JPS6112591B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image processing system that processes image data using an electronic computer.

Generally, using this type of image processing system,
It has been considered to identify the shape, etc. of objects transferred during production processes, assembly processes, product inspection processes, etc. An economical system using a minicomputer has been proposed as one that can be applied to such uses. However, since image processing requires processing a large amount of data, the above-described system takes several seconds to several tens of seconds to obtain a single processing calculation result. Therefore, with this system, it is not possible to rapidly process images of objects moving at relatively high speeds in real time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system that can perform image processing in real time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system that can quickly perform calculations using a mask area, such as differential calculations and symmetry calculations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can perform image processing economically.

According to the present invention, an image memory for storing image data to be processed, an instruction representing the type of image processing operation, and when an image is divided into a plurality of processing areas and processed, the number of processing areas and the divided A host device that sends data representing an area, a program memory that stores microprograms that represent image processing procedures according to each image processing operation, and a program memory that receives the above-mentioned commands and data, reads out and transfers microprograms that correspond to the commands. It also includes a job control device that individually generates position data according to each divided area from the data, and a plurality of processors coupled to the job control device, an image memory, and a program memory, each of the processors having a microprogram. An image processing system that simultaneously receives position data corresponding to each processor, extracts from image memory an image related to a divided area different from that of other processors, and processes it according to a common microprogram. is obtained.

This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image memory section 10 for storing image data, and a host computer 11 comprised of a minicomputer or the like. The image memory unit 10 in this embodiment performs processing such as sampling on an original image from an ITV camera (not shown) or the like, and includes an image input device 12 that obtains, for example, a 2-bit digital image, and an original that stores this digital image. It has an image memory 13. Furthermore, a reference image memory 14 for storing reference images such as line drawings and a transfer memory 15 for storing processing results to be transferred to the host computer 11 are provided.

This image processing system includes a job control device 18 connected to the host computer 11, and a plurality of (four in this case) controlled by the job control device 18.
processors 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d,
Also provided is a control memory 21 that stores microprograms for the job control device and processor that represent procedures for various image processing operations such as differential calculations, symmetry calculations, and line thinning processing.

The above-mentioned host computer 11 jobs commands indicating the type of image processing operation, the number of divided images if the image needs to be processed, and data instructing the assigned area of the processor 20 (subscripts omitted) to be processed. It is sent to the control device 18. The job control device 18 reads the microprogram for the job control device 18 corresponding to the command from the host computer 11 from the control memory 21 through the program bus 23 via the address bus 22, and converts it into data from the host computer 11. Then, the processor 20 is selected, and position data serving as a reference for the assigned area of the selected processor 20 is sent to the selected processor 20 through the control line 24. Furthermore, according to the microprogram for the job control device 18, the job control device 18
accesses the control memory 21 through the address bus 22, and sends a processor microprogram corresponding to an instruction from the host computer 11 to the processor 20 through the program bus 23. Each processor 20 includes a sub-memory section and an address control section in addition to a processing section, and stores a microprogram from the control memory 21, and executes image processing in accordance with the stored microprogram. In this embodiment, when multiple processors 20 are designated, the same microprogram is stored in each processor 20 simultaneously. However, the position data provided by job control device 18 to each processor 20 is different. Therefore, each processor 20 independently performs the same image processing operation regarding different assigned areas. In order to perform such image processing operations and send the processing results to the transfer memory 15, etc., each processor 20 connects to an external input/output bus 25.
a, 25b, 25c, 25d and an input/output interface 26 to the image memory section 10. Each processor 20 outputs processing results to the transfer memory 15, host computer 11, etc. via an external input/output bus 25 under the control of a bus control device 27.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 a, b, and c, and FIG.
The operation of the job control device 18 when using the job control device 18 will be explained. First, as shown in step _S1 in FIG. 2a, the job control device 18
Monitor the presence or absence of commands from 1, and if there are no commands, always
Maintain this state. When a command is given, the job control device 18 accesses the control memory 21 designated by the command through the address bus 22 (step S ₂ ), and uses the control memory 21 to access the job control device 1 during differential operation.
A microprogram consisting of a series of microinstructions representing the operations of 8 is read out. In this case, it goes without saying that the number of microinstructions to be read is specified by an instruction from the host computer 11. The microprogram for the job control device read from the control memory 21 is transferred to the control memory section (not shown) of the job control device 18 via the program bus 23 (step S ₃ ). As shown in step _S4 , the job control device 18 monitors whether or not the transfer of the microprogram has ended, and when the end of the transfer is detected, it starts executing the microprogram (step _S5 ). . Next, the job control device 18 activates the image input device 12 of the image memory unit 10 and stores the digital image in the original image memory 14 (step S ₆ ). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an image sampled into a mesh of M horizontally by N vertically is stored in the original image memory 14. Subsequently, as shown in step _S7 of FIG. 2b, four processors 20a-20b are selected. In this state, the job control device 18 accesses the control memory 21, reads out a microprogram for the processor indicating the procedure of the differential operation, and simultaneously transfers it to the submemory section of each of the processors 20a to 20d via the program bus 23. Step S ₉
As shown in FIG. 2, the job control device 18 monitors the transfer of the microprogram for the processor, and when the transfer is completed, starts the processors 20a to 20d. Furthermore, the job control device 18 performs steps S ₁₁ ,
As shown in S ₁₂ , S ₁₃ and S ₁₄ , each processor 2
Position data indicating assigned areas is sequentially given to 0a to 20d. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, starting points S ₁ to S ₄ and ending points E ₁ to E ₄ of each assignment area are sent as position data. Therefore, each processor 20a to 20d receives the given position data.
Using S ₁ to S ₄ and E ₁ to _{E 4} as standards, differential operations in assigned areas are executed individually according to the microprogram. The processor that has completed the differential calculation in the assigned area notifies the bus control device 27 and job control device 18 of the completion of processing. The bus control device 27 causes the processor to transfer the processing results to the transfer memory 15 or the like on the condition that the input/output bus 25 and the interface 26 are not used by other processors or the like. Similarly, when the processing in all processors is completed, the job control device 18 notifies the host computer of the completion of the processing (step _S15 ).

