JP2010178008A - Image processor and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a pattern image by a plurality of colors using a design desired by a user. <P>SOLUTION: A color scheme setting portion sets up a color for a parts image of a design image according to a user's selection. If a color scheme of the design image is completed, a pattern image formation portion overlaps a pattern image with the colored design image, and sets up a color in the pattern image to a color of a position corresponding to the design image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a program for generating a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image in which a latent image that becomes apparent during copying is embedded in a background image.

  As a method for suppressing copying of confidential documents, a method of using a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image in which a warning character appears when the confidential document is copied by a copying machine is known. When copying a confidential document with such a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image printed on a copy machine, warning characters such as “No Copy” are printed on the copied material. And a copy can be distinguished.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a printed material on which a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is applied. FIG. 13A shows an original and FIG. 13B shows a copy of the original. In FIG. 13A, 911 is referred to as a latent image, and 912 is referred to as a background image. The latent image and the background image in the original are printed so that the apparent density with the naked eye is substantially the same. FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a region P shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the background image 912 is configured by arranging large dots relatively sparsely, and the latent image 911 is configured by arranging small dots relatively densely.

  When the original shown in FIG. 13A is copied by a copying machine, the dots constituting the background image 912 have a size and density that can be resolved by the copying machine, and are therefore printed faithfully. However, the dots constituting the latent image 911 are not printed because they are of a size that cannot be resolved by a copying machine. Accordingly, an image corresponding to the background image 912 is printed on the copied material together with the document printed on the original, and a portion corresponding to the latent image 911 is expressed as a white character. As a result, unauthorized copying can be suppressed, and at the same time, the original and the copy can be distinguished.

  A confidential document using such a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image has been previously created using a sheet on which a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image has been printed in advance, called a forgery prevention sheet. However, because only the latent image pre-printed on anti-counterfeit paper can be raised by copying, the use of the paper is limited, and the price of anti-counterfeit paper is higher than general-purpose printing paper, etc. There were a lot of inconveniences.

  On the other hand, while digitization is rapidly progressing at the stage of document creation and printing, and printer performance is dramatically improved, the same printing as forgery prevention paper used in the past should be performed using a general-purpose computer and printer. Became possible. As a result, arbitrary text characters can be adopted as warning characters, and a favorite background image can be adopted, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of the user. Furthermore, with the widespread use of color printers, it has become possible to use color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern images. Patent Document 1 describes an image processing apparatus that creates a histogram of input image data for each color and generates a color tint block image based on the histogram.

JP 2007-129427 A

  However, in general, a color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is composed of only one color, or is created according to a histogram for each color of input image data as in the method described in Patent Document 1, etc. At the stage of determining the color of the tint block image, it cannot be said that the user has a high degree of freedom.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus and program capable of generating a tint block image composed of a plurality of colors using a user-desired design. It is.

  The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 is a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generating unit that generates a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding a latent image that becomes apparent during copying in a background image; a design image storage unit that stores a design image; An image receiving means for receiving a selection input of a user-desired design image from design images stored in the design image storage means, and the design from the design image storage means based on the selection input received by the image receiving means. An image reading unit that reads an image, a part image receiving unit that receives a selection of each of the part images constituting the design image, and a user-desired color from a plurality of predetermined colors. A color accepting unit that accepts a color selection input and a part that has been accepted by the part image accepting unit. Color setting means for setting the color of the image to the color received by the color receiving means, and setting the color of the generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image to the color of the design image with the color set, thereby setting the color-set design Color tint block image generation means for superimposing the image on the tint block image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the computer program includes a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit that generates a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding a latent image that becomes apparent at the time of copying in a background image, and a design image stored in a storage unit. Image receiving means for receiving selection input of a design image desired by the user, image reading means for reading the design image from the design image storage means based on the selection input received by the image receiving means, and the read design image The part image receiving means for receiving selection of any one of the part images constituting the design image, the color receiving means for receiving selection input of a user desired color from a plurality of predetermined colors, and the part image receiving means A color setting hand for setting the color of the part image for which the selection is accepted to the color accepted by the color accepting means. By setting the color of the generated tint block image to the color of the design image with the color set, it functions as a color tint block image generating means for superimposing the color set design image on the tint block image. is there.

