JP2001144940A - Image processing unit and image processing method for the information processing unit and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent image input processing from creating a falsified matter from an original whose copying is inhibited by applying processing to read illegal image data coincident with specific image data so that the read illegal image data are changed into meaningless image data. SOLUTION: Comparing image data read by a falsification decision processing module 103-2 of a scanner driver 103 with the specific image data decides a degree of the coincidence between both the data. A falsification prevention control module 106 controls prescribed image processing applied to the image data that are read by the scanner driver 103 on the basis of the decision result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a reading operation of a document image by a scanner via a scanner driver, or an operating system which controls a printer to print image data via a printer driver. The present invention relates to a controllable information processing apparatus, an image processing method of the information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the performance of a color image reading apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a color scanner) using a CCD or the like as a photoelectric conversion element and a color printer have been improved. By reading as image data with an image reading device and outputting the image data to a color printer, there is a high risk that a copy-protected original such as a bill or a securities is copied and forged. In order to prevent such forgery, in a color copying machine having a configuration in which a color scanner and a color printer are combined, an anti-counterfeiting device that recognizes a copy-inhibited document and inhibits copying has been increasingly incorporated.

[0003]

However, a forgery prevention device such as that used in a color copying machine operates only at the time of a copying operation. Independently, once a copy-inhibited original is read by a color scanner, it is transmitted through a controller. A system in which a copy-protected original image can be output by a color copying machine or other color printer, and image data can be output to a color printer via a host computer between the color scanner and a color scanner, for example, a scanner system, an information processing device alone For example, there is a serious problem that the forgery processing cannot be effectively restricted, and the copy-protected manuscript is easily forged.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a reading operation of a document image by a scanner via a scanner driver. By comparing the image data read by the scanner driver with the specific image data to determine the degree of coincidence, and controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result. However, even in an environment where the scanner is not configured as a copying system in which the scanner is integrated with the printer and image reading processing can be performed as a single scanner, even when image data that matches a specific image for which copying is prohibited is read. Is illegal image data that matches the read specific image. The image input process that creates a forgery from a document whose duplication is prohibited. In an information processing apparatus capable of controlling a data printing operation, the image data rasterized by the printer driver is compared with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence, and the image rasterized by the printer driver based on the determination result. By controlling the predetermined image processing for the data, the printer is not configured as a copying system that is integrated with the scanner,
Even in an environment where image output processing can be performed as a single printer, if image data matching a specific image whose duplication is prohibited is rasterized, invalid image data matching the rasterized specific image is meaningless. An information processing apparatus, an image processing method for an information processing apparatus, an image processing apparatus, The purpose is to provide a storage medium.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to the operating system shown in FIG. 2) is connected via a scanner driver (corresponding to the scanner driver 103 shown in FIG. 2). An image processing apparatus capable of controlling a reading operation of a document image by a scanner, and comparing image data read by the scanner driver with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence (forgery determination shown in FIG. 2) A control module (corresponding to a processing module 103-2) and a control means (for the forgery prevention control module 106 shown in FIG. 2) for controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result by the determination means. (Equivalent).

In a second aspect according to the present invention, the control means includes means for controlling the image data different from the read image data when the determination means determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data. Is to be processed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined image processing is performed on the image data by the control means, the image data is processed so as to match the specific image data. Display means (monitor 109 shown in FIG. 2) for displaying a warning message indicating that the warning message displayed by the display means is read and processed based on a user's image processing request for the warning message. The discarded image data is discarded.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the predetermined image processing includes resolution conversion for converting the resolution of the read image data, color conversion for converting the color tone of the read image data, and reading. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the obtained image data.

In a fifth aspect according to the present invention, the control means includes a history information which can verify a reading processing status of the specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed by the display means. Is created and registered in the nonvolatile memory.

[0010] The sixth, nineteenth, twenty-seventh and third aspects of the present invention.
According to a ninth aspect, the specific image data is a document image whose duplication is legally prohibited.

According to the seventh, twentieth, twenty-eighth, and fourth aspects of the present invention,
In the invention, the specific image data is stored and managed in advance in an updatable manner.

In an eighth aspect according to the present invention, the scanner is connectable via a local interface or a network interface.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the comparison is made by:
It is to compare whether or not the digital watermark information included in the specific image data is included in the read image data.

In a tenth aspect according to the present invention, the digital watermark information is embedded in the specific image data at a constant period.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the digital watermark information includes information on the type, issue country, issue number, and value of the specific image data as code information.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the digital watermark information is invisible or visible information.

A thirteenth invention according to the present invention further comprises storage means for storing image data read by the scanner, wherein the control means performs image processing on an image stored in the storage means.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to the operating system 702 shown in FIG. 9) is connected to a printer (corresponding to the printer driver 703 shown in FIG. 9) through a printer (the printer shown in FIG. 9). 704), which is capable of controlling the printing operation of the image data by the printer driver, and determines the degree of coincidence by comparing the rasterized image data with the specific image data by the printer driver (see FIG. 9). A forgery determination processing module 703-3) and control means for controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on the determination result by the determination means (forgery prevention control module shown in FIG. 9) 705).