The differential image thus obtained represents the outline of the object and can be used for subsequent symmetry calculations and the like. In addition, in order to calculate the degree of symmetry of an object, as described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 53-97306 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 55-24624), processing using a mask must be applied to each assigned area. Bye.

As described above, the present invention uses a host computer, a job control device, and a plurality of processors, and each processor individually executes processing in different image areas according to a common microprogram. Therefore, compared to the conventional system using a single minicomputer, the system of the present invention can increase the processing speed by about 100 times, and it has been confirmed that it can fully meet the demands of real-time processing. Ta. When implementing the present invention, it has been found that even if four or more processors perform parallel processing, the execution efficiency is rather reduced due to competition in the use of the bus. For this reason, it has been found that when the same program is executed in parallel by a plurality of processors, the number of processors that does not reduce the execution efficiency is four.

In the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the image is divided into four parts, but it is clear that the image can be divided into any number of parts by changing the position data in the job control device. It is also possible to perform more detailed image processing on one of the divided image areas. In this case, the job control device 18 instructs the image input device 12 about areas to be subjected to detailed image processing (for example, the areas indicated by S ₁ and E ₁ in FIG. 3), and the image input device 12 instructs the image input device 12 to sampled areas in more detail (e.g.
(M×N meshes), and image processing for the designated area is executed by a plurality of processors.

The job control device and processor used in the embodiment can be constructed using a common inexpensive microcomputer, which is advantageous in terms of economy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 a, b, and c are flowcharts showing operating procedures when performing differential operations using the system of the present invention. and FIG. 3 are diagrams showing an example of image division. Explanation of symbols, 10: Image memory unit, 11: Host computer, 12: Image input device, 13: Original image memory, 14: Reference image memory, 15: Transfer memory, 18: Job control device, 20a, 20b, 2
0c: processor, 21: control memory,
22: Address bus, 23: Program bus, 2
4: Control line, 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d:
External input/output bus, 26: Interface, 27:
Bus control device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image memory unit that stores an image to be processed, and is capable of sending out instructions related to image processing operations, and when processing the image by dividing it into a plurality of processing areas, the number of the processing areas and a control memory that stores a microprogram representing an image processing procedure corresponding to each of the image processing operations, and a control memory that receives the instructions and data and sends out data representing each divided area, a job control device that reads and transfers a program from the control memory and generates a plurality of position data corresponding to each divided area from the data; a bus control device that is coupled to the job control device and controls a bus; , coupled to the job control device, the image memory, the control memory, and the bus control device, and controlled by the bus control device so that bus contention does not occur, while simultaneously receiving the microprograms. and a plurality of processors that individually receive and operate the position data,
Based on the individually received position data, each of the processors extracts an image related to a divided area different from that of the other processors from the image memory section, processes it according to the microprogram, and individually sends the processing result to the job. 1. An image processing device configured to transfer images to a control device, whereby each processor processes images in different divided regions using the same microprogram.