JP2000330436A - Color image forming equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a color copier having a more effective configuration for specifying a person who has performed printing when bills and securities are printed using the color copier. An image recognizing unit (15) that determines whether a color image to be printed is a bill or a securities, in a color copier that prints a color image created according to a digital signal on a recording medium, When the image recognizing unit 15 determines that the paper money or the securities are issued, a communication control unit 17 that notifies the outside that the paper money or the securities are printed is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus capable of printing a color image, and more particularly to a color image forming apparatus capable of prohibiting printing of bills and securities.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, image forming apparatuses for printing an image based on a digital signal have become widespread. The digital image forming apparatus is generally configured as a laser printer, a copier, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having such functions. Among the above-described image forming apparatuses, a color image forming apparatus that can print a color image in particular is used to add a special pattern called a tracking pattern to an image and print the image to prevent misuse of securities such as banknotes. It is obligatory to do so.

[0003] Initially, symbols indicating the maker and model of the color image forming apparatus that performed the printing were used as the tracking patterns. According to such a tracking pattern, when bills and securities are printed using the color image forming apparatus, it is only known that the bills and securities are printed using the color image forming apparatus. Instead, the manufacturer and model can be specified. Such information is effective in controlling printing of bills and securities.

[0004] Further, other information is entered as a tracking pattern so that the color image forming apparatus on which printing has been performed can be specified, and printing of bills and securities can be effectively controlled. There is something. Examples of this include the invention described in JP-A-6-340112 and the invention described in JP-A-7-107263.

[0005] Of the above-mentioned inventions,
The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 12 includes a determination unit that determines whether an image to be printed is a bill or a securities. When the image is determined to be a banknote or a security by the determination means, the serial number of the image forming apparatus is inserted when printing the image. Further, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-107263 discloses that, when image data is input from another device and an image is printed, a number for specifying an external device together with a device number of an image forming apparatus for printing is used. And printing.

[0006]

However, in the above configuration, the color image forming apparatus is specified by its manufacturing number or machine number. For this reason, if the number management on the manufacturing side of the color image forming apparatus is insufficient, the tracking pattern cannot be definitive information that can identify the administrator of the color image forming apparatus. In addition, even if the color image forming apparatus that has performed printing can be identified from the manufacturing number, etc., it is possible to know the place where the bills and securities were printed, but to obtain more information about the person who performed printing. Can not.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a more effective configuration for specifying a person who has performed printing when bills and securities are printed using a color image forming apparatus. It is an object to provide a color image forming apparatus having the same.

[0008]

The above objects can be attained by the following means. That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a color image forming apparatus having a printing unit that prints a color image created according to a digital signal on a recording medium, wherein the color image to be printed is a bill or securities. Image judging means for judging whether or not the printed image is a banknote or a security, and an external notifying unit for notifying that the printing of the banknote or the security is performed when the image judge judges that the color image is a banknote or a securities. And notifying means.

With this configuration, when an image of a banknote or a securities is to be formed by the color image forming apparatus, the image judging means can judge this and notify the outside by the external notifying means. . For this reason, when an image of a banknote or a securities is formed by the color image forming apparatus, this can be found immediately, and it is possible to deal with it in a short time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color image forming apparatus having printing means for printing a color image created in accordance with a digital signal on a recording medium, wherein the tracking pattern indicating information on printing of the color image is provided. Has a tracking pattern creating means for creating a time tracking pattern that can provide information on the time when the color image was printed, and the printing means records the time tracking pattern together with the color image It is characterized by printing on a medium.

[0011] By doing so, information relating to the time at which the color image of the banknote or securities was printed can be obtained from the time tracking pattern, and the person who has printed the color image of the banknote or securities can be easily specified. Become.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information on the time when the color image is printed is represented by any one of year, month, day, hour, minute and second when the color image is printed, or a combination thereof. Characteristic.

With this configuration, the most effective information for specifying the time at which the color image of bills or securities was printed can be adopted as the tracking pattern in accordance with the state of use of the color image forming apparatus. become able to.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the time tracking pattern, the printing means prints, on the recording medium, a tracking pattern capable of providing information that can specify a device on which the color image has been printed, together with the color image. It is characterized by the following.

