JP2010109541A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of accurately restoring source images at all times without adding code data or the like to be a problem on an appearance such as a bar code and thereby without damaging the quality of the source images, even when new write is performed on printed images further. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus reads the image of an original, converts it to binary image data, determines whether or not there is prescribed hidden information in the converted binary image data, also determines the number of the hidden information when it is determined that there is the prescribed hidden information, determines whether or not two or more pieces of the hidden information are the same hidden information when there are two or more pieces of the hidden information, generates source image data without the hidden information from the contents of the found hidden information when two or more pieces of the same hidden information are found in one original by a hidden information number determination means, and prints the generated images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a function of reading hidden information hidden in an image and reproducing an image.

Conventionally, there are many cases in which a user writes arbitrary information on a printed matter printed by a copying machine or the like. In such a case, normally, when the printed matter on which the above writing has been performed is copied, a newly written copy can be obtained. However, if you want to obtain the original printed material that does not have newly written information and that has not been written yet, if you have not saved the original printed material in advance, please obtain the original printed material. It is not easy to do.
Of course, if the newly written information is written with a pencil that can be easily erased, the original printed matter can be almost reproduced by erasing the pencil mark with an eraser, but it will not disappear with the eraser. It is not easy to reproduce a clean original print by leaving marks or damaging the base paper.
This may be the case, for example, when you want to reproduce the original answer sheet on which the answer has been written, or when you receive a distribution of various distributions and write to the distribution and return it to the distributor. Various cases are conceivable.

In this regard, for example, in the image processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, an image reading unit that reads image data of an original, an image change input unit that inputs image change content, and an image read by the image reading unit An image processing apparatus having image data changing means for changing image data in accordance with the image change contents inputted by the image change input means, wherein the code data represents the change contents of the image data made by the image data changing means Image change data encoding means for encoding, image data combining means for combining image data read by the image reading means and code data encoded by the image change data encoding means, and the image reading The code data is detected from the image data read by the means Code detection means, and image restoration data output means for outputting to the image data change means image data change contents for restoring an image before image change from the code data detected by the code detection means, The change contents of the image data made by the image data changing means are converted into code data, combined with a document and printed. For example, taking the above-mentioned answer sheet as an example, code data such as a barcode that is not particularly related to the answer sheet itself is always printed on the answer sheet, which is confusing and aesthetically preferable. I can't say that. The same applies to the distribution.
On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, as an image processing apparatus, an image processing apparatus that synthesizes an advertisement image with an input original image, the image processing means for performing image processing on the original image, and the original image Image processing comprising: an information image generation processing means for generating an information image in which information is recorded; and an image composition means for synthesizing the original image, the advertisement image and the information image that have undergone image processing by the image processing means. An apparatus is provided.
Further, the 35th paragraph of Patent Document 2 describes a process for restoring an original image without an advertisement image from a synthesized image. Here, the original image processing information image generated at the time of the synthesis is analyzed, and the original image is restored according to the contents.
However, when new information is written on the image including the advertisement image as described above with the technique described in Patent Document 2, the writing is newly written on the document image processing information image. In some cases, the original document image processing information image cannot be decoded, and there is a problem that the original image cannot always be restored accurately.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-251394 JP 2007-243362 A

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is not to add code data or the like which is a problem in appearance such as a barcode, and thus without impairing the quality of the original image. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of always accurately restoring an original image even when a new writing is performed on a printed image.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
Image reading conversion means for reading an image of a document and converting it into binary image data;
Hidden information presence / absence determining means for determining whether or not predetermined hidden information is present in the binary image data converted by the image reading conversion means;
When it is determined by the hidden information presence / absence determining means that the predetermined hidden information is present, the number of the hidden information is determined, and when there are a plurality of hidden information, the plurality of hidden information is the same hidden information. A hidden information number judging means for judging whether or not,
When a plurality of identical hidden information is found in one document by the hidden information number judging means, the original image data without the hidden information is generated from the contents of the found hidden information, and the generated image is printed. Image reproduction printing means to perform,
Is configured as an image forming apparatus.
In this case, as the image reproduction printing means, when a plurality of the same hidden information is found in one document by the hidden information number judging means, the discovered hidden information, the previously stored hidden information, And when the found hidden information and the previously stored hidden information are the same, an image is generated from the image data stored in advance corresponding to the previously stored hidden information. One example is one that prints a printed image.
Further, when the predetermined hidden information includes the ID of the hidden information and the content of the hidden information, the hidden information number determination means determines that the number of hidden information detected based on the ID of the hidden information is plural. It can be configured to determine whether or not the plurality of hidden information is the same hidden information, and the image reproduction printing means is stored in advance corresponding to the ID of the hidden information according to the hidden information. It is conceivable to generate image data from image data and print the generated image.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, it does not add code data or the like which is a problem in appearance such as a barcode, and therefore does not impair the quality of the original image, and can be newly added from the top of the printed image. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of always accurately restoring an original image even if a proper writing is performed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a document reading apparatus of an image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire control system of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. .

