Data transfer method, image processing system and device

[0001] The present invention uses a data transfer method and an image processing system and an apparatus, particularly a data communication bus capable of mixing and communicating control signals and data (hereinafter referred to as a plurality of electronic devices). It relates to a data transfer method and an image processing system and a device for connecting between devices and performing data communication between the devices.

[0002] [Conventional Technology] Among personal computer peripheral devices, hard disks and printers are most frequently used, and these peripheral devices are typical digital interfaces for general-purpose interfaces for small computers (hereinafter referred to as digital interfaces). It is connected to a computer by SCSI, which is a digital IF), and data communication is performed.

[0003] Further, a recording / playback device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera is also one of peripheral devices as an input means to a personal computer (hereinafter, PC), and in recent years, still images and moving images taken by a digital camera or a video camera. The number of users is increasing as the technology in the field of importing such images to a PC, storing them on a hard disk, or editing them on a PC and then printing them in color with a printer is advancing.

[0004] When the captured image data is output from a PC to a printer or a hard disk, data communication is performed via the above SCSI or the like, and in such a case, the amount of data is large like the image data. In order to send information, such digital I / Fs are required to have a high transfer data rate and are versatile.

[0005] FIG. 3 shows a block configuration diagram of an image processing system when a digital camera, a PC, and a printer are connected as a conventional example. In FIG. 3, 31 is a digital camera, 32 is a personal computer (PC), and 33 is a printer. Further, in the digital camera 31, 34 is a memory which is a recording unit of a digital camera, 35 is an image data decoding circuit, 36 is an image processing unit, 37 is a D / A converter, 38 is an EVF which is a display unit, and 39 is. This is the digital I / O section of a digital camera. In PC32, 40 is a digital I / O unit with a digital camera of a PC, 41 is an operation unit such as a keyboard, 42 is an image data decoding circuit, 43 is a display, 44 is a hard disk device, and 45 is a memory such as RAM. 46 is the MPU of the arithmetic processing unit, 47 is the PCI bus, and 48 is the SCSI interface (board) of the digital I / F. In the printer 33, 49 is the SCSI interface of the printer connected to the PC with a SCSI cable, 50 is the memory, 51 is the printer head, 52 is the printer controller of the printer control unit, and 53 is the driver.

[0006] The procedure for capturing an image captured by a digital camera into a PC and outputting the image from the PC to a printer will be described. When the image data stored in the memory 34 of the digital camera 31 is read, one of the read image data is decoded by the decoding circuit 35, and image processing is performed for display by the image processing circuit 36. , It is displayed by EVF38 via D / A converter 37. On the other hand, the digital I / O section 39 is transmitted through the cable to the digital I / O section 40 of the PC 32 for external output.

[0007] In the PC 32, the image data input from the digital I / O unit 40 is stored in the hard disk 44 when stored and decoded by the decoding circuit 42 when displayed, using the PCI bus 47 as a mutual transmission bus. After being converted, it is written down as a display image in the memory 45, converted into an analog signal on the display 43, and then displayed. Operation input such as when editing on PC32 is performed from the operation unit 41, and processing of the entire PC32 is performed by MPU46.

[0008] When printing out an image, image data is transmitted from the SCSI interface board 48 in the PC 32 on a SCSI cable, received by the SCSI interface 49 on the printer 33 side, and formed as a print image by the memory 50. Then, the printer head 51 and the driver 53 operate under the control of the printer controller 52 to print the print image data read from the memory 50.

[0009] The above is the procedure for importing or printing the conventional image data on the PC. In this way, conventionally, each device is connected to the host PC, and the image data captured by the recording / playback device is printed after passing through the PC. In addition, methods for compressing video data are also diversifying. JPEG is known as a method for compressing still images, and MPEG is known as a method for compressing moving images. In addition, home digital VTR (DVC) uses a unique compression method that combines VLC and DCT. In this way, various compression methods have been considered by classifying each device or data type.

[0010] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as a problem of the digital interface mentioned in the above-mentioned conventional example, SCSI or the like has a low transfer data rate, a thick cable for parallel communication, or a connection. There are restrictions on the types and number of peripheral devices that can be used, and the connection method, and inconveniences have been pointed out in many respects.

[0011] In addition, many general household PCs are provided with a connector on the back of the PC for connecting SCSI or other cables, and the shape of the connector is also large, which makes it troublesome to insert and remove. There is. Even when connecting a mobile or portable device such as a digital camera or video camera that is not normally stationary, it must be connected to the rear connector of the PC, which is very troublesome.

[0012] In addition, many peripheral devices are usually connected to a personal computer, and in the future, the types of peripheral devices will increase further, and due to improvements in I / F, etc., not only PC peripheral devices but also many digital devices will be connected. If communication that connects to a network becomes possible, it will be very convenient, but on the other hand, communication with a very large amount of data will also occur frequently depending on the device, which will congest the network and other things in the network. It is also possible to affect the communication between the devices in the above. For example, when the user wants to print images continuously or quickly, the entire network or the PC acting as the host is affected by the communication between devices that the user is not aware of, as opposed to the data communication between the PC and the printer. As a result, image printing may not be performed normally or may be delayed. In this way, there will be an increase in the load on the PC due to network congestion and problems such as data communication due to the operating status of the PC.