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the control means, when the determination means determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, is different from the rasterized image data. Is to be processed.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data by the control means, the image data is processed to match the specific image data. Display means (monitor 708 shown in FIG. 9) for displaying a warning message indicating that the warning message displayed by the display means is rasterized and processed based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed by the display means. The discarded image data is discarded.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined image processing includes resolution conversion for converting the resolution of the rasterized image data, color conversion for converting the color tone of the read image data, and rasterization. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the processed image data.

An eighteenth invention according to the present invention is characterized in that said control means is capable of verifying the rasterization processing status of specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to a warning message displayed by said display means. Is created and registered in the nonvolatile memory.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the printer is connectable via a local interface or a network interface.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the printer is connectable via a local interface or a network interface.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the comparison, it is compared whether the digital watermark information included in the specific image data is included in the rasterized image data.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the digital watermark information is embedded in the specific image data at a constant period.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the digital watermark information includes information on the type, issue country, issue number, and value of the specific image data as code information.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the digital watermark information is invisible or visible information.

A twenty-sixth invention according to the present invention further comprises a storage means for storing the rasterized image data,
The control means also processes an image stored in the storage means.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to the operating system 102 shown in FIG. 2) is connected to a scanner (corresponding to the scanner driver 103 shown in FIG. 2) through a scanner (the scanner shown in FIG. 2). 104) is an image processing method of an information processing apparatus capable of controlling a reading operation of a document image according to (104), wherein a determining step of comparing image data read by the scanner driver with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence (FIG. 3) And a control step (steps S313 to S315 shown in FIG. 3) of controlling predetermined image processing on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result of the determination step. It is.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the control step (step S601 shown in FIG. 8), when the determination step determines that the image data substantially coincides with the specific image data, the reading is performed. The image data is processed into image data different from the image data.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, when predetermined image processing is performed on the image data in the control step, the image data is processed so as to match the specific image data. And a display step (Step S602 shown in FIG. 8) of displaying a warning message indicating that
The control step is based on an image processing request from a user for the warning message displayed by the display step,
The read and processed image data is discarded (step S604 shown in FIG. 8).

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the predetermined image processing includes resolution conversion for converting the resolution of the read image data, color conversion for converting the color tone of the read image data, and read. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the obtained image data.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, in the control step, the history information capable of verifying the reading processing status of the specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed in the displaying step Is created and registered in the nonvolatile memory (corresponding to the hard disk 108 shown in FIG. 2).

According to a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to an operating system 702 shown in FIG. 9) is connected to a printer (corresponding to a printer driver 703 shown in FIG. 9) via a printer (a printer driver 703 shown in FIG. 9). (Equivalent to 704) in the image processing method of the information processing apparatus capable of controlling the printing operation of the image data, wherein the printer driver compares the rasterized image data with the specific image data to determine a matching degree ( A step of following step S323 shown in FIG. 3 and not shown) and a control step of controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on the result of the determination step (see FIG. 3). Steps corresponding to steps S313 to S315 shown in FIG. Those having not) and shown.

According to a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the control step, when it is determined in the determining step that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, image data different from rasterized image data is determined. Is to be processed.

According to a thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention, when predetermined image processing is performed on the image data in the control step, the image data is processed so as to match the specific image data. A display step (not shown) of displaying a warning message indicating that the control step is similar to step S602 shown in FIG.
The image data that has been rasterized and processed is discarded based on an image processing request from the user in response to the warning message displayed in the display step.

According to a thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the predetermined image processing includes a resolution conversion process for converting the resolution of the rasterized image data, a color conversion process for converting the color tone of the read image data, and a rasterization process. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the processed image data.

According to a thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the control method, the control step includes a step of generating history information capable of verifying a rasterization processing status of specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed in the display step. In the nonvolatile memory (the hard disk 10 shown in FIG. 2).
8).

According to a forty-first aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to the operating system 102 shown in FIG. 2) is connected to a scanner (corresponding to the scanner driver 103 shown in FIG. 2) via a scanner (the scanner driver 103 shown in FIG. 2). A determining step of comparing the image data read by the scanner driver with the specific image data to determine the degree of coincidence in the information processing apparatus capable of controlling the reading operation of the original image by step 104) (step S323 shown in FIG. 3)
And a control step (steps S313 to S315 shown in FIG. 3) for controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result of the determination step. It is recorded on a medium in a computer-readable manner.

According to a forty-second aspect of the present invention, in the control step (step S601 shown in FIG. 8), when the image data is determined to substantially match the specific image data in the determination step, the read is performed. The image data is processed into image data different from the image data.