  According to these configurations, since a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image can be created using a design image and color desired by the user, a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image can be created according to the application and user's preference, and convenience is improved. Can do.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display control means for causing the display means to display a design image received by the part image receiving means, and the part image receiving means. Accepts selection of any of the part images of the design image displayed on the display means, and the display control means displays the displayed design image based on the selection input accepted by the color acceptance means. Are switched and displayed, and a tint block image whose color is set by the color tint block image generation means is displayed.

  According to this configuration, the design image in which the color is set by the user, or the color tint block image generated by superimposing the design image and the tint block image is displayed on the display unit. You can work while confirming.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the design image storage means stores the design image color-set by the color setting means. An instruction receiving unit for receiving an input is further provided, and when the instruction receiving unit receives an instruction to store the design image, the design image storage unit accumulates and stores the design image with the color setting. .

  According to this configuration, after setting the color of the design image, by storing the design image, the same design image can be immediately read out from the design image storage means at a later date. That is, since it is not necessary to set the color of the design image again, it is possible to save labor.

  According to the present invention, since a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image can be created using a user-designed design image and color, it is possible to create a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image that suits the purpose of use and the user's preference, thereby improving convenience. it can.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus. The figure which showed the data structure of the design image memory | storage part. The figure which showed an example of the tint block image setting screen. The figure which showed an example of the tint block image setting screen. The figure which showed an example of the color scheme setting screen. The figure which showed an example of the color scheme setting screen. The figure which showed an example of the color scheme setting screen. The figure for demonstrating the production | generation method of a color tint block image. The figure which showed an example of the tint block image setting screen. The figure which showed the printed matter on which the color tint block image was printed. The flowchart which showed the flow of the tint block image generation process. The flowchart which showed the flow of the color scheme setting process. The figure for demonstrating the conventional tint block image. The figure for demonstrating the conventional tint block image.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image processing apparatus 1. The image processing apparatus 1 is realized by a computer (for example, a personal computer), and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input operation unit 13, a display unit 14, and a network I / F unit 15.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and other peripheral devices, executes processing based on a predetermined program in accordance with an input instruction signal, performs instructions and data transfer to each functional unit, etc. The entire image processing apparatus 1 is controlled. Specifically, the control unit 11 reads a program stored in the storage unit 12 in response to an operation signal input from the input operation unit 13 and executes processing according to the program. And the control part 11 outputs the display control signal for displaying a process result with respect to the display part 14, and displays the information according to the process result.

  Further, the control unit 11 functions as a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111, a color arrangement setting unit 112, a print data generation unit 113, and a display control unit 114. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111 generates a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding text, which is a latent image, in the background image. The color arrangement setting unit 112 performs color setting of the design image selected by the user according to the user's instruction. The design image will be described in detail later.

  The print data generation unit 113 superimposes the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generated by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111 on the document data created by the user using application software (not shown) such as document creation software, and causes the printer 91 to perform a print job. Print data to be transmitted as data is generated. The display control unit 114 outputs a display control signal indicating characters and images to the display unit 14 to perform display control of the display unit 14.

  The storage unit 12 stores programs, data, and the like for realizing various functions provided in the image processing apparatus 1. In the present embodiment, the tint block image generation program 121 and the color arrangement setting program 122 are stored, and further function as the design image storage unit 123. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation program 121 is a program for generating a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding a latent image in a background image and generating print data by superimposing it with document data or the like. The color arrangement setting program 122 is a program for setting the color of the design image in accordance with a user instruction.