[0013] The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and notifies the transfer source node of information on the data processing capacity of the transfer destination node, thereby increasing the processing capacity of the transfer destination node. Provided are a data transfer method, an image processing system, and an apparatus that always perform highly efficient data transfer regardless of the situation.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve this problem, the data transfer method of the present invention is a data transfer method for transferring data from a transfer source node to a transfer destination node, and the transfer destination node. Data processing capacity<u style="single">The address of the data requested by the transfer destination node prior to the transfer of the data in the data format determined according to</u>information,<u style="single">Said</u>From the transfer destination node<u style="single">Said</u>Notify the transfer source node and<u style="single">The signal associated with the end of data processing at the transfer destination node is transmitted from the transfer destination node to the transfer source node, and is transmitted from the transfer source node in response to the signal associated with the end of the data processing. The transfer destination node receives the data in the data format specified in the address information.</u>It is characterized by that.

[0015] Here,<u style="single">The transfer source no and the transfer destination node</u>The general-purpose digital interface is connected by a general-purpose digital interface, and the general-purpose digital interface is a 1394 serial bus in which asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer are mixed, and the data is asynchronous.<u style="single">Na</u>With transfer or isochronous transfer<u style="single">Said</u>From the transfer source node<u style="single">Said</u>It is sent to the transfer destination node. Also,<u style="single">The transfer source no and the transfer destination node</u>The general-purpose digital interface is connected by a general-purpose digital interface, and the general-purpose digital interface is a 1394 serial bus in which asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer are mixed.<u style="single">The address</u>Information is Asynchro<u style="single">Na</u>Using forwarding<u style="single">Said</u>From the transfer destination node<u style="single">Said</u>Sent to the source node.

[0016] Further, the system of the present invention is a system composed of a plurality of devices, and data is transferred and processed from the transfer source node to the transfer destination node between the plurality of devices, and the transfer destination node is a system.<u style="single">Said</u>Data processing capacity of the transfer destination node<u style="single">The address of the data requested by the transfer destination node prior to the transfer of the data in the data format determined according to</u>information<u style="single">, Said</u>Notification means to notify the transfer source node<u style="single">When</u>、<u style="single">The transmission means for transmitting a signal associated with the end of data processing at the transfer destination node to the transfer source node, and the address information transmitted from the transfer source node in response to the signal associated with the end of the data processing. Receiving means for receiving data in the data format specified in</u>It is characterized by having.

[0020] Also, according to the present invention.<u style="single">Regeneration</u>The device is<u style="single">Image processing device</u>Can communicate with<u style="single">Regeneration</u>The device, said<u style="single">Image processing device</u>Data processing capacity<u style="single">The address of the image data requested by the image processing apparatus transmitted from the image processing apparatus prior to the transmission of the image data in the data format determined according to the above.</u>Receive information<u style="single">1st</u>Receiving means and<u style="single">An image of the data format specified by the address information according to the second receiving means for receiving the signal accompanying the end of the image data processing in the image processing apparatus and the reception of the signal accompanying the end of the image data processing.</u>Data<u style="single">、</u>Said<u style="single">Image processing device</u>What<u style="single">Send</u>To do<u style="single">Send</u>It is characterized by having means.<u style="single">Here, the image processing device is a printer, and the signal associated with the end of the image data processing is a signal associated with the end of the print processing. Further, the image processing device is connected to the image processing device by a general-purpose digital interface, and the general-purpose digital interface is a 1394 serial bus in which asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer are mixed, and the first receiving means receives the address information. Receiving using asynchronous transfer, the transmitting means transmits image data using asynchronous transfer or isochronous transfer.</u>【0021】<u style="single">Further, the image processing device of the present invention is an image processing device that receives image data from a playback device, and is used for receiving image data in a data format determined according to the data processing capability of the image processing device. Prior to this, a notification means for notifying the reproduction device of the address information of the image data requested by the image processing device and a signal accompanying the end of the image data processing in the image processing device are transmitted to the reproduction device. It is characterized by having a transmitting means and a receiving means for receiving image data in the data format specified by the address information, which is transmitted from the playback device in response to a signal accompanying the end of the image data processing. Here, the playback device is connected to the playback device by a general-purpose digital interface, and the general-purpose digital interface is a 1394 serial bus in which asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer coexist, and the image data performs asynchronous transfer or isochronous transfer. It is used to receive from the reproduction device. Further, the playback device is connected to the playback device by a general-purpose digital interface, and the general-purpose digital interface is a 1394 serial bus in which asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer coexist, and the address information is reproduced by using asynchronous transfer. Send to the device. Further, it has a printing means for printing the received image data, and the signal associated with the end of the image data processing is a signal associated with the end of the print processing.</u><u style="single"> Further, the control method of the image processing device of the present invention is a control method of an image processing device that receives image data from a playback device, and is a data format determined according to the data processing capacity of the image processing device. Prior to receiving the image data of the above, the address information of the image data requested by the image processing apparatus is notified to the reproduction apparatus, and a signal accompanying the end of the image data processing in the image processing apparatus is sent to the reproduction apparatus. The data is transmitted, and the image data in the data format specified by the address information is received, which is transmitted from the reproduction device in response to the signal accompanying the end of the image data processing. Here, the signal associated with the end of the image data processing is a signal associated with the end of the print processing in the image processing apparatus.</u>BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. &lt;Overview of the image processing system of the present embodiment&gt; In the present embodiment, the problems of the conventional digital I / F are solved as much as possible, and the general-purpose digital I / F, which is unified in each digital device, For example, using the IEEE1394-1995 high-performance serial bus, data communication between devices is realized when a PC, printer, other peripheral device, digital camera, digital VTR recording / playback device, etc. are connected in a network configuration, and the recording / playback device is used. It realizes so-called direct printing, in which video data and the like are taken into a PC, and video data is directly transferred to a printer for printing.