According to a forty-third aspect of the present invention, when predetermined image processing is performed on the image data by the control step, the image data matches the specific image data. A program for executing a display step (step S602 shown in FIG. 8) of displaying a warning message indicating that the processing has been performed is recorded on a recording medium in a computer-readable manner. The image data that has been read and processed is discarded (step S604 shown in FIG. 8) based on the image processing request from the user in response to the warning message displayed by (1).

According to a forty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the predetermined image processing includes resolution conversion for converting the resolution of the read image data, color conversion for converting the color tone of the read image data, and reading. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the obtained image data.

According to a forty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the control step, the history information capable of verifying the reading processing status of the specific image data based on a user's image processing request for the warning message displayed in the displaying step. Is created and registered in the nonvolatile memory (corresponding to the hard disk 108 shown in FIG. 2).

According to a forty-sixth aspect of the present invention, an operating system (corresponding to the operating system 702 shown in FIG. 9) is connected to a printer (corresponding to the printer driver 703 shown in FIG. 9) through a printer (the printer shown in FIG. 9). A determination step (step S shown in FIG. 3) in which the printer driver compares image data rasterized by the printer driver with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence.
And a control step (step S shown in FIG. 3) of controlling predetermined image processing on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on the determination result of the determination step.
313 to step S315 (not shown)) are recorded on a recording medium in a computer-readable manner.

According to a forty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the control step, when it is determined in the determining step that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, image data different from the rasterized image data is determined. Is to be processed.

According to a forty-eighth aspect of the present invention, when predetermined image processing is performed on the image data by the control step, the image data matches the specific image data. A program for executing a display step (not shown) corresponding to step S602 shown in FIG. 8 for displaying a warning message indicating that processing has been performed on the recording medium in a computer-readable manner. The control step discards rasterized and processed image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed in the display step.

[0049] In a forty-ninth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined image processing includes resolution conversion for converting the resolution of rasterized image data, color conversion for converting the color tone of the read image data, and rasterization. This includes an image conversion process of adding arbitrary image data to the processed image data.

According to a fiftieth aspect of the present invention, in the control step, the history information capable of verifying the rasterization processing status of the specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed in the display step Is created and registered in the nonvolatile memory.

[0050]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an image processing system to which an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied. The scanner system comprises a host computer 21 and a scanner 22. The information processing apparatus comprises a host computer 21 and a printer 23.
The present invention can be applied to both the number of scanners, the number of printers, and the connection form of a network or a local network. .

The host computer 21 has an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 10 shown in FIG.
2 is operating, and an operation environment such as an image reading operation of the scanner 104 is provided by a scanner operation application (application) 101 that operates thereon.

In FIG. 1, a host computer 21 as a scanner system includes a monitor 201 for displaying a GUI of an application 101 described later in FIG. 2 and an image reading result from the scanner 22, and an application for user input. , A mouse 202 for transmitting to the OS, a keyboard 203, an HDD 208 for storing various programs and image data, and an RO for storing basic programs of the host computer.
An M206, a RAM 205 for reading programs and storing images, and a scanner I / F 207 for controlling the scanner 22 are interconnected by an internal bus 209 and controlled by the CPU 204.

In FIG. 1, a host computer 21 as an information processing apparatus includes a monitor 201 for displaying a GUI of an application 701 and an image reading result from a scanner, which will be described later with reference to FIG. Mouse 202 and keyboard 203 for transmitting to applications and OS 702; HDD 208 for storing various programs and image data; and RO for storing basic programs of the host computer.
An M206, a RAM 205 for reading programs and storing images, and a printer I / F 210 for controlling the printer 23 are interconnected by an internal bus 209 and controlled by the CPU 204.

On the host computer 21 configured as described above, both the OS and the application
08 into the RAM 205
This is realized by the operation of the PU 204.

Next, the internal structure of the OS will be described to the extent necessary for the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the internal structure of the OS of the host computer 21 shown in FIG. In many OSs, a device driver for interfacing with hardware such as a scanner, and a module for managing other user applications, memory management, and the like, such as UNIX, are separately mounted. In the present invention, an OS having such a separation structure will be described as an example.

In FIG. 2, an OS 102 controls a scanner driver 103 as a module for controlling a scanner in addition to controlling user input and other hardware devices.
And the scanner driver 103 according to the present embodiment.
Has a scanner control module 103-1 for directly controlling the scanner 104 and a forgery determination processing module 103-2 for determining whether or not the image captured from the scanner 104 is a copy-inhibited document.

The OS 102 has a memory management module 105 for managing the image data area of the image memory 110. In FIG. 2, the image memory 110
It corresponds to AM205.

The application 101 includes a GUI routine for interfacing with the user, the OS 10
The scanner 10 interprets the user input received via the
Routine for issuing an instruction to operate the scanner 4, the scanner 10
4 and a routine for displaying the read image data on the HDD 108.

