JP7302380B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that manages the remaining capacity of a storage device that stores image data.

2. Description of the Related Art An image processing apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine executes image processing such as copy processing, print processing, scan data transmission processing, or facsimile transmission processing.

The image processing apparatus may include a non-volatile storage device that stores processing target data for image processing. The target data is, for example, scan data obtained by reading an image of a document, or data to be printed obtained from a host device via a network.

Further, when the memory usage in the reception box of the storage device exceeds the limit value, the facsimile device outputs the document data stored in the reception box, and then outputs the document data to the reception box. It is known to erase the document data (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-8007

By the way, when the remaining capacity of the storage area for the data to be processed in the storage device is low, the image processing apparatus can increase the remaining capacity of the storage area without erasing the data to be processed as much as possible. desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide image processing capable of increasing the remaining capacity of a storage device when the remaining capacity of the storage device is low without erasing target data for image processing stored in the storage device. It is to provide a device.

An image processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a nonvolatile storage device, an image data processing section, and a data management section. The storage device stores one or more processing target data to be subjected to image processing and one or more attached data generated based on the processing target data and associated with the processing target data. The image data processing section executes image processing on the processing target data. The data management unit removes the attached data from the data storage area when the remaining capacity of the data storage area capable of storing the data to be processed and the attached data in the storage device is in a predetermined shortage state. is erased, the remaining capacity of the data storage area is set to a predetermined shortage-resolved state.

According to the present invention, when the remaining capacity of the storage device is low, image processing can increase the remaining capacity of the storage device without erasing target data for image processing stored in the storage device. equipment can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of data management processing in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of box storage data in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of management data in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example that embodies the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Configuration of image processing apparatus 10]
The image processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment can execute image processing such as copy processing, scan data transmission processing, or print processing. For example, the image processing device 10 is a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a multi-function machine, or the like.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the image processing device 10 is a multi-function machine including a printing device 1, an image reading device 2, and a communication device 4. FIG. The printing device 1 executes print processing for forming an image on the sheet 91 . The image reading device 2 executes image reading processing for reading an image from the document 92 .

In the following description, the image read from the document 92 by the image reading process of the image reading device 2 is called a read image.

The image processing device 10 can communicate with one or more host devices 8 through a network 80 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The host device 8 is a computer that can communicate with the image processing device 10 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 10 includes a printing device 1, an image reading device 2, a user interface device 3, a communication device 4, a control device 5, and the like.

The control device 5 also includes a print engine 50, a CPU 51, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 52, a secondary storage device 53, and the like.

The user interface device 3 includes an operation device 3a, a display device 3b, and the like. The operation device 3a is a device that receives human operations, and includes, for example, operation buttons and a touch panel.

The display device 3b includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel capable of displaying information. Note that the human operation includes, in addition to the operation by the human hand, the operation by the human voice, the operation by the human eye, and the like.

The communication device 4 is a communication interface device that communicates with other devices such as the host device 8 through the network 80 . The control device 5 performs all transmission and reception of data with the host device 8 through the communication device 4 .

The printing device 1 executes the printing process by a predetermined method such as an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

For example, when the printing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs the above-described printing process by electrophotography, the printing apparatus 1 includes a sheet conveying mechanism 1a, a photoreceptor 1b, a charging device 1c, a laser scanning unit 1d, a developing device 1e, and a transfer device. 1f and a fixing device 1g.

The sheet conveying mechanism 1a conveys the sheet 91 along a predetermined route. The charging device 1c charges the surface of the photoreceptor 1b. A laser scanning unit 1d writes an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the charged photoreceptor 1b.

The developing device 1e develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 1b into a toner image. The transfer device 1f transfers the toner image on the photoreceptor 1b onto the sheet 91. As shown in FIG. The fixing device 1 g fixes the toner image on the sheet 91 by heating the toner image on the sheet 91 .

The image reading device 2 includes a light source 2a, an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) 2b, an image sensor 2c, an AFE (Analog Front End) 2d, and the like.

Light source 2 a emits light to document 92 . ADF (2b) conveys document 92 along a document conveying path passing through a position facing light source 2a. As a result, the document 92 is scanned with the light from the light source 2a.

The image sensor 2c receives reflected light from the document 92 and outputs a detection signal of the amount of received light as an image signal. AFE (2d) converts the image signal into digital image data.