  The design image storage unit 123 stores a plurality of design images created in advance. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the design image storage unit 123. The design image storage unit 123 stores a design image (image data) and its name (or file name) in association with each other. The design image is an image used for coloring the user-desired color on the tint block image. After the user sets the color of the design image, the tint block image generation unit 111 superimposes the design image on which the color pattern is set and the tint block image. In addition, a color tint block image is generated by setting the color of the tint block image to the color at the position of the corresponding design image. Details of the method of generating a color tint block image using the design image will be described later. The design image stored in the design image storage unit 123 may be an arbitrary design image created by the user using image generation software.

  The input operation unit 13 includes a keyboard having character / alphanumeric input keys, cursor keys, various function keys, and the like, and a pointing device such as a touch pad and a mouse. Signals and pointing device operation signals are output to the control unit 11. The display unit 14 includes a display screen such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays characters, images, and the like according to a display control signal output from the display control unit 114 of the control unit 11.

  The network I / F unit 15 includes a communication module such as a LAN board, and transmits / receives various data via a network 92 connected to the network I / F unit 15. Specifically, the control unit 11 reads and executes the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation program 121 stored in the storage unit 12, and the user inputs various settings via the input operation unit 13. A tint block image is generated. The print data generation unit 113 generates print data by superimposing the generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image and document data, and outputs the print data to the network I / F unit 15. The network I / F unit 15 outputs to the printer 91 via the network 92. The printer 91 performs printing based on the transmitted print data.

  3 to 10 show examples of screens displayed on the display unit 14 when the control unit 11 executes processing according to the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation program 121 and the color arrangement setting program 122, and FIGS. 11 and 12 show the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation processing and color arrangement setting. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation processing and color arrangement setting processing according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  When printing document data, the user performs a predetermined operation using the input operation unit 13 to activate a printer driver (not shown). When the printer driver is activated, the display control unit 114 causes the display unit 14 to display a print setting screen (not shown). In the print setting screen, detailed settings relating to printing can be performed. When the user selects a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image setting (or security setting or the like) command, the display control unit 114 displays the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image setting screen as shown in FIG. 200 is displayed on the display unit 14 (step S11 in FIG. 11).

  The user selects and inputs text to be embedded as a background image or latent image in a pull-down list or input field in the tint block image setting screen 200 using a keyboard or pointing device (step S12). Regarding the text, when the user selects the lower triangle mark of the pull-down list 204 with the pointing device, a plurality of preset texts are displayed in a list form. The user selects a desired text from the displayed text. Further, the user may directly input desired text into the pull-down list 204 using a keyboard or the like. Regarding the background image, when the user selects the lower triangle mark of the pull-down list 205, names (or file names) of a plurality of background images stored in advance are displayed in a list form. The user selects a desired background image from the displayed names.

  When a background image and text are selected (step S12; YES), the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111 temporarily generates a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image using the selected background image and text, and the display control unit 114 temporarily generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image. The state of the printed matter when is copied is displayed on the preview screen 201 in a pseudo manner (step S13).

  The pull-down list 202 displays a list of colors that can be set as the colors of the tint block image. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a tint block image setting screen 200 when a color is displayed as a list when the user selects the lower triangle mark of the pull-down list 202. In FIG. 4, black, cyan, magenta, red, green, and blue are examples of colors displayed in the pull-down list 202, but other colors may be included. When the user selects a color from the pull-down list 202, the background pattern image generation unit 111 changes the color of the temporarily generated background pattern image to the selected color.

  Here, the initial tint block image generation unit 111 temporarily generates the entire tint block image in black which is the default. Thereafter, for example, when the user selects “cyan” from the pull-down list 202, the tint block image generation unit 111 changes the entire black tint block image to cyan. Then, the display control unit 114 updates and displays the state of the printed matter on the preview screen 201 when the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image whose color has been changed is copied.

  When the user selects “user setting” from the pull-down list 202, the user can set the color of the tint block image using a plurality of colors. Thereafter, when the user selects the background color setting button 203 (step S14; YES), the control unit 11 shifts the processing to the color arrangement setting process (step S15).