The scanner 104 includes the scanner driver 10
CCD (not shown) according to the scanner operation signal from
After scanning the line sensor and optically reading the document placed on the document table, the document is converted into an electric signal (photoelectric conversion) and read, and an image signal is returned to the host computer 21 according to a predetermined interface rule.

Here, the image signal is divided into a plurality of color components, for example, R, G and B, each of which is 8 to 12 bi.
This is multi-value data of t.

The data processing procedure of the scanner system shown in FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the first data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The application 101 and the OS 10 shown in FIG.
2. It corresponds to the data processing procedure between the modules of the scanner driver 103. Note that S301 to S303 correspond to the steps of the application 101, and S311 to S3.
15 is a step of the operating system 102,
Steps S321 to S324 correspond to the steps of the scanner driver 103, respectively.

When the user instructs a scan start operation via the application 101, image reading by the scanner 104 is started. When the reading operation is started by the application 101 in this way, in step S301, the application 101 secures an area of the designated image to be read in the RAM 205, and in step S302, the scanner Specifically, the application 101 issues an image reading command, and the application 101 enters a wait state until receiving an image reading processing end notification in step S303.

In step S311, the OS 102 that has received the scan start command calls the scanner control module 103-1 corresponding to the specified scanner (in this embodiment, the scanner 104), and calls the scanner control module 103-1.
, And enters a wait state until the processing of the scanner driver 103 ends. At this time, on the OS 102 side, the forgery determination processing module 103
A determination ratio indicating whether the image data output by -2 is a copy-inhibited document is prepared as a variable.

In step S321, the scanner control module 103-1 in the scanner driver 103 that has received the scan start command from the OS 102 issues a scanner-specific scan start command to the scanner 104 to read an image.

In step S 322, after reading the original image, the image signal received from the scanner 104 is stored in the image data area secured by the application 101.
Stored on the AM 105 and the forgery judgment processing module 10
Move the process to 3-2.

The forgery judgment module 103-2
Is a memory (RAM or R
OM may be used) as a template.

In step S323, for example, the RAM 205
Pattern matching is performed between the image data stored above and the template, and a value from “0” to “100” is output as a determination rate. As a specific example of such pattern matching, a process of obtaining a maximum value by obtaining a cross-correlation for each color component of the image data and the template can be considered, but the present embodiment is not particularly limited to the pattern matching method.

A plurality of copy prohibition pattern templates may be provided. If there are a plurality of templates, pattern matching between the plurality of patterns and the image data may be performed, and the maximum value thereof may be output.

In this embodiment, the forgery judgment processing module 103-2 has been described as a software module. However, hardware processing (for example, high-speed RISC and ASI
C) to increase the speed.

After reading the image data and completing the forgery determination process in this way, in step S324, the scanner driver 103 notifies the OS 102 of the end of the read process and returns a determination rate.

Then, in step S312, the OS 102
Receives the scanner driver processing end notification, and
At 313, as a result of actually performing the forgery determination processing, it is determined whether or not the image data is a copy-inhibited image.
If it is determined that the determination rate is larger than the preset threshold value on the side of the scanner 102, it is determined that the image data just read from the scanner 104 is likely to be a copy-inhibited image, and the process proceeds to the forgery prevention control process in step S314.

After finishing this processing, step S315
Then, a processing end notification is issued to the application 101, and the image reading operation of the scanner system is ended. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a forgery prevention process performed by the operating system 102 illustrated in FIG. 2.
(A) shows the original image read from the scanner 104, and (B) shows the image after the processing.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing an example of image data processing performed by the operating system 102 shown in FIG. 2. The vertical axis indicates image data (Green).
The horizontal axis indicates the scanning position.

In the figure, I indicates original image data,
I indicates the image data after the processing. In FIG. 5, Green data of a part of the image is represented by the vertical axis, and the horizontal axis is represented by the main scanning position of the image. The image data on the vertical axis is from 0 to 2
This indicates that the image has 55 gradations of 55, and the image becomes brighter as it approaches 255. The image data I represents the original image data before the processing, and if the image data is reduced by a certain value for all the pixels of the image data, the image data II is generated. Then, among the image data II, all the data below “0” become “0”, so that the information of the change of the image is lost. This processing is Gre
By applying to Red and Blue other than en,
(B) is generated as an output image candidate.

In the present embodiment, it is not possible to return the image after the main processing to the image before the main processing. As a result, the image displayed on the monitor 109 by the application 101 and the image stored in the HDD 108 are also processed images.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a user interface screen displayed on the monitor 109 shown in FIG. 2, and it is recognized that the image data read from the scanner 104 is copy-inhibited image data. This corresponds to an example of a warning screen displayed to the user.

In the figure, a button BT1 is selected and instructed by the user in the case of approving the contents according to the displayed warning and outputting an image. BT2 is a button, which is selected and instructed by the user in the case of approving the contents according to the displayed warning and avoiding image output.

FIG. 7 shows the hard disk 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of log information stored in the scanner 8, which corresponds to an operation history of the scanner 104.