An image forming apparatus X according to an embodiment of the present invention is a so-called multi-function machine having a scanner function, a print function, a copy function, and a facsimile function, and includes a scanner unit 6 as a document reading device.
The image forming apparatus that is the subject of the present invention may be a scanner itself for the purpose of reading an original document, in addition to the copying machine and the facsimile as the above-described multifunction machine.
First, the structure of the main part of the image forming apparatus X according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus X includes a main control unit 1, an operation / display unit 2, a data storage unit 3, an image processing calculation unit 4, a NIC 5, a scanner unit 6, a printing unit 7, a facsimile unit 8, and the like. They are connected in such a way that information can be exchanged through the bus 11.

The operation / display unit 2 includes an operation unit 2a for inputting information and a display unit 2b for displaying information (including images). The operation unit 2a is, for example, a touch panel or a sheet key provided on the surface of the liquid crystal display device. The display unit 2b is, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The operation / display unit 2 constitutes a man-machine interface for the user.
The data storage unit 3 is a readable / writable large-capacity non-volatile memory that stores processing data as necessary when processing image data obtained by reading from a document or printing processing of image data. .

  The image processing arithmetic unit 4 is constituted by a dedicated signal processing circuit or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or the like, performs various image processing on the image data, and forms a print job described in a predetermined print job description language into an image. A process for converting to bitmap image data to be used, a process for generating image data to be transmitted to an external device (for example, image data subjected to predetermined encoding such as JPEG format), and the like are performed.

The NIC 5 receives data (including data of an image read by the scanner unit 6) with an external device such as an information processing terminal or an e-mail server through a network including a LAN and the Internet conforming to the standard IEEE 802.3, for example. It is a communication interface which transmits / receives.
The scanner unit 6 converts an image formed on a document from a document placed on a glass document table (not shown) or a document conveyed by an ADF (not shown) to a color (R, G, B). ) Is a color scanner that distinguishes and reads.

The print unit 7 is a so-called print engine controlled by the main control unit 1, and sequentially feeds recording sheets stored in a sheet feeding cassette (not shown) one by one, and passes through a predetermined image forming position to a sheet discharge tray. Recording paper (recording paper) based on the image data of the original read from the original by the scanner unit 6 and the image data for printing generated by the image processing calculation unit 4 at the image forming position. It is a set of components such as a device that forms (outputs) an image on an example) and an MPU that controls the device.
The facsimile unit 8 includes communication means such as an NCU (Network Control Unit) and a modem, and performs dial-up and negotiation processing for determining a communication method with a communication partner (partner station). It transmits and receives facsimile data (image data read by the scanner unit 6) with the facsimile apparatus.

The main control unit 1 controls each of the scanner unit 6, the print unit 7, the facsimile unit 8, the operation / display unit 2, the data storage unit 3, and the image processing calculation unit 4.
For example, the main control unit 1 causes the printing unit 7 to execute a printing process (image forming process) based on a print job received through the NIC 5. Further, the main control unit 1 causes the facsimile unit 8 to execute a facsimile transmission process for calling a designated transmission destination telephone number and transmitting image data to be transmitted. Further, the main control unit 1 causes the scanner unit 6 to execute a scanning process for reading an image formed on the original from the original.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 2, a printing process procedure performed by the main control unit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and an original image is restored from a printed material in which some image is written on the printed material created by the printing process. The processing procedure including the restoration processing procedure performed by the main control unit 1 will be described.
Here, S1, S2,... Are indexes of processing procedures.
This process starts when the user selects the menu for the printing process. There are a plurality of print processing menus, and the user can arbitrarily select these processes.
When the printing process is selected (YES in S1), the main control unit 1 determines whether the selected printing process is an information embedding printing process (S2).
The information embedding printing process is a process for embedding watermark information into an image to be read using a known digital watermark technique. In the case of a digital watermark, as is well known, predetermined information is embedded in an original image, but the embedded image cannot be discriminated by human vision. However, the image in which the watermark information is embedded can be determined by the main control unit 1 in the state of optical data read optically. Various digital watermark techniques are known. In this embodiment, a steganographic technique is applicable.
The digital watermark information as described above is an example of hidden information in the present invention.
Various images can be embedded as an embedded image. In this embodiment, an original image to be read is used as embedded information.