  In the color arrangement setting process, the display control unit 114 first displays a background color setting screen on the display unit 14 (step S21 in FIG. 12). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the background color setting screen 300. When the user selects the lower triangle mark of the pull-down list 301, the display control unit 114 reads the name of the design image stored in the design image storage unit 123 and displays the list in the pull-down list 301. When the user selects the name of the design image displayed in the pull-down list 301 (step S22; YES), the display control unit 114 reads the design image corresponding to the selected name and displays it on the preview screen 302 (step S22). S23). In FIG. 5, a design image of the name “sun” is displayed.

  The color list 303 displays colors that can be used for the color scheme of the tint block image. In FIG. 5, examples of colors displayed in the color list 303 are black, cyan, magenta, red, green, and blue, but other colors may be included. Here, it is assumed that the user selects “red” from the colors displayed in the color list 303 using the pointing device (“red” is selected in FIG. 5). In this state, when the user selects the sun part image 310 displayed on the preview screen 302 using the pointing device (step S24; YES), the color arrangement setting unit 112 sets the color of the entire part image 310 to red. Then, the display control unit 114 displays the part image 310 by painting it with red (step S25). FIG. 6 shows a background color setting screen 300 when the part image 310 is painted in red.

  Subsequently, the user selects each triangular part image 311 arranged around the part image 310 while “red” in the color list 303 is selected, and then selects “blue” in the color list 303. Suppose that the background 312 is selected. FIG. 7 shows the background color setting screen 300 at this time. In other words, the sun is red and the background is blue. At this stage, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is temporarily generated, the design image is in a color-set state, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image and the design image are separate images.

  When the color of the design image is thus set by the user and the save button 306 is selected (step S26; YES), the control unit 11 adds a new name to the color-set design image. And stored in the design image storage unit 123 (step S27). When the design image storage unit 123 stores the color-set design image, the display control unit 114 displays the name of the newly stored design image in the pull-down list 301 in addition to the design image stored in advance. Therefore, when a user wants to use a design image with the same color at a later date, the user can immediately read out a desired design image simply by selecting the name of the design image from the pull-down list 301.

  Further, when the clear button 305 is selected by the user (step S28; YES), the color arrangement setting unit 112 resets all the colors set in the respective part images of the design image, and the default state (color is set). (Step S29). That is, when the clear button 305 is selected in the state of FIG. 7, the preview screen 302 is in the state of FIG.

  When the color arrangement of the design image is completed and the user selects the OK button 304 (step S30; YES), the control unit 11 moves the process to step S16 in FIG. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111 generates a colored copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by superimposing the design image set in color on the temporarily generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image (step S16).

  The process in step S16 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit 111 determines, with respect to the temporarily generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image 400 and the color-set design image 500, pixels having a predetermined number of pixels constituting the images (hereinafter referred to as “target pixels”). For example, it is set at the upper left of each image. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 41 denotes a target pixel set on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image 400, and 51 denotes a target pixel set on the design image 500.

  The background pattern image generation unit 111 sets the color of the target pixel 41 of the background pattern image 400 to the color of the target pixel 51 of the design image 500. That is, the target pixel 41 is set to the same color as the target pixel 51. When the color of the target pixel 41 is set, the positions of the target pixels 41 and 51 are shifted by one target pixel, and the color of the target pixel 51 at the shifted position is set as the color of the target pixel 41. Such color setting is performed over the entire image. This method is merely an example, and the color pattern of the tint block image is set by superimposing the temporarily generated tint block image and the design image set with the color scheme and setting the color of the tint block image to the color corresponding to the design image. Any method other than those described above may be used.

  Thus, after the tint block image generation unit 111 performs coloration of the tint block image, the display control unit 114 displays the tint block image setting screen 200 again (step S17). FIG. 9 shows a tint block image setting screen 200 at this time. The display control unit 114 causes the preview screen 201 to display a state when the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image whose color has been set is color-copied. That is, the latent image (text) is displayed in white and the background image has a color that has been set.

  When the user selects the OK button 210 on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image setting screen 200 (step S18; YES), the print data generating unit 113 displays the document data created by the user and the temporarily generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image (color-set copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image). ) Are combined to generate print data. Then, the process ends. After the processing is completed, the control unit 11 transfers the created print data to the printer 91 via the network I / F unit 15. Then, printing based on the print data is performed by the printer 91.