The control device 5 executes various calculations, data processing, and control of various electric devices provided in the image processing device 10 . The control device 5 can exchange data and control signals with the printing device 1 , the image reading device 2 , the user interface device 3 and the communication device 4 .

The print engine 50 controls the printing device 1 according to instructions from the CPU 51 to cause the printing device 1 to execute the printing process.

The print engine 50 is realized by a processor such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) (not shown), or a circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

RAM 52 is a computer-readable volatile storage device. The RAM 52 can temporarily store computer programs executed by the CPU 51 and various data referred to or output by the CPU 51 .

The secondary storage device 53 is a computer-readable non-volatile storage device. The secondary storage device 53 stores in advance the computer program executed by the CPU 51 and various data referred to by the CPU 51 .

For example, a combination of one or both of an SSD (Solid State Drive) and a hard disk drive is employed as the secondary storage device 53 .

The secondary storage device 53 has a box area 531 as part of the data storage area. The box area 531 can store a plurality of box data D1 including processing target data D10 to be subjected to image processing. The data to be processed D10 is data of the read image, data received from the host device 8, or the like.

The CPU 51 is a processor that develops the computer program stored in the secondary storage device 53 in the RAM 52 and executes the program. Thereby, the CPU 51 executes various data processing and controls. It is also conceivable that another processor such as a DSP may perform the data processing and control instead of the CPU 51 .

The CPU 51 includes a plurality of processing modules implemented by executing the computer program. The plurality of processing modules include a main control section 5a and a job control section 5b.

The main control unit 5a mainly monitors operations on the operation device 3a and data reception by the communication device 4, and when detecting an operation or data reception, controls the start of processing in accordance with the detection details.

The job control unit 5b executes jobs related to image processing together with one or more of the printing device 1, the image reading device 2, and the communication device 4. FIG.

For example, the job control section 5b can execute a print job. In the print job, the job control unit 5b receives print request data from the host device 8 through the communication device 4, and causes the printing device 1 to execute the print processing based on the print request data.

Furthermore, the job control unit 5b can execute a received data storage job. In the received data storage job, the job control unit 5b receives storage request data from the host device 8 through the communication device 4, and stores the processing target data D10 included in the storage request data in the box area 531 of the secondary storage device 53. Memorize.

Furthermore, the job control section 5b can execute a copy job. In the copy job, the job control unit 5b causes the image reading device 2 to execute the image reading process in response to a copy operation on the operation device 3a, and furthermore, the image reading process based on the data of the read image obtained by the image reading process. The printing device 1 is caused to execute print processing.

Furthermore, the job control section 5b can execute a scan data storage job. In the scan data storage job, the job control unit 5b causes the printing device 1 to execute the image reading process in response to the scan data storing operation on the operation device 3a, and furthermore, reads data of the read image obtained by the image reading process. is recorded in the box area 531 of the secondary storage device 53 as the processing target data D10.

Furthermore, the job control section 5b can execute a stored data print job. In the stored data print job, the job control unit 5b selects one or more of the processing target data D10 stored in the secondary storage device 53 in response to a data selection operation on the operation device 3a, and selects The printing apparatus 1 is made to execute the printing process based on the processed data D10.

Furthermore, the job control unit 5b can execute a stored data transmission job. In the stored data transmission job, the job control unit 5b selects one or more of the processing target data D10 stored in the secondary storage device 53 according to a data selection operation on the operation device 3a, and selects The communication device 4 is caused to execute a process of transmitting the processed data D10 to the destination input by the destination input operation on the operation device 3a.

When executing the received data storage job or the scan data storage job, the job control unit 5b records the data ID (D12) and the attached data D13 in the box area 531 in association with the processing target data D10 (see FIG. 3). reference).

As shown in FIG. 3, the job control unit 5b associates the data ID (D12), the processing target data D10, and the attached data D13 with the user ID (D11) that identifies the user who requested the job, and stores them in a box. Record in area 531 . Furthermore, the job control unit 5b records the initial value of the compression flag D14 in the box area 531 in association with the processing target data D10.

When the processing target data D10 is received from the host device 8, the user ID (D11) is specified by the host identification data received from the host device 8. FIG. In this case, it is conceivable that the user ID (D11) is the host identification data of the host device 8. FIG. It is conceivable that the host identification data is the communication address of the host device 8 .

