JP2006295266A - Image transmission/reception processing system, image transmission processing apparatus, image reception processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image transmission/reception system in which security can be sustained in the transmission/reception process of image information while obtaining the merit of transmitting/receiving image information through utilization of network (transmission of a large volume of data), and to provide an image transmitter and an image receiver for use in the image transmission/reception system, and a program through which a computer executes processing as an image transmitter or an image receiver. <P>SOLUTION: A multifunction machine X1 divides image information into first partial image information and second partial image information, records the first partial image information in a portable recording medium such as a USB memory, and transmits the second partial image information to a personal computer Y1 through Ethernet N. The personal computer Y1 combines the first partial image information received from the Ethernet N and the second partial image information read out from the USB memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image transmission / reception processing system for receiving image information acquired by an image transmission processing device by an image reception processing device, an image transmission processing device used in the image transmission / reception processing system, an image reception processing device, and an image transmission processing to a computer. The present invention relates to a program for executing processing as a device or an image reception processing device.

For example, as described in Patent Document 1, image information representing an image is transmitted and received between a plurality of computers, between a computer and a printer, or between a computer and a scanner. Hereinafter, the device on the image information transmission side is referred to as an image transmission processing device, and the device on the reception side is referred to as an image reception processing device. The transmission / reception of the image information is performed by inputting / outputting the image information signal in a wired or wireless manner between the image transmission processing device and the image receiving device. Network (signal transmission media) such as Ethernet is actively used.
However, when the image information is transmitted / received via the network, security in the transmission / reception process becomes a problem. That is, the image information may be leaked and intercepted in the network, and it is difficult to maintain the confidentiality of the image information. Therefore, conventionally, security has been improved by setting a password for the image information, encryption, and the like.
JP-A-9-204277

However, in these conventional techniques, there is a possibility of restoring image information by password analysis, encryption analysis, etc. Therefore, it must be said that security in the process of transmitting and receiving the image information is insufficient.
Therefore, without passing through a network (signal transmission medium), the image information is stored in a portable storage medium such as a USB memory or a memory stick, and is conveyed offline to the image reception processing device. It is also conceivable to read out image information from the storage medium. However, since the capacity of the image information is generally large, there is a problem in that the method has a limitation in the amount of the image information transported and cannot obtain the merit of using the network that even large-capacity data can be transmitted and received. is there.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to obtain the merit (transmission and reception of large-capacity data) of image information using a network while obtaining the above-mentioned advantages. Image transmission / reception processing system capable of maintaining security in image information transmission / reception process, image transmission processing device, image reception processing device used in the image transmission / reception processing system, and processing as image transmission processing device or image reception processing device in computer It is to provide a program for executing.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is an image transmission / reception processing system comprising an image transmission processing device for transmitting image information and an image reception processing device for receiving image information transmitted from the image transmission device. The image transmission processing apparatus records a part of the image information on a portable storage medium and transmits the remaining part by a predetermined signal transmission medium (Ethernet, wireless LAN, etc.), and the image reception processing apparatus transmits the signal The image transmission / reception processing system generates the image information by combining the remaining portion received through a transmission medium and the portion read from the portable storage medium.
According to the present invention, only the remaining part obtained by separating a part of the image information is transmitted / received through the signal transmission medium having a possibility of leakage. Therefore, even if there is a leak and the image information is read, it is the part of the missing image information with no decoding value, and thus security in the transmission / reception process is maintained. Further, only the main part of the image information has to be separated as the part, and therefore the data capacity is usually considered to be small. Therefore, it is difficult to limit the amount of the image information transported by the portable storage medium, and it is possible to enjoy the merit of transmitting and receiving the image information by the signal transmission medium that can transmit even a large amount of data.
Note that it is considered that the image transmission processing apparatus has an image reading unit (scanner) in a typical embodiment. That is, the image information read by the scanner is transmitted to an image reception processing apparatus (considered as a PC or the like) connected to the scanner via a network. On the other hand, the image transmission processing device is a signal relay device arranged between the Internet and the local network, and after processing the image acquired from the Internet by the image transmission processing device, Distribution to the image reception processing device is also conceivable. Further, the image transmission processing device is a digital camera, and a part of image information obtained by imaging is transmitted as a wireless signal to a host computer, and the remaining part is transferred by connecting the digital camera to the host computer. Cases are also conceivable.

