the processing path configured by the code bus 34 and the hard disk 50, and the spooling process can be performed efficiently.

As a result, in parallel processing by a plurality of functions, the processing path is changed according to the use state of the page buffer 46 used in common, so that even parallel processing can be executed efficiently. it can.

Further, by using the image bus 24 in the spooling process, the job amount of the code bus 34 can be reduced. Therefore, the time for occupying the code bus 34 can be reduced, and even in the case of data having a large amount of information such as halftone data and graphic data, the data is transferred to the hard disk via the page buffer 46 and the CPU 36 Can quickly develop image data.

In the present embodiment, the use state of the page buffer 46 is recognized based on the occupied data amount as to whether or not the page buffer 46 is being used by another function. At the same time, by changing the reference value, all the spooling processes can be performed in the processing path using the page buffer 46 and the image bus 24. As a result, the code data can be stored and processed in the hard disk 50 more efficiently in parallel.

Further, in the present embodiment, whether or not the page buffer 46 is in use is determined based on the occupied data amount. However, the use state of the page buffer 46 is determined based on the available free space. You can also. In this case, as described above, all spooling processes are performed using the page buffer 46 having a large capacity.
And can be stored in the hard disk 50 via the image bus 24.

In the present embodiment, the processing path is changed and determined according to the use state of the page buffer 46. However, the processing path can be changed according to the use state of the code bus 34 or the image bus 24. For example, regarding the processing of image data using the image bus 24, the data stored in the page buffer 46 is stored in the hard disk 5
In the case where the code bus 34 is not used when the data is stored at 0, the data can be stored in the hard disk 50 from the page buffer 46 via the code bus 34. Further, it is possible to recognize the use state of all of the image bus 24, the code bus 34, the page buffer 46, and the hard disk 50, and determine an available processing path from these.

In the present embodiment, the hard disk 50 is used when the page buffer 46 cannot be used in the spooling process. However, if the RAM 38 connected to the code bus 34 is not used, it is stored in the RAM 38. Can also. In this case, the hard disk 5
Since the storage processing is faster in the RAM 38 than in the RAM 38, the overall processing efficiency can be improved by using the RAM 38.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. Note that the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the parallel processing according to the resource usage state, and otherwise provides the same operation and effect as the first embodiment. Hereinafter, only the parallel processing according to the usage state will be described.

In the parallel processing according to the second embodiment, the use state of the resource is recognized by the recognition means 60, and the processing procedure using the resource is changed according to the recognition result.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for changing the processing procedure in the parallel processing of the copy function and the printer function or the facsimile function.

When there is an input request from the facsimile interface 40, the net interface 42 or the host interface 44 during copying by the copying function, it is determined in step 200 whether or not the mode in which the hard disk 50 is used. . Here, the recognizing means 60 recognizes the amount of data occupying the hard disk 50. If the digital copying machine 10 is performing a copying operation in, for example, the electronic RDH mode, the occupied data amount is recognized and the hard disk 50 is recognized as being used, and the determination is affirmative.

If the determination is affirmative, in step 202, the code data from the facsimile interface 40, the network interface 42 or the host interface 44 is spooled, and the code data is transferred to the hard disk 50 through the code bus 34.

That is, the spooling process is performed before the code data expansion process. At this time, the hard disk 50 is used in a time-division manner between the copy mode and the transfer of the code data. As described above, since the transfer data amount is considerably smaller than the compressed data amount to be copied, even if the hard disk 50 is used in a time division manner, the copy output speed is not affected. Further, when the hard disk 50 is used in a time-sharing manner, the amount of data can be reduced by subjecting the code data, not the image data, to the spooling processing, thereby reducing the speed of the copy output in the copy mode. Can be prevented.

When the code data is transferred to the hard disk 50 through the code bus 34, it is determined in step 204 whether or not the copying operation has been completed, and the determination is negative until the copying operation has been completed.

When the copying operation is completed, at step 206, the code data is transferred from the hard disk 50 to the HD-HD.
RAM 38 through code bus 34 via I / F 52
Then, in step 208, the data is developed into image data by the CPU 36, and the process proceeds to step 210.

In step 210, it is determined whether or not a predetermined area of one page has been expanded, and the determination is negative until the code data of the predetermined area has been expanded into image data.

The determination that the image data of the predetermined area is expanded is affirmed, and the image data is transferred to the page buffer 46 via the PB-I / F 48 via the code bus 34 in step 212.

When the image data is transferred to the page buffer 46, it is determined in step 214 whether or not the image data for one page has been prepared. If the image data for one page is not available, the determination is negative and the process returns to step 208. The expansion / transfer processing for each predetermined area from the code data to the image data is continued until the image data for one page is available. Is done.

If one page of image data necessary for print output is available, the determination is affirmative and step 226 is reached.
Move to

On the other hand, if the hard disk 50 is not used as in the memory mode when a data code input request is made during copying in step 200, the determination is negative and the routine proceeds to step 216.

In step 216, the code data from each interface is transferred to the RAM 38, and
At 18, the image data is developed. That is,
In the case of the memory mode in which the hard disk 50 is not used, the expansion processing of the image data is performed before the spooling processing of the code data.

When the image data is expanded, in step 220, the expanded image data is stored in the RAM3.
8 to the hard disk 50 via the HD-I / F 52 via the code bus 34 and store the data. Thus, when the hard disk 50 is not used,
Spooling after expanding code data into image data.

When the image data is transferred to the hard disk 50, it is determined in step 222 whether or not the copying operation has been completed. The determination is denied until the copying is completed. Move to 224.