Alternatively, registered user data (not shown) that associates the host identification data with the user ID (D11) may be stored in the secondary storage device 53 in advance.

Further, when the processing target data D10 is the data of the read image, it is possible that the user ID (D11) is input through the operation device 3a before the image reading process is executed.

The data ID (D12) is data for identifying the processing target data D10. The attached data D13 is data generated based on the corresponding processing target data D10. In this embodiment, the attached data D13 includes thumbnail image data D131 and preview image data D132.

The thumbnail image data D131 and the preview image data D132 are simplified image data representing the contents of the corresponding processing target data D10. Also, the thumbnail image data D131 is data simplified to a data size smaller than that of the preview image data D132.

The thumbnail image data D131 represents a thumbnail image displayed on the display device 3b as a selection menu when, for example, the processing target data D10 targeted for the stored data print job or the stored data transmission job is selected.

Similarly, the preview image data D132 is displayed on the display device 3b for confirmation of the selection result, for example, when the processing target data D10 targeted for the stored data print job or the stored data transmission job is selected. Represents a preview image.

The box area 531 is an example of a data storage area capable of storing the processing target data D10 and the attached data D13 in the secondary storage device 53 .

The compression flag D14 is a flag for identifying whether or not the data D10 to be processed has been compressed from the original data when it was first recorded in the box area 531 into data of a smaller size.

The initial value of the compression flag D14 is OFF indicating that the data to be processed D10 is not compressed from the original data. The job control unit 5b sets the compression flag D14 to the initial value when executing the received data storage job or the scan data storage job.

Further, when executing the received data storage job or the scan data storage job, the job control unit 5b associates the recording time D22 and the data size D23 with the data ID (D12) as part of the management data D2. It is recorded in the next storage device 53 (see FIG. 4).

The recording time D22 is data representing the date when the processing target data D10 was recorded in the box area 531 . The data size D23 is data representing the size of the processing target data D10 recorded in the box area 531 .

The various jobs described above are examples of image processing for the processing target data D10. Also, the printing device 1, the image reading device 2, and the communication device 4 that execute the job are an example of the image data processing section 1x that executes the image processing.

By the way, when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 in the secondary storage device 53 is low, it is desirable that the image processing apparatus 10 can increase the remaining capacity of the box area 531 without erasing the processing target data D10 as much as possible.

In the image processing apparatus 10, the CPU 51 executes data management processing, which will be described later (see FIG. 2). As a result, when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 in the secondary storage device 53 is low, the image processing apparatus 10 does not erase the processing target data D10 stored in the box area 531, and restores the box area 531. You can increase the remaining capacity.

In this embodiment, the CPU 51 further includes, as the processing modules, a state determination section 5c, a priority determination section 5d, a data management section 5e, and an inquiry section 5f.

[Data management processing]
An example of the procedure of the data management process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

For example, the main control unit 5a starts the data management process each time a predetermined time elapses or each time the current time reaches a predetermined time. Further, it is conceivable that the main control section 5a starts the data management process each time the received data storage job or the scan data storage job is executed a predetermined number of times.

In the following description, S1, S2, . . . represent identification codes of a plurality of steps in the data management process.

<Step S1>
In the data management process, first, the state determination unit 5c determines whether or not the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in a predetermined insufficient state.

For example, the insufficient state is a state in which the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is less than the estimated amount of increase in data from the current time until after a predetermined first period based on the actual value of the pace of increase in the amount of data stored in the box area 531. is.

Based on the recording time D22 and the data size D23 in the management data D2, the state determination unit 5c derives the actual value of the increase pace during a predetermined past period.

Furthermore, the state determination unit 5c derives the estimated amount of increase by multiplying the actual value of the pace of increase by the first period.

Then, the state determination unit 5c shifts the process to step S2 when determining that the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the insufficient state, and terminates the data management process otherwise.

<Step S2>
In step S2, the priority determination unit 5d determines the priority of each data to be processed D10 according to a predetermined determination parameter, and shifts the process to step S3.

The determination parameter includes one or more of target access frequency, data size D23 of management data D2, and recording time D22 of management data D2.

The priority is the priority of each attached data D13 corresponding to the processing target data D10 stored in the box area 531 as a deletion target. In the next step S3, the attached data D13 corresponding to the processing target data D10 with the higher priority is preferentially selected as an object to be erased.