[0015] By doing so, information for specifying the color image forming apparatus can be obtained from the tracking pattern in addition to the printing time of the color image of the bills and securities, and the color image of the bills and securities can be obtained. It becomes even easier to identify the person who printed the.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color image forming apparatus having printing means for printing a color image created in accordance with a digital signal on a recording medium, wherein the tracking pattern indicating information on printing of the color image is provided. Has a tracking pattern creating unit that creates a tracking pattern indicating the owner of the color image forming apparatus that prints a color image, and the printing unit records the tracking pattern together with the color image. It is characterized by printing on a medium.

With this configuration, the name of the owner of the color image forming apparatus is written in the image formed by the color image forming apparatus. Therefore, the owner can be specified directly from the tracking pattern, and the color image forming apparatus and the owner can be specified in a short time. Also,
The owner comes to be responsible for managing the color image forming apparatus.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments 1, 2, and 3 of the present invention will be described below. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a color image forming apparatus of the present invention, and is a diagram common to Embodiments 1 to 3. The illustrated color image forming apparatus is a color image forming apparatus having a printer that prints a color image created according to a digital signal on paper as a recording medium, and is configured as a color copier.

Such a color copier has a scanner unit 3 for reading an image, a control unit 200 for controlling the entire color image forming apparatus, and an image forming execution unit 300. The scanner section 3 has a contact glass 118 as an original placing table arranged above the color copier, and an exposure lamp 119 provided on the lower surface of the contact glass 118 and irradiating light.

The exposure lamp 119 is a contact glass 1
Light is radiated on the original placed on the document 18. The irradiation light reflected by the document is guided to an image forming lens 122 by a reflection mirror 121 and enters a CCD line sensor 123 which is a photoelectric conversion element. The illustrated color copier has an imaging lens 122 for cutting unnecessary infrared light.
Later, an infrared cut filter 124 is provided.

Images (image data) converted into electric signals by the CCD line sensor 123 include R (red), G (green),
The signal is output from the scanner unit 3 as a signal (referred to as R, G, B data) represented by B (blue) and enters the control unit 200.
The R, G, and B data are C (cyan), M
(Magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) are converted to correspond to signals (referred to as C, M, Y, and K data) representing respective colors. It becomes a control signal for controlling the semiconductor laser. In the first embodiment, when an image determining unit that determines whether an image represents a banknote or a securities, a notifying unit that notifies an external unit, and a tracking pattern creating unit are provided, all of these units are included in the control unit 20.
0.

The image forming execution unit 300 has an organic photoreceptor (OPC) drum 102 (hereinafter simply referred to as a photoreceptor drum) as an image carrier, which is disposed substantially at the center of the copying machine in FIG. . The surface of the photoconductor drum 102 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 103. The semiconductor laser beam controlled by the control signal is irradiated on this surface to form an electrostatic latent image based on image data. Further, around the photosensitive drum 102, a black developing device 105 for developing a toner image from an electrostatic latent image, and Y, M,
Four color developing devices 106, 107, and 10 for C and K
8 and 109 are provided to visualize the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 102.

The visualized image (toner image) is sequentially transferred for each color to an intermediate transfer belt 109 to which a voltage is applied by a bias roller 110, and after being formed into a multicolor image, is pressed against a recording sheet. Transcribed. The recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred and which has been separated from the intermediate transfer belt 109 is transferred to the fixing device 11 by a transport belt 115 that transports the recording paper.
6 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 117 after being fixed.

The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 102 after the transfer is removed by a cleaning unit 111 provided around the photosensitive drum 102, and the remaining charge is removed by a charge removing unit 112, respectively. Further, the intermediate transfer belt 109 is provided with a transfer bias roller 113 for applying a voltage for transferring the transferred toner image to recording paper and a belt cleaning device 114 for cleaning the remaining toner image. . Note that the driving sources for driving the image forming execution unit 300 as described above are collectively referred to as a printer engine 9 (FIG. 2).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining functions related to the first embodiment of the control unit 200 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 200 according to the first embodiment includes an image determining unit that determines whether a color image to be printed is a bill or a securities, and an image determining unit that determines whether the color image to be printed is a bill or a securities. If it is determined that there is a bill, it is provided with an external reporting means for reporting to the outside that printing of bills or securities will be performed.