In step 224, the image data is read from the hard disk 50, and is passed through the image bus 24 via the HD-I / F 52 to the page buffer 4.
Transfer to 6. In this case, since the data has already been developed into the image data, there is no need to perform the development processing for the print output, and the time until the print output can be shortened. The image data transferred to the page buffer 46 can be transferred collectively for a required number of pages even for each page.

When at least one page of image data required for print output is transferred to the page buffer 46, the image data is sent from the page buffer 46 to the printing means 30 in step 226, and printing is executed. Is completed. In addition, when printing multiple sheets when performing expansion processing after spooling,
For example, steps 208 to 226 are repeatedly printed until the required number of image data are obtained.

Therefore, when the hard disk 50 is used, the code data is stored in the hard disk 50 in a time-division manner and then developed into image data. When the hard disk 50 is not used, the code data is stored in the image data. After being developed into data, it is stored in the hard disk 50.

Thus, the order of the spooling process and the expansion process is determined according to the use state of the hard disk 50, so that the processes can be performed in parallel, and a plurality of processes can be efficiently executed in parallel. be able to.

The spooling process is performed on the facsimile interface 40, the net interface 4
2 or the code data from the host interface 44, but is selected from compressed image data inputted from the facsimile interface 40 and image data obtained by compressing the code data or image data inputted from the host interface 44 or the net interface 42. Any of the compressed image data may be used.

In the present embodiment, the transfer time from the hard disk 50 to the page buffer 46 is reduced by providing a path for transferring the image data stored in the hard disk 50 to the page buffer 46 via the image bus 24. The print output can be performed quickly.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing path and the processing procedure of the hard disk 50, the page buffer 46 and the RAM 38, or the image bus 24 and the code bus 34 are changed according to the use state. The recognition target is not limited to this. Similarly, for other resources, the processing route and the use procedure can be changed according to the use state. Similarly, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image bus 24 and the code bus 34 have been described as an example, but the type of the bus is not limited to the image bus 24 and the code bus 34. If there are two or more types of buses commonly used in a plurality of processes, the present invention can be similarly applied.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a print function,
Although different image data from different input units in the facsimile function and the copying function are used, the same image data input from one input unit can be subjected to processing by different functions.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the digital copying machine 10 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to other image processing apparatuses capable of executing a plurality of image processes.

[0123]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the processing by a plurality of processing units instructed to execute is to simultaneously use the same resource, this is quickly avoided. Therefore, there is no need to wait for processing by another processing unit instructed to execute until the resource to be used becomes available, and processing by a plurality of processing units can be performed in parallel. . In addition, since parallel processing by a plurality of processing units can be performed efficiently only by changing the resources to be used and the procedure for using the resources, there is no need to provide a special device, and existing resources can be used. Also, the cost is not increased. Therefore, a plurality of processes can be efficiently performed at high speed.

Further, since the use route of the image data input by the input means is changed according to the use state of the storage means and the bus, the storage used in the processing by one of the plurality of processing units is processed. Until the means and the bus are released
There is no need to wait for processing by another processing unit among the plurality of processing units. In addition, since the storage unit and the bus used in the processing by one processing unit can be quickly returned to the usable state, the time until the processing by another processing unit becomes usable can be reduced. Parallel processing by a plurality of processing units can be executed efficiently.

Further, the procedure for storing the image data in the storage means is changed depending on whether the use of the storage means overlaps with the processing by the other processing units or not. While being used in one process
Processing can be performed in parallel without waiting for processing by other processing units. In addition, since the expanded image data is stored when the storage unit is usable without overlapping with the processing in other processing units, the image data after expansion can be processed immediately when read from the storage unit,
More efficient processing can be performed. Therefore, the processes by the two processing units can be efficiently performed in parallel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing path change processing in parallel processing in the digital copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing procedure change processing in parallel processing in a digital copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital copier according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital copier (image processing apparatus) 26 Scanner 40 FAX interface 42 Net interface 44 Host interface 24 Image bus (resource, 1st bus) 34 Code bus (resource, 2nd bus) 36 CPU (expansion means) 38 RAM 46 page buffer (resource, first storage means) 50 hard disk (resource, second storage means) 58 control means (processing change means, processing path determination means,
Processing determining means) 60 recognition means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processes on the same or different image data; and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units. A plurality of resources that can be used, a recognizing unit that recognizes a use state of the resource, and a new one when execution of a process by at least one of the plurality of processing units is instructed. When the execution of the process by the processing unit is instructed, a usable resource is selected based on the recognition result by the recognizing unit, and the resource or the resource use procedure used when the process is executed by the processing unit instructed to execute is selected. An image processing apparatus, comprising: processing change means for changing 2. An image processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processing on the same or different image data, and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units; A first and a second storage unit, a first and a second bus to which the first and the second storage unit are respectively connected, and a processing unit in the processing unit via the first or the second bus. Input means capable of inputting the image data, recognition means capable of recognizing use states of the first and second storage means and the first and second buses, Based on the first and second
And a processing path determining means for determining a processing path of the input image data from the first and second buses. 3. An image processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processing on the same or different image data, and capable of executing parallel processing by the plurality of processing units. Expansion means for expanding the image data when the image data is compressed or code data, and the compressed image data or code data,
Storage means capable of storing any of the image data expanded by the expansion means; recognition means for recognizing a use state of the storage means; and recognition by the recognition means when storing the image data in the storage means. From the result, when it is determined that the storage unit is usable, the expanded image data is stored in the storage unit, and when it is determined that the image data overlaps with the processing in other processing units, the compressed image data or code is stored. An image processing apparatus, comprising: processing determination means for storing data in the storage means in a time-division manner.