In the figure, the operation history includes time, host computer information (manufacturer name, host ID, OS version), image size, judgment rate, and the like.

Hereinafter, the forgery prevention control process shown in FIG. 3 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the second data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, and corresponds to the forgery prevention control processing procedure of step S314 shown in FIG. Note that S600 to S605 indicate each step.

First, in step S600, the present process is started, and in step S601, the image on the image memory 110 is subjected to image processing for preventing forgery.

In the present embodiment, the original image shown in FIG. 4A is processed, and the image shown in FIG. 4B is painted, for example, in gray. Generates a nice image. The processing principle is that image processing is performed on the original image data I to process and generate image data II, as shown in FIG.

Further, if the image data I is R (Red), G
Assuming that the signal is composed of (Green) and B (Blue) color signals, the user input screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the monitor 109 via the display driver 107 in step S602.

That is, when there is a possibility that the image input from the scanner 104 is a copy-inhibited document, the user can be confirmed whether the image is actually read.

Then, in step S603, a button on the user input screen, that is, the button B
It is checked whether "Yes" corresponding to T1 or "No" corresponding to the button BT2 has been selected and instructed. If "Yes" (if reading), H
The operation history as shown in FIG. 7 is stored in the DD 108, and the process ends in step S605. As a result, the fact that the copy-inhibited original has been read later can be left as evidence, and thereafter, it is extremely easy to confirm whether or not the forgery prevention target original has been input.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S 604 that “NO” has been selected and instructed, that is, if the image is not read, in step S 604, the image memory 110 storing the image is released, and the image reading is started. The process is terminated without performing the process in step S605.

[Second Embodiment] In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the scanner system performs a predetermined image processing process on an input image of a document to be prevented from forgery. Prevention treatment can be performed. Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of an information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a printer driver 703 is included in an image processing system including a host computer and a printer. In the OS 702, forgery prevention processing is performed. Similar to the first embodiment, the OS 702 is running on the host computer, and an application 701 running on the OS 702 performs operations such as an image output operation to the printer 704. The environment is provided.

Further, like the scanner system shown in FIG. 2, the printer system shown in FIG. 9 is also realized on the hardware configuration shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus includes a host computer 21 and a printer 23.
The OS 204 and the application are both read from the HDD 208 to the RAM 205 on the host computer 21 by the CPU 204 so that the forgery prevention process in the information processing apparatus is performed. Is achieved. In FIG. 9, an OS 702 has a printer driver 703 as a module for controlling a printer, in addition to controlling user input and other hardware devices, and the printer driver 703 according to the present embodiment includes image data suitable for the printer 704. Memory 710 for storing the rasterizer 703-1 for generating the image data and the generated image data
And a forgery determination processing module 703-3 for determining whether the rasterized image is a copy-inhibited document.

The forgery judgment module 703-3
The forgery determination result, which is the output of
The forgery prevention control module 705 performs processing for preventing or suppressing forgery based on the determination result.

The OS 702 has a print spooler (spooler) 709 for performing control for outputting a rasterized image to the printer 704. Here, the rasterizer 703-1, the image memory 710, and the forgery determination processing module 703-3 are performed by the printer driver 703, that is, performed by software processing. However, the configuration may be such that these are performed by the printer 704. It is possible.

In this case, a configuration may be employed in which the result of the forgery determination process performed by the printer 704 is returned to the forgery prevention control module 705. Hereinafter, the flow of the forgery prevention process in the present embodiment will be described.

The OS 702 that has received the print instruction command from the application 701 requests the printer driver 703 to print data received from the application.
In 3, the print document is expanded as image data in the rasterizer 703-1 and stored in the image memory 710. The image data stored in this way is then
The information is passed to the forgery determination processing module 703-3 and the print spooler 709, and the forgery determination processing and the printing processing are started, respectively.

In the forgery judgment processing module 703-3,
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not an image to be printed includes a pattern whose copying is prohibited, and the determination rate is output to the forgery prevention control module 705.

Then, the forgery prevention control module 705 compares the threshold value preset in the OS 702 with the determination rate which is the output value of the forgery determination processing module 703-3, and determines that the determination rate is larger. After performing the same image processing as in FIG. 4, a warning dialog similar to that shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the monitor 708.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing the image processing principle of the image data to be forged in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The vertical axis shows the Yellow data of a part of the image, and the horizontal axis shows the main scanning of the image. , For example, the image data is M (Magenta), C (Cya)
n), Y (Yellow), and BK (Black) color space, the image data has 256 gradations from "0" to "255", and "2"
The image becomes darker as the distance approaches "55".

In FIG. 10, the image data represents the original image data before the processing. If the image data is increased by a certain value for all the pixels of the image data, the image data after the processing is generated. Is done. In the image data, all data of “255” or more become “255”, so that information of image change is lost. This processing is performed for Agents other than Yellow, such as Magenta, Cyan, and Bla.
An image as shown in FIG.