That is, it can be applied to both the case where it is connected to a PC from the viewpoint of a printer and the case where it is directly connected to a digital camera or a digital video camera. Further, for example, the capacity of the above-mentioned memory 50 included in the printer is not constant depending on the printer method and type, and as shown in FIG. 4, the total number of pixels in the vertical direction N to the total number of pixels in the horizontal direction M. (4-1) type that has N × M dot image information represented by, and (4-2) type that has a predetermined number of pixels n in the vertical direction over the entire horizontal direction, and conversely, a predetermined pixel in the horizontal direction. Each has its own characteristics, the (4-3) type that has several meters in the entire vertical direction, and the (4-4) type that has only a predetermined amount of memory in each of the vertical and horizontal directions.<u style="single">To</u>In view of this, the optimum block size for data transfer is determined according to the memory capacity of the printer.

[0027] Further, by determining the format of the image data according to the printing ability of the mounted printer engine, the data is transferred so as to fit in an arbitrary block size. According to this embodiment, the IEEE1394 serial bus is used as the digital I / F for connecting the printer, and the asynchronous transfer mode, which is a feature of the IEEE1394 serial bus described in detail later, is used, and the printer has it. Spatial address information of printed images corresponding to the memory capacity for batch storage of existing image data<u style="single">start</u>The transfer end address from the image data transfer start address corresponding to the point to the end point is transmitted from the printer side to the PC or digital camera as a command signal, and the PC or digital camera or the like that receives this command signal is on the printer side. It is a method of transferring image data by determining the data capacity of the size required for transferring to the memory of the above at one time.

[0028] When a command signal for designating the print processing capacity of the printer engine mounted on the printer side is used, the image data format (YUV, 4: 1: 1, 4: By arbitrarily selecting 2: 2, 4: 4: 4, etc.), the PC or digital camera, etc. that received this command signal is a method that allows the amount of image data to be sent at one time to fit within a certain amount. ..

[0029] As a result, the efficiency of data transfer on the IEEE1394 serial bus is also improved, so that the data transfer throughput between peripheral devices is not deteriorated even on a network to which a plurality of devices are connected, and the data waiting time on the printer side is not deteriorated. It is possible to shorten the printing throughput and improve the printing throughput.

[Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0030] FIGS. 1 and 5 show an example of a network configuration of the image processing system of the present embodiment. &lt;Overview of IEEE1394 Technology&gt; Here, in the present embodiment, since the IEEE1394 serial bus is used as the digital I / F for connecting each device, the IEEE1394 serial bus will be described in advance.

With the advent of home-use digital VTRs and DVDs, real-time and high-information data transfer support such as video data and audio data is required. In order to transfer such video data and audio in real time and import it to a computer (PC) or transfer it to other digital devices, a high-speed data transfer interface with the necessary transfer function is required. The interface developed from this point of view is IEEE1394-1995 (High Performance Serial Bus) (hereinafter referred to as 1394 serial bus).

FIG. 7 shows an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system is equipped with devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and 1394 serial buses between AB, AC, BD, DE, CF, CG, and CH, respectively. It is connected with a twisted pair cable for. Examples of these devices A to H are PCs, digital VTRs, DVDs, digital cameras, hard disks, monitors, and the like.

[0033] The connection method between the devices can be a mixture of the daisy chain method and the node branch method, and can be connected with a high degree of freedom. In addition, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, it constitutes one network within the range connected by the 1394 serial bus. By simply connecting each digital device in sequence with a single 1394 serial bus cable, each device acts as a relay and constitutes one network as a whole. In addition, the Plug &amp; Play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus, has a function to automatically recognize the device and the connection status when the cable is connected to the device.

[0034] Further, in the system as shown in FIG. 7, when a certain device is deleted or newly added from the network, the bus is automatically reset to reset the network configuration up to that point. From, rebuild a new network. With this function, it is possible to constantly set and recognize the network configuration at that time.

[0035] Further, the data transfer speed is 100/200 / 400 Mbps, and the device having the higher transfer speed supports the lower transfer speed to ensure compatibility. The data transfer mode includes an asynchronous transfer mode that transfers asynchronous data (Asynchronous data: hereinafter, Async data) such as control signals, and a synchronous data (Isochronous data: hereinafter, Iso data) such as real-time video data and audio data. To do<u style="single">I</u>There is a sochronous transfer mode. In each cycle (125 μsS), the Async data and Iso data are transferred in a mixed manner within the cycle, following the transfer of the cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of the cycle, while giving priority to the transfer of IsO data. ..

Next, FIG. 8 shows the components of the 1394 serial bus. The 1394 serial bus has a layered structure as a whole. As shown in Figure 8, the hardest is the 1394 serial bus cable, which has a connector port to which the connector of that cable is connected, and on top of that there is a physical layer and a link layer as hardware.

The hardware unit is a substantial interface chip portion, of which the physical layer performs coding, connector-related control, and the like, and the link layer controls packet transfer, cycle time, and the like. The transaction layer of the firmware section manages the data to be transferred (transaction) and issues commands such as Read and Write. Serious bus management is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the network configuration. This hardware and firmware is the actual configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

[0038] Further, the application layer of the software part differs depending on the software to be used, and is a part that defines how data is placed on the interface, and is specified by a protocol such as an AV protocol. The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus. Next, FIG. 9 shows a diagram of the address space in the 1394 serial bus.

[0039] Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus must have a 64-bit address unique to each node. By storing this address in ROM, you can always recognize the node address of yourself or the other party, and you can also communicate by specifying the other party. The addressing of the 1394 serial bus is based on IEEE1212, and the first 10 bits are used to specify the bus and the next 6 bits are used to specify the node ID number. The remaining 48 bits are the address width given to the device, and each can be used as a unique address space. The last 28 bits store information such as identification of each device and setting of usage conditions as an area of unique data.

