Image processing system and image processing method

• US 6,788,830 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2000
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Morikawa, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): MARIAM, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US09/672,434
• Time in Patent Office: 1,440 Days
• Field of Search: 382/305, 382/312, 382/317, 382/307, 358/1.14, 358/1.15, 358/1.16
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/21 Intermediate information storage H04N1/387, H04N1/41 take precedence ; for control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32358; indexing, editing G11B27/00

Abstract

An image processing system includes an image reader for reading image data of original documents, a memory which is capable of storing image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages read by the image reader and a detector for detecting insufficiency of empty capacity of the memory. A first controller executes a writing of a set of image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages into the memory in a prescribed page order, and repeatedly executes a reading of the set of image data from the memory and an image processing thereof. In the event that insufficiency of empty capacity of the memory is detected by the detector during the writing of image data into the memory by the first controller, a second controller holds the image data of the original documents of one or a plurality of pages stored in the memory and executes a subsequent image processing by using the image data held in the memory. A third controller executes a prescribed processing of a re-reading of image data of the original documents corresponding to the image data not held in the memory among the set of image data by the image reader in the subsequent image processing by the second controller.

Claims

1. An image processing system, comprising:

an image reader for reading image data of original documents;

a memory which is capable of storing image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages read by said image reader;

a first controller which executes a writing of a set of image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages into said memory in a prescribed page order, and repeatedly executes a reading of the set of image data from said memory and an image processing thereof;

a detector for detecting insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory;

a second controller which, in the event that insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory is detected by said detector during the writing of image data into said memory by said first controller, holds the image data of the original documents of one or a plurality of pages stored in said memory and executes a subsequent image processing by using the image data held in said memory; and

a third controller which executes a prescribed processing for a re-reading of image data of the original documents corresponding to the image data not held in said memory among the set of image data by said image reader in the subsequent image processing by said second controller.

2. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said detector detects insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory under the condition that an empty area of a predetermined capacity remains in said memory.

3. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a compressor for compressing image data before storing the image data into said memory, wherein said detector detects the insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory based on a capacity of image data of one page compressed at a certain compression rate.

4. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said prescribed processing by said third controller is a display processing for displaying information on the original document to be read again.

5. The image processing system as recited in claim 4, wherein said display processing is a processing for displaying the number of the original documents to be read again.

6. The image processing system as recited in claim 4, wherein said display processing is a processing for displaying a page number of the original document to be read again.

7. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said prescribed processing by said third controller is a processing for requesting a re-reading of the original document corresponding to the image data not held in said memory.

8. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, further comprising release means for releasing a repetition of the reading of the set of image data from said memory and the image processing thereof by said first controller when said detector detects the insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory.

9. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, wherein, in case of a repetition of image processing of the set of image data, said second controller reads out the stored image data of one or a plurality of pages to execute an image processing thereof and executes a writing of image data not stored into said memory, a reading of the image data from said memory and an image processing thereof and a deletion thereof from said memory every page.

10. The image processing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said image processing is a print processing for forming an image on a sheet based on the image data.

11. An image processing method which repeatedly reads out a set of image data of a plurality of pages from a memory to execute an image processing thereof, the method including the steps of:

writing the set of image data of original documents of a plurality of pages read by an image reader into the memory in a prescribed page order in turn and reading out the image data written in the memory in turn to execute an image processing thereof;

detecting insufficiency of empty capacity of the memory during the writing of the image data into the memory;

holding only the image data of the original documents of one or a plurality of pages stored in the memory and executing a subsequent image processing by utilizing the image data held in the memory; and

executing a prescribed processing for a re-reading of the original documents corresponding to the original documents whose image data is not held in the memory among the set of image data by the image reader in the subsequent image processing.

12. The image processing method as recited in claim 11, further including a step of compressing image data before storing the image data into the memory, wherein said step of detecting the insufficiency of empty capacity of the memory is performed based on a capacity of image data of one page compressed at a certain compression rate.

13. The image processing method as recited in claim 11, wherein said subsequent image processing executes a reading of the image data of the original documents of one or a plurality of pages stored in the memory to perform an image processing of the image data, and repeatedly executes a processing of a re-reading the original document of a page whose image data is not stored in the memory, a writing of the image of the image data in the memory, an image processing thereof and a deletion thereof after said image processing every page.

14. The image processing method as recited in claim 11, wherein said prescribed processing is a processing for displaying information on the original document to be read again.

15. An image processing system with a memory capable of storing image data of a plurality of pages which executes a writing of a set of image data of a plurality of pages into said memory in a prescribed page order, and repeatedly executes a reading of the set of image data from said memory and an image processing thereof, the image processing system, comprising:

an image reader for reading original documents of a plurality of pages to obtain a set of image data to be stored in said memory;

a detector for detecting insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory;

a first processor which, in the event that the insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory is detected by said detector during the writing of the set of image data into said memory, executes an image processing of the image data of one or a plurality of pages previously stored in said memory without deleting the image data from said memory, and executes an image processing of image data of one or a plurality of subsequent pages while executing a writing of the image data into said memory and a deletion thereof from said memory every page; and

a second processor which executes an image processing of a second set of image data, wherein said second processor executes an image processing of the image data of one or a plurality of pages stored in said memory by reading out the image data and an image processing of the image data of a subsequent page obtained by reading the original document again; and

a third processor for executing a prescribed processing for a re-reading by said second processor.

16. The image processing system as recited in claim 15, wherein said prescribed processing by said third processor is a display processing for displaying information on the original documents to be read again on a display.

17. An image processing system, comprising:

an image reader for reading image data of original documents;

a memory which is capable of storing image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages read by said image reader;

a detector for detecting insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory; and

a controller for executing a writing of a set of image data of the original documents of a plurality of pages into said memory in a prescribed page order, and repeatedly executing a reading of the set of image data from said memory and an image processing thereof,

wherein said controller, in the event that insufficiency of empty capacity of said memory is detected by said detector during the writing of image data into said memory by said controller, holds the image data of the original documents of one or a plurality of pages stored in said memory and executes a subsequent image processing by using the image data held in said memory, and

wherein said controller executes a prescribed processing for a re-reading of image data of the original documents corresponding to the image data not held in said memory among the set of image data by said image reader in the subsequent image processing by said controller.