IMAGE INPUT/OUTPUT CONTROL APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, DATA COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, AND DATA COMMUNICATION METHOD

• US 20060203817A1
• Filed: 04/25/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: DATE, ATSUSHI, FUJIWARA, TAKAFUMI
• Granted Patent: US 7,724,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1212 achieving reduced delay between job submission and print start
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1279 Controller construction, e.g. aspects of the interface hardware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0083 Arrangements for transferring signals between different components of the apparatus, e.g. arrangements of signal lines or cables for control or supervision between image input and output device H04N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32561 using a programmed control device, e.g. a microprocessor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32577 Input interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32582 Output interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32587 Controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32593 Using a plurality of controllers, e.g. for controlling different interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32598 Bus based systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32603 Multi-bus systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0086 Image transceiver H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

An image input/output control apparatus includes a control device for controlling input/output of image data with an external apparatus, plural image processing devices for performing predetermined image processes to the image data, and plural data transfer devices for connecting each of the plural image processing devices and the control device like a ring and performing data transfer among them. The plural image processing devices and the control device are composed respectively on different units, whereby the structure of the apparatus can be easily changed, and a decrease in processing speed due to the competition for buses can be reduced without increasing the number of parts necessary for bus control.

Claims

1-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A data communication apparatus which performs transmission/reception of a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data, said apparatus comprising:

a transmission unit adapted to transmit the data packet;

a reception unit adapted to receive the data packet transmitted by said transmission unit,

wherein said transmission unit transmits, after transmitting the data packet, a footer including information concerning the data length of the image data of the data packet, and

wherein said reception unit updates the information of the header on the basis of the footer transmitted from said transmission unit.

10. A data communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said reception unit writes the received data packet in a predetermined memory, and after receiving the footer, updates the information of the header by writing the information of the footer at an address where the header has been written.

11. A data communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an encoding unit adapted to encode the image data of the data packet,

wherein said transmission unit transmits the data packet comprising the image data encoded by said encoding unit.

12. A data communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said transmission unit transmits the footer including information concerning the data length of the image data decided according to the encoding by said encoding unit ends.

13. A data communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an input unit adapted to input image data; and

a generating unit adapted to generate plural divisional image data which are acquired by dividing the image data input by said input unit into predetermined areas,

wherein the data packet consists of the divisional image data and the header including information concerning the divisional image data.

14. A data communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an image processing unit adapted to perform image processing on the image data,

wherein said transmission unit transmits the data packet comprising image data to which the image processing has been performed by said image processing unit.

15. A data communication apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising an output unit adapted to output an image on the basis of the plural divisional image data.

16. A data communication apparatus which transmits a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data to a predetermined memory, said apparatus comprising:

a transmission unit adapted to transmit the data packet to said predetermined memory; and

a notification unit adapted to notify said predetermined memory whether or not said transmission unit transmits a footer including information concerning the data length of the image data of the data packet,

wherein, in a case where undetermined information is included as the information concerning the image data to be included in the header in case of transmitting the data packet by said transmission unit, said notification unit notifies said predetermined memory that the footer including update information is transmitted according as the transmission of the data packet ends, and

wherein said transmission unit transmits the footer including the update information to said predetermined memory in response to the notification by said notification unit.

17. A data communication apparatus which can communicate with plural image processing apparatuses performing image processes of a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data, and performs communication using the data packet among the plural image processing apparatuses, said data communication apparatus comprising:

a transfer unit adapted to transfer the data packet from the image processing apparatus on a transmission side to the image processing apparatus on a reception side; and

a setting unit adapted to set either a compression mode or a non-compression mode to the image processing apparatus on the transmission side,

wherein, in a case where the compression mode is set to the image processing apparatus on the transmission side by said setting unit, said transfer unit transfers information representing transmission of a footer to the image processing apparatus on the reception side, and, after transmitting the data packet, transfers the footer including information to update the information of the header transferred to the image processing apparatus on the reception side.

18. A data communication method which performs, among plural units, transmission/reception of a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data, said method comprising:

first transmitting step of transmitting the data packet from a transmission-side unit to a reception-side unit;

second transmitting step of transmitting a footer including information concerning the data length of the image data of the data packet from the transmission-side unit to the reception-side unit; and

updating step of updating the information of the header on the basis of the footer.

19. A data communication method which transmits a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data to a predetermined memory, said method comprising:

a transmission step of transmitting the data packet to the predetermined memory; and

a notification step of notifying the predetermined memory whether or not said transmission step transmits a footer including information concerning the data length of the image data of the data packet,

wherein, in a case where undetermined information is included as the information concerning the image data to be included in the header in case of transmitting the data packet in said transmission step, said notification step notifies the predetermined memory that the footer including update information is transmitted according as the transmission of the data packet ends, and

wherein said transmission step transmits the footer including the update information to the predetermined memory in response to the notification in said notification step.

20. A data communication method which performs communication using a data packet comprising image data and a header including information concerning the image data, among plural image processing apparatuses performing image processes of the data packet, said method comprising:

a transfer step of transferring said data packet from the image processing apparatus on a transmission side to the image processing apparatus on a reception side; and

a setting step of setting either a compression mode or a non-compression mode to the image processing apparatus on the transmission side,

wherein, in a case where the compression mode is set to the image processing apparatus on the transmission side in said setting step, said transfer step transfers information representing transmission of a footer to the image processing apparatus on the reception side, and, after transmitting the data packet, transfers the footer including information to update the information of the header transferred to the image processing apparatus on the reception side.