That is, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is a scanner unit 3 for reading an image and outputting it as R, G, B data.
, A frame memory 13 for storing R, G, B data read by the scanner unit 3, and an image recognition unit for determining whether or not this image is a bill or a security. 15, an image creating unit 11 that converts R, G, and B data into C, M, Y, and K data, and printing that executes printing by controlling the printer engine 9 based on the data created by the image creating unit. And a control unit 7.

Further, the color copying machine according to the first embodiment
It has a main controller 1 for controlling each of the above components. The main controller 1 is, for example, an MPU (Micro
An operation panel 20, which is configured as a Processing Unit, is connected to the user for inputting instructions to the color copier. In addition, such a main controller 1
It may control all the operations performed by the color copier, or may be provided exclusively to prevent copying of bills and securities.

The color copier according to the first embodiment is provided with a communication control unit 17. Communication control unit 17
Is provided with a communication medium such as a modem, a LAN (Local Area Network), and a telephone line. The communication medium is configured to communicate with an external device using the communication medium and to report that a bill or securities has been copied. I have. Such a communication control unit 17 is also controlled by the main controller 1. The configurations described above are all equivalent to the system bus 1
0, and information is exchanged with each other.

If the color copier is a multifunction machine having a facsimile function, the communication control unit 1
Numeral 7 may notify a predetermined destination using a facsimile telephone line. Also,
There is an image forming apparatus management system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected by a LAN or the like and managed on a service side. In a case where the first embodiment is applied to an image forming apparatus in which such a management system is managed, a copy of bills and securities can be provided using a LAN used for communication with a service side. The communication control unit 17 may be configured to notify the communication side.

Each of the above components operates as follows.
That is, when a copy instruction is input to the main controller 1 through the operation panel 20, the main controller 1
Controls the image reading control unit 5 to cause the scanner unit 3 to read an image. The read image is output as R, G, and B image data from the scanner unit 3 and stored in the frame memory 13.

The image data stored in the frame memory 13 is judged by the image recognizing unit 15 as to whether it represents bills or securities. As a specific method, a characteristic pattern of banknotes or securities can be stored in the control unit 3 in advance, and the read image data can be compared with the pattern by a so-called pattern matching method.

The read image data is transmitted to the image recognition unit 1.
5, if the information is determined to be a banknote or a security, this information is transmitted to the main controller 15 via the system bus 10.
To enter. The main controller 1 includes a communication control unit 17
To inform the service side that the bills or securities have been copied. On the other hand, when it is determined that the read image is not a bill or a securities, the R, G, and B data stored in the frame memory 13 are stored in the image creating unit 1.
1 converts the data into C, M, Y, and K data and outputs the data to the print control unit 7. The print control unit 7 controls the printer engine 9 to execute formation of a color image based on the C, M, Y, and K data.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the first embodiment described above. In the flowchart of FIG. 3, when the process is started, first, an image of a document placed on the document table is read by the scanner unit 3 (S1). The read image is stored in the frame memory 13 as R, G, B data (S2). Here, the stored image data is collated with a pattern stored in advance by the image recognizing unit 15 (S3), and it is determined whether the data represents banknotes or securities (S4).

As a result of the determination in step S4, when it is determined that the image data stored in the frame memory 13 is a bill or a securities (S4: Yes), this information is reported by the communication control unit 17 (S7). . In the first embodiment, the image creating unit 11 is controlled so as to add a tracking pattern such as a serial number of a color copying machine to C, Y, M, and K data generated later immediately after the notification in step S7 ( S8) It is to be prepared in case the person who copied the bills or securities escapes before the service person who received the report takes action.

The image data determined to be a bill or securities image is further converted from R, G, B data to C, Y, M, K data (S5) and printed together with the tracking pattern. (S6). On the other hand, step S4
If the read image is not a bill or securities, the image data is converted from R, G, B data to C, Y,
The data is converted into M and K data (S5) and printed (S6). Thereafter, all processing ends.

In the first embodiment described above, when banknotes or securities are to be copied by a color copier, the image recognition unit 15 determines this and judges that the communication control unit 1
7 can report to the outside. For this reason, when a banknote or a security is copied by the color copier, the banknote or the security can be immediately detected, and such an action can be dealt with in a short time.

The LAN or facsimile used by the communication control unit 17 can generally read a symbol (facsimile number, ID number) that can specify a color copier that has transmitted a report, and also records the report time. be able to. For this reason, information effective for specifying the person who made the copy of the bill or the securities can be automatically recorded.

(Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The color copier according to the second embodiment includes a tracking pattern creating unit that creates a tracking pattern indicating information related to printing of a color image. Then, the tracking pattern creating means creates a time tracking pattern that can provide information on the time when the color image was printed, and prints it together with the color image.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining functions of the control unit 200 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be partially omitted. The configuration shown in FIG. 4 includes an image reading control unit 5 that controls the scanner unit 3,
A frame memory 13 for storing R, G, and B data read by the scanner unit 3; and an image for converting R, G, and B data, which is image data read by the scanner unit, to C, M, Y, and K data The printer includes a creation unit 11 and a print control unit 7 that controls the printer engine 9 based on the data created by the image creation unit 11 to execute printing.

Further, the color copying machine according to the second embodiment
A tracking pattern generation unit 19 that generates a tracking pattern to be added to the image created by the image creation unit 11 is provided.
Each of the above-described components is connected to the main controller 1 configured as, for example, an MPU by the system bus 10, and configured to exchange information with each other.

In the above configuration, the information generated by the tracking pattern generation unit 19 includes the year when the color image was printed,
It is generated by any one of month, day, hour, minute, and second, or a combination thereof. Therefore, a system clock 21 is connected to the tracking pattern generation unit 19. The system clock 21 is a device configured to generate a clock signal at a fixed time. The tracking pattern generation unit 19 adds the current time signal based on a predetermined time (time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second, etc.) at which time adjustment was performed on the service side) to thereby obtain the current time signal. Recognize time.

When a request for generation of a tracking pattern is input via the system bus 10, the tracking pattern generation unit 19 reads the current time from the system clock in response to the request, and uses the current time as Y image data. Output to In the image creating unit 11, the Y image data input from the tracking pattern generating unit 19 and the created C, M,
The Y and K data are combined. The synthesized data is output to the print control unit 7, and an image to which a tracking pattern (time tracking pattern) indicating the time at which the image was printed is added is printed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying an image printed with a time tracking pattern added. In FIG. 5, a portion indicated by A represents a time tracking pattern. Further, in the present embodiment, a tracking pattern using a serial number or the like indicated by B is inserted together with the time tracking pattern indicated by A. Note that the tracking pattern using the manufacturing number or the like is similar to the conventional tracking pattern, and is created and combined as Y data by the image creating unit 11.

The illustrated time tracking pattern includes 99.
The image described as 5.17 / 2000 and having the tracking pattern attached thereto is May 17, 1999 at 20:00.
It can be seen that the image is printed on the image. By judging such a time tracking pattern together with a conventional tracking pattern, not only a color copier on which bills and securities are printed can be specified, but also the date and time can be specified.

The above-described addition of the tracking pattern is performed regardless of whether the image to be printed is a bill or a securities. For this reason, the time tracking pattern and the conventional tracking pattern are both created using the Y data so that they are printed in yellow, which is considered to have low visibility among Y, M, C, and K. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the tracking pattern from being conspicuous when an image other than a bill or a securities is printed, thereby reducing the image quality of the printed matter.

Further, in the second embodiment, the system clock 21 is dedicated to the generation of a tracking pattern, and is different from the system clock 21 for generating a clock pulse which is the basis of the operation timing of the entire color copier. Then, the system clock 21 is housed in, for example, a unit having a lock mechanism and built in a color copier, and when the lock is released, the copying operation is stopped. By doing so, in the second embodiment, it is possible to oppose the act of invalidating the tracking pattern by operating the system clock 21 and further enhance the effect of preventing the copying of bills and securities. it can.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the second embodiment described above. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 6 includes the same processing as the flowchart of FIG. Here, a description of such processing is partially omitted. In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the scanner unit 3 reads an image of a document placed on the document table (S11), and stores the read image in the frame memory 13 as R, G, B data (S12).

Here, the stored image data is further converted from R, G, B data into C, Y, M, K data (S13), and a conventional tracking pattern and a time tracking pattern each consisting of a serial number are written. After printing (S14), printing is performed (S15). In the second embodiment, after the above processing ends, all the processing ends.

According to the second embodiment described above, information relating to the time at which a color image of a bill or securities is copied can be obtained from the tracking pattern, and it is easy to specify the person who copied the bill or securities. This makes it easier to control the copying of banknotes and securities.