If it is determined in S2 that the information embedding printing process is to be performed from now on, the main control unit 1 drives the scanner unit 6 to set the original image (hereinafter referred to as the original image) set on the original table by the user. The image data is read (S3), and the image data is converted into binary data and stored in the data storage unit 3 (S4). The data storage unit 3 can be configured by a memory or a hard disk.
When the storage process of the original image data is finished, the main control unit 1 detects whether or not watermark information is embedded in the stored original image data (S5). The watermark information is assigned a reference number such as an ID in advance, and this reference number is also embedded in the image as watermark information. Therefore, by analyzing the watermark information, the main control unit 1 analyzes the read image. Whether the reference number is embedded or not can be determined by comparing with the reference number stored in advance.
Of course, the watermark information obtained by converting the image data without adding a reference number may be stored and collated as it is. However, by using an ID such as a reference number, the data can be simplified and the procedure time can be saved. it can.

When the watermark information is detected (YES in S5), the main control unit 1 generates the watermark information based on the original image data read in S3 as described above (S6) and the generated watermark information. Watermark information is stored in the data storage unit 3.
The process when the watermark information is not detected (NO in S5) will be described later.
Thereafter, the main control unit 1 embeds the generated watermark information in a plurality of portions of the original image data to generate a watermark information embedded image (S8).
The number of places where the watermark information is embedded may be set in advance or may be arbitrarily set by the user. For example, it is desirable to embed a plurality of pieces of watermark information in the peripheral portion of the entire image and also embed it in the central portion of the entire image. This is because the user rarely writes to both the peripheral part and the central part.
Alternatively, the embedding location may be determined in advance according to the type of document. For example, if the manuscript is an answer sheet as described above, the place where the answer is written is known in advance, so that the setting may be made so that watermark information is embedded in the problem description place where the answer is not written.
Finally, the main control unit 1 prints the watermark information embedded image generated by driving the printing unit 7 (S9).

  The watermark information is embedded by the user through the above-described processes from reading the original image from S1-> S2-> S3-> S4-> S6-> S7-> S8-> S9 to the generation of watermark information and the printing process of the watermark information embedded image. Printed material is printed.

Next, a process for restoring an original image from an image original in which watermark information created in this way is embedded will be described. Such processing can also be part of the procedure of FIG.
Such a process is effective when, for example, a user writes an answer on a distributed answer sheet and then restores an original answer sheet that has not been written.
The process is the same as the process of S1 → S2 → S3 → S4 for printing the printed material in which the watermark information is embedded, but the process is continued when the watermark information is detected in S5.
That is, when watermark information is detected in S5 (YES in S5), it is determined in S10 whether or not the number of detected watermark information is plural. The number of detected watermark information may be determined based on whether or not a plurality of watermark information having stored reference numbers are detected.

When a plurality of watermark information with the same reference number is detected (YES in S10), the main control unit 1 determines whether there is a common reference number detected, that is, whether the same watermark information is detected. It is determined whether or not (S11).
Here, when a plurality of the same watermark information is detected, it is determined that the detected watermark information is correct. Therefore, the main control unit 1 sorts the watermark information based on the reference number of the detected watermark information. The watermark information corresponding to the number (ID) is extracted from the data storage unit 3, the original image data is calculated from the watermark information, and the original image is printed (S12).

  In S10 or S11, when the number of detected hidden information is not plural, the user writes in the hidden information portion, and there is only one hidden information detected correctly. Considered information. For this reason, if multiple hidden information items are not detected, the process is interrupted, and a warning comment such as “It may not be possible to recover the original image correctly. It is displayed on part 2 (S13). If the print button is further pressed by the user, print processing is executed.

  If the information embedding printing is not selected in S2, the normal printing process is performed (S14).

1 is a block diagram showing an entire control system of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part 3 ... Data storage part 6 ... Scanner part 7 ... Print part

Claims (3)

Image reading conversion means for reading an image of a document and converting it into binary image data;
Hidden information presence / absence determining means for determining whether or not predetermined hidden information is present in the binary image data converted by the image reading conversion means;
When it is determined by the hidden information presence / absence determining means that the predetermined hidden information is present, the number of the hidden information is determined, and when there are a plurality of hidden information, the plurality of hidden information is the same hidden information. A hidden information number judging means for judging whether or not,
When a plurality of the same hidden information is found in one original by the hidden information number judging means, original image data without hidden information is generated from the contents of the found hidden information, and the generated image is Image reproduction printing means for printing;
An image forming apparatus.   The image reproduction printing unit compares the discovered hidden information with the previously stored hidden information when a plurality of identical hidden information is found in one original by the hidden information number judging unit. When the hidden information discovered and the previously stored hidden information are the same, an image is generated from the image data stored in advance corresponding to the previously stored hidden information, and the generated image is The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed.   Whether the predetermined hidden information includes an ID of the hidden information and the content of the hidden information, and the hidden information number determination means includes a plurality of hidden information detected based on the ID of the hidden information. , Determining whether the plurality of hidden information is the same hidden information, and the image reproduction printing unit generates image data from image data stored in advance corresponding to the ID of the hidden information The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printed image is printed.

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