The target access frequency is the access frequency to the process target data D10 or the attached data D13 corresponding to the process target data D10 in a predetermined period.

For example, each time the job control unit 5b accesses the processing target data D10 for executing a job, the job control unit 5b stores the monthly access count D24 for the latest one year or the latest several months for each processing target data D10 as part of the management data D2. It is recorded in the secondary storage device 53 as a part (see FIG. 4).

Then, the priority determination unit 5d derives the target access frequency from the monthly access count D24 of the management data D2.

For example, the priority determination unit 5d converts the target access frequency, the data size D23, and the storage period, which is the period from the recording time D22 to the present time, into three dimensionless index values, and weights the three index values. An average determines the priority.

Specifically, the processing target data D10 having a low target access frequency is set to have a higher priority than the processing target data D10 having a high target access frequency.

Further, the processing target data D10 having a large data size D23 is set to have a higher priority than the processing target data D10 having a small data size D23.

Further, the processing target data D10 having a long retention period is set to have a higher priority than the processing target data D10 having a short retention period.

Further, in the weighted average, it is conceivable that the largest weighting factor is set to the target access frequency, and the second largest weighting factor is set to the data size D23. Also, in the weighted average, it is conceivable that a different weighting factor is set for each user ID (D11) corresponding to the processing target data D10, that is, for each user corresponding to the processing target data D10.

<Step S3>
In step S3, the data management unit 5e selects the attached data D13 to be erased according to the priority, and shifts the process to step S4.

In step S3, the data management unit 5e deletes the attached data D13 in descending order of priority so that the remaining capacity of the box area 531 will be in a predetermined shortage-resolved state by erasing the attached data D13 to be erased. to select.

For example, the shortage-resolved state is a state in which the remaining capacity of the box area 531 exceeds the estimated amount of increase in data from the current time to the end of a predetermined second period based on the actual value of the increase pace. The actual value of the increasing pace is a value derived in step S1.

The second period is the same as or longer than the first period.

<Step S4>
In step S4, the data management unit 5e erases the attached data D13 selected in step S3 from the box area 531, thereby bringing the remaining capacity of the box area 531 into the shortage-resolved state. After that, the data management unit 5e shifts the process to step S5.

When the deleted attached data D13 is accessed, the main control unit 5a or the job control unit 5b generates the attached data D13 from the processing target data D10, and then accesses the attached data D13.

<Step S5>
In step S5, the data management unit 5e determines whether there is specific target data, which is the processing target data D10 whose determination parameter satisfies a predetermined compression target condition.

Then, the data management unit 5e shifts the process to step S6 when determining that the specific target data exists, and ends the data management process otherwise.

The determination parameters include one or more of the target access frequency, the data size D23 of the management data D2, and the recording time D22 of the management data D2, as described in step S2.

For example, the compression target condition may be a condition that the priority determined in step S2 exceeds a predetermined reference level.

In the above case, it is conceivable that the reference level is a level higher than the priority corresponding to the attached data D13 that is a candidate for deletion in step S3. As a result, the attached data D13 corresponding to the specified target data has already been deleted in step S4.

Further, the compression target condition may be a condition different from the priority condition. For example, the compression target condition may be a condition that satisfies one or more of the following first target condition, second target condition, and third target condition.

The first target condition is a condition that the target access frequency is below a predetermined reference frequency. The second target condition is a condition that the data size D23 exceeds a predetermined reference size. The third target condition is a condition that the retention period exceeds a predetermined reference period.

It is conceivable that a predetermined type of processing target data D10 such as PDL (Page Description Language) data is excluded from the selection target of the specific target data.

<Step S6>
In step S6, the inquiry unit 5f executes inquiry processing and shifts the processing to step S7.

The inquiry process is a process of transmitting inquiry data as to whether or not the specific target data can be compressed or erased to the destination of the administrator of the specific target data, and receiving a reply to the inquiry.

However, the specific target data for which the compression flag D14 is set to ON is excluded from the target of the inquiry as to whether or not compression is possible. This is because the specific target data for which the compression flag D14 is set to ON has already been compressed.

In this embodiment, the administrator is the user corresponding to the user ID (D11) associated with the specific target data in the box data D1. It is also conceivable that the destination of the manager is a predetermined destination of the data manager.

In the following description, the specific target data for which a response permitting compression of the specific target data is received in step S6 is referred to as compression permission data. Further, the specific target data for which a response permitting erasure of the specific target data is received in step S6 is referred to as erasure permission data.