  FIG. 10 shows a printed material 600 when color-set copy-forgery-inhibited pattern images are printed. In FIG. 10, portions indicated by arrows A1 and B1 correspond to background images in the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image, and portions indicated by arrows A2 and B2 correspond to latent image images of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image. Furthermore, the locations indicated by arrows A1 and A2 correspond to the region set to red by color setting, and the locations indicated by arrows B1 and B2 correspond to the region set to blue by color setting.

  When the background image is composed of large dots and the latent image is composed of small dots as in the above example, the state of the dot at the position indicated by each arrow will be described. The location (background image) indicated by the arrow A1 is A large red dot, a portion (latent image) indicated by an arrow A2 is composed of small red dots. Further, the portion indicated by the arrow B1 (background image) is constituted by large blue dots, and the portion indicated by the arrow B2 (latent image) is constituted by small blue dots.

  When this printed material 600 is copied by a color copier, the latent image is printed with white characters and the background image is printed with each dot color, as shown in the preview screen 201 of FIG. When the printed material 600 is copied by a monochrome copying machine, the latent image is reproduced with white characters, but the color of each dot of the background image is not reproduced, but is reproduced with black or gray.

  As described above, since a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image can be created using a design image and color desired by the user, a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image can be created according to the application and user's preference, and convenience is improved. Can do.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In this embodiment, the latent image is set as text, but a logo mark or an arbitrary image may be used as the latent image.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 11 Control part (image reading means)
111 Copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation unit (copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation means, color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation means)
112 Color scheme setting unit (color setting means)
113 Print Data Generation Unit 114 Display Control Unit (Display Control Unit)
12 storage unit 121 copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation program 122 color arrangement setting program 123 design image storage unit (design image storage unit)
13 Input operation unit (image receiving means, parts image receiving means, color receiving means, instruction receiving means)
14 Display unit 15 Network I / F unit

Claims (4)

A copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generating means for generating a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding a latent image that becomes apparent at the time of copying in a background image;
Design image storage means for storing design images;
Image accepting means for accepting selection input of a user-desired design image from design images stored in the design image storing means;
Based on the selection input received by the image receiving means, an image reading means for reading the design image from the design image storage means;
For the read design image, a part image receiving means for receiving selection of any of the part images constituting the design image;
Color accepting means for accepting a selection input of a user desired color from a plurality of predetermined colors;
Color setting means for setting the color of the part image received by the part image receiving means to the color received by the color receiving means;
Color tint block image generation means for superimposing the color-set design image on the tint block image by setting the color of the generated tint block image to the color of the design image with the color set;
An image processing apparatus. A display control means for causing the display means to display the design image received by the part image receiving means;
The part image accepting unit accepts selection of any of the part images of the design image displayed on the display unit,
The display control means switches and displays the colors of the part images constituting the displayed design image based on the selection input received by the color reception means, and further the color is set by the color tint block image generation means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tint block image is displayed. An instruction receiving means for receiving an instruction input as to whether or not to store the design image color-set by the color setting means in the design image storage means;
3. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein when the instruction receiving unit receives an instruction to store the design image, the design image storage unit accumulates and stores the design image with the color setting. apparatus. Computer
A copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generation means for generating a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by embedding a latent image that becomes apparent during copying in a background image;
Image receiving means for receiving a selection input of a user-desired design image from design images stored in the storage means;
Image reading means for reading out the design image from the design image storage means based on the selection input received by the image receiving means;
For the read design image, a part image receiving means for receiving selection of any of the part images constituting the design image;
Color receiving means for receiving selection input of a user desired color from a plurality of predetermined colors;
Color setting means for setting the color of the part image whose selection is received by the part image receiving means to the color received by the color receiving means;
A color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image generating means for superimposing the color-set design image on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by setting the color of the generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image to the color of the color-set design image;
Program to function as.

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