Further, if the time tracking pattern according to the second embodiment is combined with the previous tracking pattern, if a bill or securities printed by a color copier is found, the tracking pattern is printed. Information can be more effective in identifying a person.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The color copying machine according to the third embodiment includes a tracking pattern creating unit that creates a tracking pattern indicating information related to printing of a color image. The tracking pattern creating unit creates an owner tracking pattern indicating the owner of the color image forming apparatus that prints the color image, and the printing unit prints the owner tracking pattern on the recording medium together with the color image. Is what you do. In general, a color image forming apparatus is rarely owned by one person. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the owner is referred to as a registrant as a person registered as the owner.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining functions of the control unit 200 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIGS. 2 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be partially omitted. The configuration shown in FIG. 7 includes an image reading control unit 5 for controlling the scanner unit 3, a frame memory 13 for storing R, G, and B data read by the scanner unit 3, and image data read by the scanner unit. R, G, B data is C, M,
An image creating unit 11 that converts the image data into Y and K data; and a printer engine 9 based on the data created by the image creating unit 11.
And a print control unit 7 for executing printing.

Further, the color copying machine according to the third embodiment
A tracking pattern generation unit 29 that generates a tracking pattern to be added to the image created by the image creation unit 11 is provided.
Each of the above-described components is connected to the main controller 1 configured as, for example, an MPU by the system bus 10, and configured to exchange information with each other.

In the configuration described above, the tracking pattern generation unit 29 is connected to the registrant name storage unit 23. The registrant name storage unit 23 is configured by a non-volatile ROM or the like provided exclusively as the registrant name storage unit 23. Then, for example, when the color copier of the third embodiment is set on the user side, a user name is input by the user, and the color copier cannot be used for image formation unless it is stored in the registrant name storage unit 23. I do.

In this way, when the user name is registered, the user name cannot be rewritten and is not erased even when the power of the color copier is turned off. Therefore, the user name once stored in the registrant name storage unit 23 is not rewritten.

The user name recorded in the registrant name storage unit 23 directly represents the user's name in alphabets, katakana, or the like, or is indirectly represented by an ID code set for each user. Any of those representing the name of the user may be used. Change the user name to I
When the ID code is represented by a D code, the ID code and the user name are associated with each other and managed on the service side.

Upon input of a request for generation of a tracking pattern via the system bus 10, the tracking pattern generation unit 29 reads the name of the registrant from the registrant name storage unit 23 in response to the request, and reads this from the Y image data. Image creation unit 1
Output to 1. The image creation unit 11 combines the Y image data input from the tracking pattern generation unit 29 with the created C, M, Y, and K data. The synthesized data is output to the print control unit 7, and an image to which a tracking pattern (registrant tracking pattern) indicating a registrant of the color copying machine that has printed the image is added is printed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying an image printed with the registrant tracking pattern added. In FIG. 8, a portion indicated by C represents a registrant tracking pattern. In the exemplified registrant tracking pattern, ID: 111211-XX
It can be understood that the image to which the registrant tracking pattern is attached is printed by the registrant's color copier having the ID number 111211-XX.

According to such a registrant tracking pattern,
When the copied bills and securities are found, the owner of the color copier that copied the bills and securities can be immediately identified by inquiring the registrant tracking pattern to the service side. Such a procedure can greatly shorten the time required to identify the owner, as compared with a procedure in which the service side is inquired about the serial number of the color copier and the like and information is obtained, and a delivery destination is investigated.

The addition of the registrant tracking pattern according to the third embodiment is performed regardless of whether the image to be printed is a bill or a securities. For this reason, the registrant tracking pattern is created by the data of Y such that it is printed in yellow, which is regarded as having low visibility among Y, M, C, and K. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the tracking pattern from being conspicuous when an image other than a bill or a securities is printed, thereby reducing the image quality of the printed matter.

Further, in the third embodiment, when the registrant name storage unit 23 is built in the color copier, for example, the registrant name storage unit 23 is housed in a unit having a lock mechanism and built in the color copier. When the lock is released, the copying operation is stopped. By doing so, the act of exchanging the registrant name storage unit 23 to invalidate the tracking pattern can be countered, and the effect of preventing copying of bills and securities can be further enhanced.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the third embodiment described above. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 9 includes the same processing as the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 6. Here, a description of such processing is partially omitted. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the scanner unit 3 reads an image of a document placed on the document table (S21), and the read images are R, G, and B.
The data is stored in the frame memory 13 as data (S2
2).