<Step S7>
In step S7, the data management unit 5e compresses the compression permission data, and shifts the process to step S8. The data management unit 5e sets ON the compression flag D14 corresponding to the compressed compression permission data.

However, if the compression permission data is not identified in steps S5 and S6, the process of step S7 is skipped.

<Step S8>
In step S8, the data management section 5e erases the erasure permission data from the box area 531 and terminates the data management process. In step S8, the data management unit 5e also deletes the attached data D13 and the compression flag D14 corresponding to the erasure permission data from the box area 531. FIG.

However, if the erasure permission data is not identified in steps S5 and S6, the process of step S8 is skipped.

As described above, the data management unit 5e erases the attached data D13 from the box area 531 when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the predetermined insufficient state. The remaining capacity is set to the predetermined shortage cancellation state (see steps S1 to S4 in FIG. 2).

Therefore, when the remaining capacity of the secondary storage device 53 is low, the image processing apparatus 10 does not erase the processing target data D10 stored in the secondary storage device 53, and restores the remaining capacity of the secondary storage device 53. Capacity can be increased.

Further, when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the insufficient state, the data management unit 5e selects the attached data D13 to be erased according to the priority (see step S3 in FIG. 2).

In general, data to be processed D10 with low access frequency or old data to be processed D10 are often data of low importance. In the image processing apparatus 10, the ancillary data D13 corresponding to the processing target data D10 of such low importance is preferentially deleted.

Moreover, when the size of the processing target data D10 is large, the size of the attached data D13 is also large. Therefore, by preferentially deleting the attached data D13 corresponding to the processing target data D10 having a large data size D23, the effect of increasing the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is large.

Further, when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the insufficient state, the inquiry unit 5f transmits data inquiring whether or not the specific target data can be compressed or erased to the destination of the manager of the specific target data. , receives the reply to said inquiry (see step S6 in FIG. 2).

Then, the data management unit 5e compresses or erases the specific target data when a response permitting compression or erasure of the specific target data is received (see steps S7 and S8 in FIG. 2).

Therefore, the processing target data D10 of particularly low importance is prevented from being left in the secondary storage device 53 and forgotten.

However, when the specific target data is written to the box area 531 for the first time, the data may already be compressed from the original data. In this case, when the compression rate of the specific target data is smaller than a predetermined reference compression rate, the data management unit 5e excludes the specific target data from being compressed.

Here, the compression rate of the specific target data is the ratio of the difference between the size of the original data and the size of the specific target data to the size of the original data. This is because if the compression ratio when the specific target data is first compressed is small, the data compression effect is not large even if the specific target data is recompressed.

[First application example]
A first application example of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described below.

In the following description, preview image data D132 whose access frequency in a predetermined period exceeds a predetermined frequency will be referred to as specific preview data.

In this application example, the data management unit 5e determines that the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the insufficient state when the specific preview data occupies more than a predetermined ratio with respect to all the preview image data D132. The ancillary data D13 is not erased from the box area 531 at this time.

Specifically, in this application example, each time the main control unit 5a accesses the preview image data D132 for display on the display device 3b, the preview image data D132 for the most recent year or the most recent months The monthly access count is recorded in the secondary storage device 53 as part of the management data D2.

In the following description, the number of monthly accesses to the preview image data D132 is referred to as the number of preview accesses.

Furthermore, the data management unit 5e in this application example determines that the preview image data D132 for which the preview access count exceeds a predetermined reference count in the most recent predetermined management period is the specific preview data. . The reference count is 0 or 1 or more.

Then, when the ratio of the specific preview image to all the preview image data D132 exceeds the reference ratio, the data management unit 5e in this application example sets the remaining capacity of the box area 531 to the shortage state. The attached data D13 is not erased from the box area 531 of . This means that the data management unit 5e skips the processes of steps S3 and S4 in FIG.

By adopting this application example, when there are many specific preview images, it is possible to avoid deterioration of user convenience due to deletion of the attached data D13, rather than solving the shortage of the remaining capacity of the box area 531. also takes precedence.

[Second application example]
A second application example of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described below. This application example is effective when the secondary storage device 53 is a storage device including a flash memory such as the SSD.

