Method of operating a multiple component electronic imaging system

• US 6,747,689 B1
• Filed: 07/14/1999
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Tate, William C., No, Young, Donahue, Timothy F.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOE, AUNG SOE
• Application Number:
  US09/353,735
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.2, 348/207.11, 348/207.1, 348/211.14, 348/211.1, 348/211.11, 348/231.9, 348/231.8, 348/231.7, 348/231.99, 348/211.3
• US Class Current: 348/207.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00347 with another still picture apparatus, e.g. hybrid still picture apparatus circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between image input and image output device H04N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00519 Constructional details not otherwise provided for, e.g. housings, covers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00538 Modular devices, i.e. allowing combinations of separate components, removal or replacement of components
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0074 Arrangements for the control of a still picture apparatus by the connected apparatus arrangements for the control of the connected apparatus by the still picture apparatus H04N2201/0013; control of image communication with the connected apparatus H04N2201/0015
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device

Abstract

A method of operating an electronic imaging system (20) as a distributed processor network is provided for a system that includes multiple imaging components such as digital cameras (22), printers (34), etc., wherein each component is connected to an intelligence module (24-36) having a microcontroller (58) and memory (62). In the method, the intelligence modules (24-36) are interconnected by way of a data interface (28-37) to form a system network. Next, different image processing steps are assigned to different ones of the intelligence modules (24-36). Image data entered and stored within the imaging system (20) is divided into a plurality of data groups, each of which preferably corresponds to a portion of an image. Finally, the data groups are serially entered through each of the intelligence modules (24-36) such that a specific sequence of image processing steps are conducted on each data group until the processing of a specific image is completed. The method efficiently utilizes all the microcontroller capability present in the network intelligence modules (24-36), thereby minimizing the processing time required to render images.

Claims

1. A method of operating an electronic imaging system as a distributed processor network, wherein said system includes a plurality of imaging components of different functionality wherein at least one of the imaging components is a digital camera and another of the imaging components is a printer, each of the imaging components being connected to its own respective intelligence module having a respective microcontroller and respective memory, the respective memory having operating instructions that is device dependent for the respective imaging component, the method comprising the steps of:

interconnecting the intelligence modules of said components with a data interface to form a system network; and

subdividing an image captured by the digital camera and transmitting different parts of said image over the system network so that parallel processing of different parts of said image is performed simultaneously by the different imaging components including parallel processing of the image by the digital camera and the printer.

2. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 1, wherein said different groups of said image data correspond to different portions of an image.

3. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 1, wherein said system network includes software for executing a chain of sequential image processing steps sequentially within each of the intelligence modules of the system, and further including the step of sequentially processing different groups of said image data through said intelligence modules substantially simultaneously.

4. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 1, wherein one of said modules has a user interface, and wherein said network is controlled by said module having said user interface.

5. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 4, wherein each of said imaging components includes a respective memory circuit that stores operating instructions for its respective component, and said respective intelligence module has software for downloading and executing said operating instructions, and further comprising the step of downloading said operating instructions from each of said respective memory circuits into said respective intelligence module prior to processing said image data.

6. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 3, wherein said downloading software in said intelligence module includes Java™

software.

7. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 3, wherein said downloading software in said intelligence module includes Jini™

software.

8. The method of operating an electronic imaging system as defined in claim 3, wherein said downloading software in said intelligence module includes networking software.

9. An electronic imaging system operating as a distributed processor network, said system comprising:

a plurality of imaging components of different functionality wherein at least one of the imaging components is a digital camera and another of the imaging components is a printer, each of the imaging components being connected to its own respective intelligence module having a respective microcontroller and respective memory, the respective memory having operating instructions that is device dependent for the respective imaging component;

a connection interconnecting the intelligence modules of said components with a data interface to form a distributed system network;

the intelligence modules being programmed so that image processing steps are performed simultaneously on respective different portions of data groups of an image by different ones of said intelligence modules; and

a microcontroller of one of the imaging components being operative to distribute different portions of the data groups of the image to the different ones of said intelligence modules so that parallel processing of the image may be made by the imaging components including the camera and printer.

10. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 9, wherein said data groups are substantially equal in size, and wherein each data group corresponds to a portion of a image.

11. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 9, wherein each data group is sequentially entered through said intelligence modules such that said image processing steps are carried out in the same order for each data group.

12. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 9, wherein one of said modules has a user interface, and wherein said network is controlled by said module having said user interface.

13. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 12, wherein each of said imaging components includes a memory circuit that stores operating instructions for its respective component, and said intelligence module has software for downloading and executing said operating instructions.

14. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 13, wherein said downloading software in said intelligence module includes Java software.

15. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 13, wherein said downloading software in said intelligence module includes networking software.

16. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 13, wherein said operating instructions stored in each of said memory circuits include user interface software for its respective imaging component.

17. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 13, wherein said operating instructions stored in each of said memory circuits include component specific firmware for its respective imaging component.

18. The electronic imaging system as defined in claim 13, wherein said operating instructions stored in each of said memory circuits include characterization data for its respective imaging component for allowing the intelligence module connected to said imaging component to convert image data received from another imaging component to properly format and process image data.