Here, the stored image data is further converted from R, G, B data into C, Y, M, K data (S23), and after a registrant tracking pattern is written (S23).
24) is printed (S25). In the third embodiment, after the above processing ends, all the processing ends.

According to the third embodiment described above, by using information that can specify the registrant name registered in the color copier in the tracking pattern, the delivery destination can be determined based on, for example, the serial number of the color copier. A registrant can be specified in a shorter time than specified.

Further, the registrant's side prints his / her ID number on the copy image, thereby invoking the management responsibilities of the color copier and causing a situation in which bills and securities are copied by the color copier. Be careful not to do it. Therefore, the registrant tracking pattern according to the third embodiment can be effective information for preventing a banknote or securities from being copied by a color copier.

[0066]

The present invention described above has the following effects. In other words, the invention described in claim 1 can detect a bill or a securities at the time when an image of a bill or securities is formed by the color image forming apparatus, and can deal with it in a short time. For this reason, the person who formed the image of the banknote or the securities can be reliably specified, and the counterfeiting of the banknotes or the securities can be effectively controlled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, information relating to the time at which a color image of a bill or securities is printed can be obtained from the tracking pattern. For this reason, the person who formed the image of the banknote or securities can be easily identified, and the counterfeiting of the banknote or securities can be effectively controlled.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the tracking pattern can be set more efficiently, and the usability of the tracking pattern can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the time when the color image of the bill or the securities is printed, information that can specify the color image forming apparatus can be obtained from the tracking pattern. For this reason, the person who formed the image of the banknote or the securities can be reliably specified, and the counterfeiting of the banknotes or the securities can be effectively controlled.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the color image forming apparatus on which bills and securities are printed in a short time and the owner can be specified. For this reason, it is easy to identify a person who has formed an image of a bill or securities, and it is possible to effectively control counterfeiting of bills and securities. In addition, the management responsibility of the color image forming apparatus is aroused, and acts such as counterfeiting bills and securities can be prevented.

As described above, the inventions according to the first to fifth aspects have a more effective configuration for specifying a person who has performed printing when bills or securities are printed using the color image forming apparatus. A color image forming apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a color image forming apparatus of the present invention, and is a diagram common to first to third embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a control unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a control unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying an image printed with a time tracking pattern added according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a control unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying an image printed with a registrant tracking pattern added according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main controller 3 Scanner part 5 Image reading control part 7 Printing control part 9 Printer engine 10 System bus 11 Image creation part 13 Frame memory 15 Image recognition part 17 Communication control part 19, 29 Tracking pattern generation part 20 Operation panel 21 System clock 23 Registrant name storage unit 200 Control unit 300 Image formation execution unit A Tracking pattern (conventional) B Time tracking pattern C Registrant tracking pattern

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A color image forming apparatus having printing means for printing a color image created according to a digital signal on a recording medium, wherein the color image to be printed is a bill or a securities. Image determining means for determining, and external notifying means for notifying to the outside that printing of a banknote or securities is to be performed when the image determiner determines that the color image to be printed is that of a banknote or securities. A color image forming apparatus comprising: 2. A color image forming apparatus having a printing means for printing a color image created in accordance with a digital signal on a recording medium, comprising: a tracking pattern creating apparatus for creating a tracking pattern indicating information relating to printing of a color image. Means, wherein the tracking pattern creating means creates a time tracking pattern that can provide information on the time at which the color image was printed, and the printing means combines the time tracking pattern with the color image on a recording medium. A color image forming apparatus for printing. 3. The information on the time at which the color image was printed includes the year, month, day, hour,
3. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the color image is represented by one of minutes and seconds, or a combination thereof. 4. The printing unit prints a tracking pattern capable of providing information capable of identifying a device on which a color image has been printed in addition to the time tracking pattern on a recording medium in combination with the color image. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: 5. A color image forming apparatus having printing means for printing a color image generated in accordance with a digital signal on a recording medium, wherein the color image forming apparatus generates a tracking pattern indicating information relating to printing of the color image. Means, the tracking pattern creating means creates an owner tracking pattern indicating the owner of the color image forming apparatus that prints the color image, and the printing means combines the owner tracking pattern with the color image. A color image forming apparatus for printing on a recording medium.