In this application example, when the estimated life consumption rate of the secondary storage device 53 exceeds a predetermined reference consumption rate, the data management unit 5e sets the box capacity of the box area 531 when the remaining capacity of the box area 531 is in the insufficient state. The attached data D13 from the area 531 is not erased.

For example, the main control unit 5a counts the cumulative number of data writes to the secondary storage device 53, and derives the ratio of the cumulative number of writes to a predetermined reference number as the estimated life consumption rate.

Erasing the attached data D13 from the box area 531 may shorten the life of the secondary storage device 53 by writing newly generated attached data D13 to the secondary storage device 53 .

According to this application example, when the estimated life consumption rate of the secondary storage device 53 is high, extending the life of the secondary storage device 53 is prioritized over resolving the insufficient remaining capacity of the box area 531 .

Reference Signs List 1: printing device 1a: sheet conveying mechanism 1b: photoreceptor 1c: charging device 1d: laser scanning unit 1e: developing device 1f: transfer device 1g: fixing device 1x: image data processing section 2: image reading device 2a: light source 2c: Image sensor 3: user interface device 3a: operation device 3b: display device 4: communication device 5: control device 5a: main control section 5b: job control section 5c: state determination section 5d: priority determination section 5e: data management section 5f : inquiry unit 8 : host device 10 : image processing device 50 : print engine 51 : CPU
52: RAM
53: Secondary storage device 80: Network 91: Sheet 92: Document 531: Box area D1: Box data D10: Data to be processed D13: Attached data D131: Thumbnail image data D132: Preview image data D14: Compression flag D2: Management data D22: Recording time D23: Data size D24: Monthly access count

Claims (5)

a non-volatile storage device for storing one or more data to be processed to be subjected to image processing and one or more attached data generated based on the data to be processed and associated with the data to be processed;
an image data processing unit that performs image processing on the processing target data;
By deleting the attached data from the data storage area when the remaining capacity of the data storage area capable of storing the data to be processed and the attached data in the storage device is in a predetermined insufficient state, the a data management unit that sets the remaining capacity of the data storage area to a predetermined shortage cancellation state ,
wherein the ancillary data is preview image data which is data of a simplified image representing the content of the data to be processed, and data of a simplified image which is data of a simplified image representing the content of the data to be processed and which is simplified in a data size smaller than that of the preview image data; including one or both of the thumbnail image data, which is the data
The data management unit is configured such that specific preview data, which is the preview image data whose access frequency in a predetermined period exceeds a predetermined frequency, occupies more than a predetermined ratio with respect to all the preview image data. In this case, the image processing apparatus does not erase the attached data from the data storage area when the remaining capacity of the data storage area becomes the insufficient state. The insufficient state is a state in which the remaining capacity of the data storage area is below the estimated amount of increase in data from the current time to the end of a predetermined first period based on the actual value of the pace of increase in the amount of stored data in the data storage area. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: In the shortage-resolved state, the remaining capacity of the data storage area is the estimated increase in data from the current time based on the actual value of the increase pace to a second period that is the same as the first period or longer than the first period. 3. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the over-quantity condition exists. For each of the data to be processed, one of a frequency of access to the data to be processed in a predetermined period, a size of the data to be processed, and a time when the data to be processed was recorded in the data storage area. Further comprising a priority determination unit that determines priority according to a determination parameter including one or more,
4. The data management unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein when the remaining capacity of the data storage area is in the insufficient state, the data management unit selects the attached data to be erased according to the priority. 10. The image processing device according to claim 1. a non-volatile storage device for storing one or more data to be processed to be subjected to image processing and one or more attached data generated based on the data to be processed and associated with the data to be processed;
an image data processing unit that performs image processing on the processing target data;
By deleting the attached data from the data storage area when the remaining capacity of the data storage area capable of storing the data to be processed and the attached data in the storage device is in a predetermined insufficient state, the a data management unit that sets the remaining capacity of the data storage area to a predetermined shortage-resolved state;
when the remaining capacity of the data storage area is in the insufficient state, the frequency of access to the data to be processed in a predetermined period, the size of the data to be processed, and the data to be processed are stored in the data storage area. data for querying whether or not to compress or erase the specific target data, which is the processing target data whose determination parameter includes one or more of the predetermined compression target conditions and includes one or more of an inquiry unit that transmits to the destination of the administrator of and receives the reply to the inquiry,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data management unit compresses or deletes the specific target data when a response permitting compression or deletion of the specific target data is received.

Images