Further, similarly to the above embodiment, it is not possible to return the image after the main processing to the image before the main processing. As a result, an image displayed on the monitor 708 by the application 701 and an image stored in the HDD 706 are also processed images.

Also, with respect to the dialog shown in FIG.
If the user decides not to print (button BT2
Is issued, a spool stop command is issued to the spooler 709, and the printing process ends.

On the other hand, with respect to the dialog shown in FIG.
When the user decides to perform printing (when the button BT1 is selected and instructed), the operation history information shown in FIG. 7 is stored on the hard disk 706, and the printing process ends. As a result, when the image data to be printed approximates the image data to be forged, the image to be printed is printed out as an image after the image processing, and FIG.
The image data shown as 0 is never output as it is, that is, as an original image.

[Third Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the case where the color component of the image data is processed into a color component different from the original is described. The present invention is not limited to the example of the second embodiment. For example, the resolution may be reduced by thinning out the input image data, or the gradation of the image data may be reduced, or the image data may be stored in advance in the image data. A configuration may be adopted in which another image data to be generated is subjected to a substitution and development processing.

In addition, R, G, B or M, C, Y, B
Processing such as erasing an image of another color while leaving only one color of K may be performed. The above processing may be appropriately combined. Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 show a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image processing process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. In FIG. 11, when a part of an original image 11-1 is enlarged and represented for each pixel, a main part enlarged image 11-
2 is obtained.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, the target image data 12-1 in FIG.
In the case where pixels to be left are specified by arrows, image processing 12-2 to be output is generated by executing image processing for extracting only information of pixels specified by each arrow. In this case, the resolution is reduced by simply thinning out information every other pixel, and after the resolution is reduced, the image data is output as image data reduced to half (50%) before the reduction.

On the other hand, the image data before the processing is R (R
ed), G (Green), and B (Blue) color signals, and the image data of each color signal is 8-bit data representing 256 gradations from “0” to “255”.

In this case, to lower the gradation, the upper 4 bits
, The lower 4 bits may be fixed to 0 (zero).

Further, when another image is added to the image data, FIG. 13 shows an image obtained by subjecting the original image shown in FIG. 4A to image processing for preventing forgery. .

This can be achieved by rewriting the original image with the image data of the pixel corresponding to the character “COPY”. In addition,
An image of another color may be deleted while leaving only one color of R, G, B or M, C, Y, BK.

For example, for R, G, and B, the color-separated Red image data for one color is not processed as it is,
As for the image data of the other colors Green and Blue, the data of all the pixels may be set to “255”.

According to the above-described embodiment, counterfeiting can be suppressed by the scanner driver or the printer driver, so that a counterfeiting suppressing effect can be expected for image input from all scanners and image output to the printer.

Hereinafter, the configuration of a data processing program readable by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to a memory map shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a storage medium for storing various data processing programs readable by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Although not shown, information for managing a group of programs stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, a creator and the like are also stored, and information dependent on the OS or the like on the program reading side, for example, An icon or the like for identification display may also be stored.

Further, data subordinate to various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs on a computer or a program for decompressing a program to be installed when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

The functions shown in FIGS. 3 and 8 in this embodiment may be executed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. And in that case, CD-ROM, flash memory, FD
The present invention is applicable even when a group of information including a program is supplied to an output device from a storage medium such as the above or from an external storage medium via a network.

In the first to third embodiments, the forgery prevention control module stores a copy prohibition pattern as a template for image data (scanner driver) or rasterized image data (printer driver) input by the scanner. Then, the case where it is determined whether the image data corresponds to the copy prohibited image by performing the pattern matching has been described. However, the determination is not limited to the pattern matching, and the copy prohibited image is a copy prohibited image. Is embedded in the forgery prevention control module, the presence of a copy-inhibited image is determined by detecting the electronic watermark from image data (input or rasterized). May be.

The digital watermark may be embedded at a specific frequency in the image and cannot be determined by the naked eye, or may be a visible watermark embedded in an inconspicuous size and color on the copy prohibited image. It is preferable to be embedded in the pattern situation of the copy-inhibited image in advance, since it becomes impossible to visually recognize the image at all.

Further, the digital watermark includes information on the type, issue country, issue number, and value of the copy-forbidden image as code information, and this information is also judged by the forgery judging module. It is good also as a structure which memorizes as a log which was described. If this log information is encrypted and stored in the folder of the HDD 108 so that it cannot be decrypted unless a dedicated application is used, the history of processing of the copy prohibited image can be stored with high security. .

When a copy-forbidden image is processed by the forgery prevention control module, the log information shown in FIG. 7 may be added as an electronic watermark to the processed image. With such a configuration, even when an image is formed using a printer driver that does not include the forgery determination module, the digital watermark added by the scanner driver can be detected from the printed matter.