[0040] The above is an outline of the serial bus technology. (Bus reset sequence) In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and is recognized as a network configuration. When there is a change in this network configuration, for example, when there is a change due to an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to node insertion / removal or power ON / OFF, and it is necessary to recognize the new network configuration, each of the detected changes The node sends a bus reset signal to the bus to enter a mode that recognizes the new network configuration. The method of detecting the change at this time is based on detecting the change of the bias voltage on the 1394 port board.

[0041] A bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, and the physical layer of each node receives the bus reset signal and at the same time transmits the occurrence of the bus reset to the link layer and transmits the bus reset signal to the other nodes. .. After all the nodes finally receive the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated. Bus reset is also activated by connecting / disconnecting the cable as described above, starting by hardware detection due to a network abnormality, etc., and issuing a command directly to the physical layer by host control from the protocol.

[0042] Further, when the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is temporarily suspended, the data transfer during this period is awaited, and after the end, the data transfer is restarted under the new network configuration. The above is the bus reset sequence. (Sequence of node ID determination) After the bus reset, each node goes into the operation of giving an ID to each node in order to build a new network configuration. The general sequence from bus reset to node ID determination at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0043] The flowchart of FIG. 17 shows a series of bus operations from the occurrence of a bus reset to the determination of a node ID and the ability to transfer data. First, as step S101, it is constantly monitored that a bus reset occurs in the network, and when a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of the node, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0044] In step S102, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of the new network from the state where the network is reset. When the parent-child relationship is determined among all the nodes in step S103, one route is determined in step S104. Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all the nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

[0045] When the route is determined in step S104, the next step S105 is to set a node ID that gives an ID to each node. The node IDs are set in the specified node order, the setting work is repeated until all the nodes are given the node IDs, and finally the IDs are set for all the nodes in step S106, and then the new network is created. Since the configuration has been recognized by all the nodes, data transfer between the nodes can be performed as step S107, and the data transfer is started.

[0046] When the state of step S107 is reached, the mode for monitoring the occurrence of the bus reset is entered again, and when the bus reset occurs, the setting work from step S101 to step S106 is repeated. (Asynchronous transfer) Asynchronous transfer is an asynchronous transfer. Figure 12 shows the temporal transition state in asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in Figure 12 shows the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a certain value, the node wishing to transfer determines that the bus can be used and executes arbitration for acquiring the bus.

After obtaining permission to use the bus by arbitration, data transfer is then executed in packet format. After data transfer, the receiving node returns the received result ack (receipt confirmation return code) for the transferred data after a short gap of ackgap, and then returns or responds by sending a response packet. Complete. The acK consists of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, which contains information such as success, busy state, or pending state, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, FIG. 13 shows an example of a packet format for asynchronous transfer. The packet has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part includes the target node ID, source node ID, transfer data length, various codes, etc. as shown in FIG. Is written and the transfer is performed. Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from the own node to the other node. Packets transferred from the forwarding node are distributed to each node in the network, but addresses other than the address addressed to itself are ignored, so only one node at the destination can read the packet.

The above is the description of asynchronous transfer. (Isochronous transfer) Isochronous transfer is a synchronous transfer. This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is a transfer mode particularly suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as VIDEO video data and audio data.

[0050] Further, while asynchronous transfer (asynchronous) is a one-to-one transfer, this isochronous transfer is uniformly transferred from one node of the transfer source to all other nodes by the broadcast function. .. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in isochronous transfer. Isochronous transfer is performed on the bus at regular intervals. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μS. The cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. It is the node called the cycle master that sends the cycle start packet, and announces the start of this cycle after a predetermined idle period (sub-action gap) has passed after the end of the transfer in the previous cycle. Send a cycle start packet. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μS.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14 as channel A, channel B, and channel C, a plurality of types of packets can be transferred separately by being given channel IDs within one cycle. This enables real-time transfer between multiple nodes at the same time, and the receiving node captures only the data of the channel ID that you want. This channel ID does not represent the destination address, but merely gives a logical number to the data. Therefore, the transmission of a packet is broadcasted from one source node to all other nodes.

[0052] Prior to the packet transmission of the isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in the asynchronous transfer. However, unlike asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (acceptance confirmation reply code) for isochronous transfer because it is not one-to-one communication. Further, the isogap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 14 represents an idle period required for recognizing that the bus is in an empty state before performing isochronous transfer. After this predetermined idle period elapses, the node that wants to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, FIG. 15 shows and describes an example of a packet format for isochronous transfer. Each type of packet divided into each channel has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part has the transfer data length, channel number, etc. as shown in FIG. Various codes and header CRC for error correction are written and transferred.

[0054] The above is the description of isochronous transfer. (Bus cycle) In the actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can be mixed. At that time, the time of the transfer state on the bus where isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer are mixed.<u style="single">transition</u>A diagram showing the state of is shown in FIG.

[0055] The isochronous transfer is executed in preference to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (sub-action gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. .. Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

[0056] In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 16, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. As a result, each node adjusts the time, waits for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), and then the node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and enters packet transfer. In FIG. 16, channel e, channel s, and channel k are sequentially isochronously transferred.

[0057] After repeating the operation from the arbitration to the packet transfer for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed. When the idle time reaches the sub-action gap that enables asynchronous transfer, it is determined that the node that wants to perform asynchronous transfer can move to the execution of arbitration.

[0058] However, during the period during which the asynchronous transfer can be performed, the isochronous transfer ends.<u style="single">rear</u>Only if there is a sub-action gap to initiate asynchronous forwarding before the time to forward the next cycle start packet (cycle synch). In cycle #m of FIG. 16, isochronous forwarding for three channels and then asynchronous forwarding (including ack) are forwarded in two packets (packet 1, packet 2). After this asynchronous packet 2, the time to start cycle m + 1 (cycle synch) is reached, so the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

[0059] However, if the time (cycle synch) for transmitting the next cycle start packet is reached during the asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation, it is not forcibly interrupted and waits for an idle period after the transfer is completed. Then send the cycle start packet for the next cycle. That is, when one cycle continues for 125 μS or more, the order cycle is assumed to be shorter than the standard 125 μS. In this way, the isochronous cycle can be exceeded or shortened based on 125 μS.

[0060] However, the isochronous transfer is always performed every cycle to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be passed to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time. This delay information is also managed by the cycle master. The above is a brief description of the IEEE1394 serial bus.

&lt;Configuration Example of Image Processing System of Embodiment 1&gt; A description will be given when each device is connected by a 1394 serial bus cable as shown in FIG. The bus configuration in Fig. 1 consists of a 101 recording / playback device, a 102 printer device, and a 103 personal computer (PC) connected by a 1394 serial bus drawn by a solid line, and each device is based on the specifications of the 1394 serial bus. Data can be transferred. Here, the 101 recording / playback device is a digital camera, a camera-integrated digital VTR, or the like that records / plays back moving images or still images. Further, direct printing is possible by directly transferring the video data output by the recording / playback device 101 to the printer 102. In addition, the connection method of the 1394 serial bus is not limited to the connection as shown in Fig. 1, but it is also possible to configure a connection bus between arbitrary devices, and in addition to the devices shown in Fig. 1. May also have a configuration in which a data communication device is connected. The network shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a group of devices, and the connected devices may be any device such as an external storage device such as a hard disk or a device capable of configuring the network with a 1394 serial bus such as a CDR or DVD.

With the bus configuration as shown in FIG. 1 as a background, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 101 is a recording / playback device, 102 is a printer, and 103 is a PC. In the recording / playback device 101, 4 is an imaging system, 5 is an A / D converter, 65 is a video signal processing circuit, 7 is a compression / decompression circuit that compresses during recording and decompresses during playback by a predetermined algorithm, and 8 is a magnetic tape or Recording / playback system including solid-state memory and its recording / playback head, 9 is system controller, 10 is operation unit for inputting instructions, 11 is D / A converter, 12 is EVF which is display unit, 13 is uncompressed. A frame memory for storing video data to be transferred, 14 is a memory control unit for controlling reading of the memory 13, 17 is a data selector, and 18 is an I / F unit of a 1394 serial bus.

[0063] In the printer 102, 19 is a 1394 I / F unit in the printer, 20 is a data selector, 22 is an image processing circuit for a printed image, 23 is a memory for forming a printed image, 24 is a printer head, and 25 is a printer head. A driver that performs printing and paper feeding, 26 is a printer controller that is a printer control unit, and 27 is a printer operation unit.

[0064] In PC103, 61 is the 1394 I / F section mounted on the PC, 62 is the PCI bus, 63 is the MPU, 65 is the display with a built-in D / A converter, 66 is the HDD, 67 is the memory, and 68 is. It is an operation unit such as a keyboard and a mouse. As shown by the broken line, the recording / playback device 101 has a memory 15 and a memory control unit 16 having a configuration in which the compressed image data is transmitted as it is, and the printer 102 outputs the video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm. It may be configured to have a compounding circuit 21 for compounding, and the PC 103 may have a compounding circuit 64 for compounding video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm.

&lt;Example of operation of the image processing system according to the first embodiment&gt; Next, the operation of the block diagram 2 will be described step by step. In the following description, in order to eliminate complexity, the description of the configuration in which the compressed image data is transmitted as it is is omitted. Further, the control of the recording / playback device 101, the printer 102, and the PC 103 may be realized by executing a control program loaded in the RAM from the storage medium of the external storage device of each, or the recording / playback device 101, At least a part of the control program of the printer 102 may be configured to be downloaded from the PC 103.

[0066] First, at the time of recording by the recording / playback device 101, the video signal captured by the imaging system 4 is digitized by the A / D converter 5, and then the video signal is processed by the video signal processing circuit 6. One of the outputs of the video signal processing circuit 6 is converted back to an analog signal by the D / A converter 11 as a video being shot and displayed by the EVF 12. The other outputs are compressed by the compression circuit 7 by a predetermined algorithm and recorded on the recording medium by the recording / playback system 8. Here, the predetermined compression process is a JPEG method as a typical example for digital cameras, and a compression method based on DCT (discrete cosine transform) and VLC (variable length coding) as band compression methods for home digital VTRs. , Others include the MPEG method.

At the time of reproduction, the recording / reproduction system 8 reproduces a desired image from the recording medium. At this time, the desired video is selected based on the instruction input input from the operation unit 10, and the system controller 9 controls and reproduces the desired video. Of the video data reproduced from the recording medium, the data transferred in the compressed state is output to the frame memory 15. When the reproduced data is decompressed because it is transferred as uncompressed data, it is decompressed by the decompression circuit 7 and output to the memory 13. When the reproduced video data is displayed on the EVF12, it is decompressed by the decompression circuit 7, converted back to an analog signal by the D / A converter 11, and then output to the EVF12 for display.