As described above, the storage medium storing the program codes of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or the apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
It goes without saying that the object of the present invention is also achieved when U) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, EEPROM and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) And the like perform part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

[0128]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the present invention, in the information processing apparatus in which the operating system can control the reading operation of the original image by the scanner via the scanner driver, the image data read by the scanner driver is compared with the specific image data to match. By controlling the predetermined image processing on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result, the scanner is not configured as a copying system in which the scanner is integrated with the printer, and the scanner alone is Even in an environment where image reading processing can be performed, if image data that matches a specific image for which copying is prohibited is read, incorrect image data that matches the read specific image is meaningless. Data is processed so that the data is Things can be reliably prevent image input processing would be created.

In an information processing apparatus in which the operating system can control the printing operation of image data by a printer via a printer driver, the printer driver compares the rasterized image data with the specific image data to determine the degree of coincidence. By controlling predetermined image processing on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on the determination result, the printer is not configured as a copying system in which the printer is integrated with the scanner, and image output is performed as a single printer. Even in an environment where processing can be performed, if image data that matches a specific image whose duplication is prohibited is rasterized, invalid image data that matches the rasterized specific image becomes meaningless image data. Processing so that duplication is prohibited Forgery from the document was that the effects of the like can be reliably prevented image output process would be created.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an image processing system to which an information processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of an OS of the host computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a forgery prevention process by the operating system illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram illustrating an example of image data processing performed by the operating system illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a user interface screen displayed on the monitor shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of log information stored in a hard disk illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an information processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing an image processing principle for forgery target image data in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image processing process in the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image processing process in the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image processing process in the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a storage medium that stores various data processing programs that can be read by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Application 102 Operating System 103 Scanner Driver 104 Scanner 105 Memory Management Module 106 Forgery Prevention Control Module 107 Display Driver 108 Hard Disk 109 Monitor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B057 CD05 CE17 CH01 CH11 DA15 DA16 DB02 DB06 DB09 DC33 5C073 CC01 CE10 5C076 AA14 AA21 AA22 AA26 BA06 5C077 LL14 MP08 NP01 PP20 PP23 PP37 PP55 PQ12 PQ20 PQ22 TT02