The frame memory 13 is written / read controlled by the memory control unit 14 controlled by the system controller, and the read video data is output to the data selector 17. The system controller 9 controls the operation of each part in the recording / playback device 101. It outputs control command data for externally connected devices such as the printer 102 and PC 103, and transfers the 1394 serial bus from the data selector 17. It is also possible to send a command to an external device. Further, various command data transferred from the printer 102 and the PC 103 are input to the system controller 9 from the data selector 17 and can be used for controlling each part of the recording / playback device 101. Of these, command data indicating the presence or absence of a decoder transferred from the printer 102 and PC 103, the type of decoder, etc. is input to the system controller 9 as a request command, and then when the video data is transferred from the recording / playback device 101, the memory is stored. A command is transmitted to the control unit 14 to control the video data in the frame memory 13 to be read and transferred. The command control of the memory 13 is controlled based on the data request information described later from the printer 102.

[0069] The video data and command data input to the data selector 17 are transferred on the cable by the 1394 I / F18 based on the specifications of the 1394 serial bus, and if it is the video data for printing, the video data that the printer 102 captures into the PC. Then PC103 receives it. Command data is also transferred to the target node as appropriate. Regarding the transfer method of each data, mainly data such as moving images, still images, or audio is transferred as Iso data by the isochronous transfer method, and command data is transferred as Async data by the asynchronous transfer method. However, of the data normally transferred as Iso data, if it is convenient to transfer as Async data depending on the transfer status, etc., it may be transmitted by asynchronous transfer.

Next, regarding the operation of the printer 102, among the data input to the 1394 I / F unit 19, the data selector 20 classifies each data type, and the data to be printed such as video data is the image processing circuit 22. Is output to. The data for printing input to the image processing circuit 22 is formed as a print image in the memory 23 which has been subjected to image processing suitable for printing and whose storage and reading are controlled by the printer controller 26. It is sent to the head 24 and printed. The driver 25 drives the printer head and the paper feed, and the print controller 23 controls the operation of the driver 25 and the printer head 24, and controls other parts.

[0071] The printer operation unit 27 is for instructing and inputting operations such as paper feed, reset, ink check, and standby / start / stop of printer operation, and the printer controller 26 is used to instruct and input operations such as standby / start / stop of printer operation. It is controlled. When the data input to the 1394 I / F section 19 is command data for the printer 102, the data selector 20 transmits the control command to the printer controller 26, and the printer controller 26 controls each section of the printer 102 corresponding to the information. Be done. Further, the printer controller 26 includes a recording / playback device 101 and a PC 103.<u style="single">To</u>Command data can be transferred.

[0072] As described above, when the video data is transferred from the recording / playback device 101 to the printer 102 and printed, it is a so-called direct print, and the print process can be performed without using the process on the PC. Next, the processing on the PC 103 will be described. The video data transferred from the recording / playback device 101 to the 1394 I / F section 61 of the PC is transferred to each section in the PC 103 using the PCI bus 62 as a data mutual transmission bus. In addition, various command data in PC103 are also transferred to each part using this PCI bus.

[0073] In the PC 103, processing is performed by the MPU 63 while using the memory 67 according to the instruction input from the operation unit 68 and the OS (operating system) and application software. When recording the transferred video data, record it on the hard disk 66. The video data to be transferred is uncompressed data in the present embodiment as in the case of the printer, but if the PC 103 side has a decoder function (compression circuit 64) for decompressing the compressed data, the compressed data can be stored. It may be sent. When the video data is displayed on the display 65, if it is compressed video data, it is compounded by the compounding circuit 64, and if it is uncompressed video data, it is directly input to the display 65. , After D / A conversion, the image is displayed.

[0074] The various compound circuits 64 provided in the PC 103 are, for example, one in which a decoder such as an MPEG system is inserted into a slot as a board, one in which the decoder is incorporated in the main body in terms of hardware, or an MPEG system or the like. The NPEJ system and other soft decoders are owned by ROM or the like, and commands can be transferred to the recording / playback device 101 with the type and presence / absence of these decoders as information.

[0075] In this way, the transferred video data is taken into the PC 103, and is recorded, edited, transferred from the PC to another device, and the like. The above is the explanation of the block diagram 2. &lt;Example of Operation Flow Chart of Embodiment 1&gt; Next, the operation at this time is shown in FIG. 6 as a flowchart. In FIG. 6, the read / write address control of the image data store memory 13 in the recording / playback device 101 and the image data store memory 23 in the printer 102 in FIG. 2, and the respective data transferred thereby. The related steps between the devices are shown in a flowchart.

[0076] First, on the printer 102 side, as shown in step S1, the minimum unit unit (omitted, printer cycle length) of printer printing corresponding to the capacity of the memory 23 uniquely possessed by the printer 102 is set. Have the means to do. This is a step of setting a value indicating the minimum amount of data corresponding to the print cycle, which is set by the spatial feature of the image data for storing the memory capacity shown in FIG. 4 described above.

[0077] A cycle at a certain timing is tentatively called a cycle Ci. Based on step S2, which determines the last printed endpoint address information in the previous cycle Ci-1, and step S1, the start point address (SPA at Ci) and endpoint to be printed in this cycle Ci. The address (EPA at Ci) is set (step S3). The sequential address information from SPA to EPA is used in step S4 for reading the above-mentioned memory 23, and further, step S5 of the so-called unique operation of the printer itself using the data from the read memory 23. Move to. Eventually, when the series of printer operations in cycle Ci is completed, the confirmation work is started in the end confirmation step S6.

[0078] On the other hand, in parallel with the above-mentioned step S3, the start point address in Ci + 1 which is the next cycle.<u style="single">(</u>SPA at Ci + 1<u style="single">)</u>And endpoint address<u style="single">(</u>EPA at Ci + 1<u style="single">)</u>Step S7 is also activated, and the address of the image data required for the next print cycle is transferred to the recording / playback device 101 on the transmitting side by the above-mentioned IEEE1394 Asyncronus transfer.

[0079] Such address data SPA and EPA data are shown in FIG. 1 described above.<u style="single">2</u>,Figure 1<u style="single">3</u>By packet transfer shown in (1), a predetermined position is selected from the data fields (4 × N bytes) and transferred. Step S8 in the device 101 is a step of converting the data corresponding to the address data transferred by the IEEE1394 data into the memory write / read address of the image memory 13 in the recording / playback device 101, thereby reading the memory 13. Go to step S9 for address setting.

[0080] In response to the end of printing in the cycle Ci in step S6 described above, the data indicating the end of this cycle printing is similarly transferred from the printer 102 to the recording / playback device 101 by Async transfer of IEEE1394 in the same manner as the above-mentioned address. And the transfer of the image data itself from the memory 13 to the printer 102 is allowed (step S10).

[0081] The data transfer of the image data itself from the recording / playback device 101 to the printer 102 is performed by Async transfer in the same manner as the above-mentioned command data.<u style="single">2</u>,1<u style="single">3</u>You can transfer as shown in Fig. 1.<u style="single">4</u>,1<u style="single">5</u>It is also possible to store and transfer in a data field by the Isochronous transfer shown in. As described above, the printer 102 transfers the address data indicating the position of the image data for a predetermined cycle required for the next printer printing to the recording / playback device 101, which is the input device, as a request by Async. By sending the data corresponding to that address as the data indicating the end of the current print cycle, which is also sent from the printer, the capacity of the memory 23 provided in the printer 102 for the image data from the recording / playback device 101 is not exceeded. This is the most effective transfer system.

[0082] In the description of FIG. 6, it has been described that the address data to be printed next time is to send two address data, that is, the data indicating the start point (SPA) and the data indicating the endpoint (EPA). You may send the data indicating the starting point (SPA) and the data indicating its length (PCL). &lt;Example of Transfer Data Configuration in Embodiment 1&gt; FIG. 10 shows an example of a specific data configuration such as address designation.

[0083] In FIG. 10, among all 45 bits, 2 bits of WORD0 indicating a data transfer request, 3 bits of WORD1 indicating a memory type, and coordinates (x, y) which are spatial addresses of images to be transferred to such memory. The position data indicating the start point and the endpoint represented by) is shown as an example of 40 bits (WORD2 to WORD5) in total. 10 bits of WORD2 and 10 bits of WORD3 indicate (Xs, Ys) of the start point address (SPA), and WORD4 and WORD5 also indicate (Xe, Ye) of the endpoint address (EPA) (Fig. 11). reference).

Table 1 below shows the WORD0 assignments that indicate the status of data transfer requests. (0,0) (1,1) indicates the presence or absence of a request, but (1,0) indicates that there will be a request for data transfer in the near future. This is determined by the vicinity of the end of printing or the read state of the image memory.

[0085] [Table 1]<img file="JP3774540B2_D0001.tif" />Table 2 below is a code allocation table showing the memory method shown in FIG. 4, and is composed of 3 bits.

[0086] [Table 2]<img file="JP3774540B2_D0002.tif" />Table 3 below shows the address of the coordinate Xs with 10 bits of WORD2, the address of the coordinate ys with 10 bits of WORD3, the address of the coordinate Xe with 10 bits of WORD4, and the address of the coordinate Ye with 10 bits of WORD2.

[0087] [Table 3]<img file="JP3774540B2_D0003.tif" /> In Fig. 2, the system in which PC103 is also connected to device 101 via IEEE1394.<u style="single">When</u>In the explanation of the flowchart of FIG. 6, the PC 103 was not described at all, but in that case, that is, even when the image data is transferred from the PC 103 to the printer 102, the memory 67 in the PC 103 is the recording / playback device 101. Since it only changes to the memory 13 of, detailed explanation is omitted.

[Embodiment 2] As the second embodiment, a case where the performance of the printer engine is used as the request data from the printer will be described. The performance of the printer engine indicates the printing ability of the printer determined by the printer head 24 and the driver 25 in the printer 102 in the block shown in FIG.

[0089] For example, in the case of an inkjet printer, the print resolution is determined by the interval between the ejection nozzles of the ink head, and is generally expressed in dpi (dot / inch) as the number of nozzles per inch. ing. The higher the dpi value, the higher the resolution, which improves the print quality. However, in reality, the amount of image data increases in proportion to the resolution, and the data transfer speed at the interface and the image data conversion on the printer side and If the printing speeds are out of balance, there will be wasted waiting time on either side.

[0090] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between the print resolution and the amount of image data. Assuming that 100 dpi is 1, image data of 4 times at 200 dpi, 16 times at 400 dpi, and 64 times at 800 dpi is required. That is, it can be seen that the amount of uncompressed image data increases in proportion to the square of the resolution. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the data size of the image data represented by YUV in 4 pixels in each of the 4: 4: 4, 4: 2: 2, and 4: 1: 1 formats, in which the brightness data Y is 8 bits. If the color difference data U and V are also 8-bit data, 4 pixels of 4: 4: 4 are 12 bytes, and 4 pixels of 4: 2: 2 are 8 bytes.<u style="single">、</u>With 4 pixels of 4: 1: 1, the amount of data is 6 bytes. That is, by switching the data format, it is possible to reduce the total amount of image data to 2/3 or 1/2.

That is, in a printer having a high resolution of the printer engine, the data format of the image data is switched to a mode of reducing the amount of data, and in a printer having a low resolution of the printer engine, on the contrary, the data format of the image data remains in the mode of a large amount of data. By setting this, the amount of data of the entire image data can be made constant, and it is possible to impose a limit on the size of data packets to be transferred at one time.