Claims (50)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a reading operation of a document image by a scanner via a scanner driver, wherein the image data read by the scanner driver is compared with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine the image data; and a control unit configured to control a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on a determination result obtained by the determination unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit processes the image data to be different from the read image data when the determination unit determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. When a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data by the control unit, a warning message indicating that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data is displayed. Display means, the control means, based on an image processing request from a user for a warning message displayed by the display means,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the read and processed image data is discarded. 4. The predetermined image processing process includes: a resolution conversion process for converting the resolution of the read image data; a color conversion process for converting the color tone of the read image data; 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 5. The non-volatile memory according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates history information capable of verifying a reading process status of the specific image data based on an image processing request from a user in response to the warning message displayed by the display unit. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information is registered. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image data is a document image whose duplication is legally prohibited.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image data is stored and managed in advance so as to be updated.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of 3, 5, and 6. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanner is connectable via a local interface or a network interface. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison is performed to determine whether digital watermark information included in the specific image data is included in the read image data. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the digital watermark information is embedded in the specific image data at a constant cycle. 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the digital watermark information includes information on the type, issue country, issue number, and value of the specific image data as code information. 12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the digital watermark information is invisible or visible information. 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing image data read by said scanner, wherein said control means performs image processing on an image stored in said storage means. apparatus. 14. An information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a printing operation of image data by a printer via a printer driver, wherein the printer driver compares the rasterized image data with the specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence. An information processing apparatus comprising: a determination unit configured to determine the image data; and a control unit configured to control a predetermined image processing process on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on a determination result by the determination unit. 15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit processes the image data into image data different from the rasterized image data when the determination unit determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, which performs the processing. 16. When a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data by the control unit, a warning message indicating that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data is displayed. Display means, the control means, based on an image processing request from a user for a warning message displayed by the display means,
15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the rasterized and processed image data is discarded. 17. The predetermined image processing process includes a resolution conversion process for converting a resolution of rasterized image data, a color conversion process for converting a color tone of read image data, and an arbitrary image to rasterized image data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 18. The non-volatile memory according to claim 18, wherein the control unit generates history information capable of verifying a rasterization process status of the specific image data based on a user's image processing request in response to the warning message displayed by the display unit. 17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein registration is performed. 19. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the specific image data is a document image whose duplication is legally prohibited. 20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image data is stored and managed in advance so that it can be updated.
The information processing device according to any one of 4 to 16, 18, and 19. 21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said printer is connectable via a local interface or a network interface. 22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the comparison is performed to determine whether digital watermark information included in the specific image data is included in the rasterized image data. 23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the digital watermark information is embedded in the specific image data at a constant cycle. 24. The information processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the digital watermark information includes information on the type, issue country, issue number, and value of the specific image data as code information. 25. The information processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the digital watermark information is invisible or visible information. 26. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a storage unit that stores the rasterized image data, wherein the control unit also processes an image stored in the storage unit. 27. An image processing method of an information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a reading operation of a document image by a scanner via a scanner driver, wherein the image data read by the scanner driver is compared with specific image data. And a control step of controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on a result of the determination by the determination step. An image processing method of the processing device. 28. The control step, when the determination step determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, processes the image data into image data different from the read image data. Claim 27
An image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 29. When a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data in the control step, a warning message indicating that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data is displayed. Having a display step, the control step is based on an image processing request from a user for a warning message displayed by the display step,
The image processing method according to claim 27, wherein the read and processed image data is discarded. 30. The predetermined image processing process includes a resolution conversion process for converting a resolution of the read image data, a color conversion process for converting a color tone of the read image data, and an arbitrary image to the read image data. The image processing method according to claim 27, further comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 31. The control step, wherein, based on a request for image processing from a user in response to a warning message displayed in the display step, history information capable of verifying a reading process status of specific image data is created and stored in a nonvolatile memory. 28. The image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein registration is performed. 32. The image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said specific image data is a document image whose duplication is legally prohibited. 33. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specific image data is stored and managed in an updatable manner in advance.
The image processing method for an information processing device according to any one of 7 to 29, 31, and 32. 34. An image processing method of an information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a printing operation of image data by a printer via a printer driver, wherein the printer driver compares the rasterized image data with specific image data. And a control step of controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on a result of the determination by the determination step. An image processing method of the processing device. 35. The control step, when the determination step determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, processes the image data into image data different from rasterized image data. 35. The image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 34. 36. When a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data in the control step, a warning message indicating that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data is displayed. Having a display step, the control step is based on an image processing request from a user for a warning message displayed by the display step,
The image processing method according to claim 34, wherein the image data that has been rasterized and processed is discarded. 37. The predetermined image processing process includes a resolution conversion process for converting the resolution of the rasterized image data, a color conversion process for converting the color tone of the read image data, and an arbitrary image to the rasterized image data. The image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 38. The non-volatile memory according to claim 38, wherein the control step generates history information capable of verifying a rasterization processing status of the specific image data based on a user's image processing request in response to the warning message displayed in the display step. 37. The image processing method for an information processing device according to claim 36, wherein registration is performed. 39. The image processing method according to claim 34, wherein the specific image data is a document image whose duplication is legally prohibited. 40. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the specific image data is stored and managed in an updatable manner in advance.
The image processing method for an information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 36, 38, and 39. 41. An information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control an operation of reading a document image by a scanner via a scanner driver. The image data read by the scanner driver is compared with specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence. And a control step of controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data read by the scanner driver based on the determination result of the determination step. Storage medium. 42. The control step, when the determination step determines that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, processes the image data into image data different from the read image data. Claim 41
The storage medium according to the above. 43. When a predetermined image processing process is performed on the image data in the control step, the information processing apparatus may determine that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data. A program for executing a display step of displaying a warning message shown is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and the control step is based on an image processing request from a user for the warning message displayed by the display step.
The storage medium according to claim 41, wherein the read and processed image data is discarded. 44. The predetermined image processing process includes a resolution conversion process for converting a resolution of the read image data, a color conversion process for converting a color tone of the read image data, and a process for converting the read image data into an arbitrary image. The storage medium according to claim 41, further comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 45. The control step, wherein, based on an image processing request from a user in response to a warning message displayed by the display step, history information capable of verifying a reading process status of specific image data is created and stored in a nonvolatile memory. The storage medium according to claim 41, wherein the storage medium is registered. 46. An information processing apparatus in which an operating system can control a printing operation of image data by a printer via a printer driver, wherein the printer driver compares the rasterized image data with the specific image data to determine a degree of coincidence. And a control step of controlling a predetermined image processing process on the image data rasterized by the printer driver based on the determination result of the determination step. Storage medium. 47. The control step, wherein, when it is determined in the determining step that the image data substantially matches the specific image data, processing is performed on image data different from rasterized image data. 47. The storage medium according to claim 46. 48. When the information processing apparatus performs predetermined image processing on the image data in the control step, it is determined that the image data has been processed to match the specific image data. A program for executing a display step of displaying a warning message shown is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and the control step is based on an image processing request from a user for the warning message displayed by the display step.
47. The storage medium according to claim 46, wherein the rasterized and processed image data is discarded. 49. The predetermined image processing process includes a resolution conversion process for converting a resolution of rasterized image data, a color conversion process for converting a color tone of read image data, and an arbitrary image to rasterized image data. 47. The storage medium according to claim 46, comprising an image conversion process for adding data. 50. The control step, according to an image processing request from a user in response to a warning message displayed by the display step, creating history information capable of verifying a rasterization processing status of specific image data, and stores the history information in a nonvolatile memory. 50. The storage medium according to claim 49, wherein the storage medium is registered.