[0092] Here, the merits of making the size of the data packet constant will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, data transfer on the 1394 serial bus is a mixture of asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer. Isochronous transfer can reserve data bandwidth, whereas asynchronous transfer often waits for transfer due to traffic on the serial bus. Even if a large amount of asynchronous transfer is performed at one time, it is a condition that other data transfer does not occupy the bus in order to reliably execute the data transfer, and conversely, the printer occupies the bus. If this happens, other asynchronous transfer devices will not be able to transfer data. In other words, if it is a one-to-one connected system, there is no need to worry, but if multiple devices are connected on the same bus and each exchanges data, there is a big problem. Therefore, by exchanging the resolution information of the printer engine before data transfer, the data format is switched according to the resolution, the transfer source node creates image data, and it is converted into a data packet so that it has a predetermined size, and the transfer destination. The node can receive the image data more reliably and perform the printing operation.

[0093] It is also possible to use a parameter called printing speed as information on the printer engine. That is, since the data processing time per unit time of the printer is a parameter, it has the same contents regardless of the resolution or the printing speed. In addition, the size of the data packet is constant<u style="single">To</u>If so, on the contrary, it is possible to set the printing speed to be slowed down when the resolution is increased, or to decrease the resolution when the printing speed is increased.

&lt;Example of Transfer Data Configuration in Embodiment 2&gt; FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a specific bit configuration of request data. First, a 2-bit WORD0 indicating a data transfer request, and then an image format. It consists of 8-bit WORD6 for type, 32-bit WORD7 for printer engine resolution, and 32-bit WORD8 for printer engine speed.

[0095] WORD0 is a bit indicating the state of the data transfer request as in the case of the first embodiment. WORD6 is a bit that indicates which of the YUV modes and RGB and monochrome modes are supported as the image data format supported by the printer, and is the bit of the corresponding image mode as shown in Table 4. On the other hand, "1" is set. That is, when a plurality of modes are supported, some bits are set.

[0096] Table 4 below shows an example of WORD6.

[0097] [Table 4]<img file="JP3774540B2_D0004.tif" /> WORD7 has a printer engine resolution of 4<u style="single">Part-Time Job</u>It is a bit shown in hexadecimal, and the unit is expressed in dot / inch dpi, and it can be set up to 65,535 dpi. WORD8 is a 4-byte hexadecimal bit that indicates the printing speed of the printer engine. The unit is expressed in Hz of dots / second, and the ink ejection frequency can be set up to 65 KHz.

[0098] Although the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), the present invention is a device composed of one device (for example, a copier, a facsimile). It may be applied to a device, etc.). Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is recorded to a system or device, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device is a storage medium. Needless to say, it can be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.

[0099] In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

[0100] Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the function of the above-described embodiment is realized, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer is based on the instruction of the program code. ) Etc. perform a part or all of the actual processing, and it goes without saying that the processing may realize the function of the above-described embodiment.

[0101] Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, the program code is written. Needless to say, there are cases where the function expansion board, the CPU provided in the function expansion unit, or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment.

[0102] When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the program code corresponding to the processing procedure described above is stored in the storage medium. Further, in the present specification, the present invention has been described by taking an image processing system including a recording / playback device, a printer, and a PC as an example, but the present invention is a system in which devices having different data processing capabilities are connected by a general-purpose interface. The present invention discloses a method for increasing the efficiency of data transfer in the above, and the same effect can be obtained not only in an image processing system but also in other data processing systems.

【0103】<u style="single">According to the first embodiment, when the predetermined image data is transmitted from the transfer source node to the transfer destination node, the data is sequentially transferred by the capacity of the image data recording memory owned by the transfer destination node. As a means for this, by providing a system that sequentially transfers data corresponding to the spatial address of the image data next required by the transfer destination node as desired without any trouble, the capacity and method of the storage memory of the transfer destination node. It is possible to always provide a highly efficient transfer system regardless of the difference between the two.</u><u style="single"> According to the second embodiment, a plurality of devices are connected by selecting the resolution and format of the image data according to the image data processing capacity of the transfer destination node and arbitrarily setting the data packet size that can be transferred at one time. It is possible to improve the data transfer efficiency on the serial bus.</u>According to the present invention, from the transfer destination node to the transfer source node, as described above.<u style="single">、</u>Data processing capacity of the transfer destination node<u style="single">The address of the data requested by the transfer destination node prior to the transfer of the data in the data format determined according to</u>Disseminate information<u style="single">Then, the transfer destination node receives the data in the data format specified by the address information sent from the transfer source node in response to the signal accompanying the end of the data processing in the transfer destination node.</u>By doing so, it is possible to provide a data transfer method and an image processing system and an apparatus that always perform highly efficient data transfer regardless of the difference in processing capacity of the transfer destination node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a recording / playback device, a printer device, and a PC to which the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration when a digital camera, a PC, and a printer are connected to a PC as a center in a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an area of a printer memory.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a memory address setting operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration connected using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an address map of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of request data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a coordinate diagram of an image spatial address.

FIG. 12 is a basic configuration diagram showing a temporal state transition of asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format for asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 14 is a basic configuration diagram showing a temporal state transition of isochronous transfer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example of an isochronous transfer packet format.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state of time transition of a transfer state on a bus.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow from bus reset to determination of a node ID.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of image data and the resolution.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of a YUV data format.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of request data according to the second embodiment.

[Simple description of code] 8 Recording / playback system 9 System controller 13 Memory 14 Memory control 18,19,61 1394I / F26 Printer controller 63 MPU101,201 Recording / playback device 102,202 Printer 103 PC (Personal computer)