In addition, although it is the content of classification of the part and the remaining part, it is conceivable to divide the image information by a pixel area, and in particular, a pixel area including a feature image in the image information is used as the part It can be considered to be separated.
As the feature image, an image relating to the transmission destination and transmission source of the image information can be considered. The description part of the transmission destination and the transmission source is often important for the image information. By leaving this part as a defect, it is possible to suppress substantial damage due to leakage of the remaining part. Further, the user may set a pixel area for separating the part each time.
By the way, the image information is usually obtained by assigning density information for a plurality of primary colors such as RGBK for each pixel. Therefore, an example in which a part of the plurality of density information, for example, only the density information for R in the above example is classified as a part of the image information may be considered. In this case as well, the user may make settings such as which part of RGBK is a part.
It is also conceivable that management information (password, content of classification) is generated when the image information is classified, and the management information is referred to when the image information is synthesized.
The present invention is understood as an image transmission processing device, an image reception processing device, and a program for causing a computer to execute processing as the image transmission processing device and the image reception processing device used in the image transmission / reception processing system described above. May be.

  According to the present invention, since the image transmission processing device records a part of the image information in a portable storage medium and transmits the remaining part by a predetermined signal transmission medium (Ethernet, wireless LAN, etc.), Only the remaining part of the image information that has been sorted is transmitted / received through the possible signal transmission medium. Therefore, even if there is a leak and the image information is read, it is the part of the missing image information with no decoding value, and thus security in the transmission / reception process is maintained. Further, only the part of the image information having a small capacity needs to be transported by a portable storage medium, and the transport amount of the image information by the portable storage medium is not easily limited. Advantages of transmission / reception of image information using a transmission medium can also be enjoyed.

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.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image transmission / reception processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image transmission processing executed by the image transmission processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image reception synthesis processing executed by the image reception processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The outline of the image transmission / reception processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, an image transmission / reception processing system A according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image reading unit 7 (an example of an image acquisition unit) that acquires image information from a document as described below, and the read image A multi-function device X1 (an example of an image transmission processing device) having a communication unit 3 or the like having a function of transmitting information, and a personal computer Y1 (image) having a receiving unit 11 that receives the image information transmitted from the multi-function device X1 A reception processing device) and the like. The multi-function device X1 and the personal computer Y1 are connected via an Ethernet N (an example of a signal transmission medium).
Hereinafter, it will be described in detail separately for the multifunction machine X1 and the personal computer Y1.

The multifunction machine X1 includes a control unit 1, an operation unit 2, a communication unit 3, a storage unit 4, a USB 5, a display unit 6, an image reading unit 7, an image forming unit 8, an image memory 9, a control program 10, and the like. Outlined.
The control unit 1 has an arithmetic function and performs overall control of the multifunction machine X1. The operation unit 2 is an operation panel provided on the outer surface of the multi function device X1, and the user can perform various operation inputs via the operation unit 2. The communication unit 3 is an interface for transferring various data to the outside via the Ethernet N. The storage unit 4 is a work area of the control unit 1 composed of a RAM or the like. The USB 5 is an interface for connecting a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. The display unit 6 is a liquid crystal display provided on the outer surface of the multifunction machine X1. The image reading unit 7 is a scanner, and reads image information from a document. The image forming unit 8 performs a printing process of image information obtained by being read by the image reading unit 7, for example. The image memory 9 is a storage area for the image information and the like. The control program 10 is a nonvolatile storage unit such as a ROM, and stores a control program executed by the control unit 1.

The multi-function device X1 stores the first partial image information, which is a part of the image information, in the USB memory via the USB 5, as described below, and the second partial image, which is the remaining part of the image information. A function of transmitting information from the communication unit 3 to the personal computer Y1;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image transmission processing executed by the multifunction machine X1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the image information sorting process and the transmission process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, S1, S2,... Indicate processing numbers (steps), and when an operation for inputting a predetermined image reading / sorting transmission request is performed from the operation unit 2, the processing of step S1 is performed. The processing is executed by the control unit 1 from the processing.

In step S1, the control unit 1 detects transmission destination information (considered as identification information of the personal computer Y1, etc.) from the input operation of the image reading classification transmission request made to the operation unit 2, and This information is set as transmission destination information.
In step S2 following step S1, the control unit 1 controls the image reading unit 7 on the basis of the input operation of the image reading division transmission request, and the document placed on the document placing table (not shown) is controlled. Read image information. The image reading unit 7 is an example of an image acquisition / acquisition unit.
In step S3 following step S2, the control unit 1 temporarily records the image information read in step S2 in the storage unit 4 which is a work area.
In step S4 (an example of an image separation process) subsequent to step S3, the control unit 1 (an example of an image separation means) uses the following classification information stored in advance in the control program 10 (ROM). Based on this, the image information is classified into first partial image information which is a part thereof and second partial image information which is a remaining part thereof.

Hereinafter, the classification information in step S4, that is, the classification rule will be described in detail. The classification rules are considered to be stored in advance in the control program 10 (ROM) of the multi-function device X1 and when set by the user via the operation unit 2 each time in step S4. However, here, the case where the program is stored in the control program 10 (ROM) as in the former will be described.
The classification rules stored in the control program 10 (ROM) are as follows. That is, the image information is classified into the first partial image information and the second partial image information according to the pixel area, and more specifically, a pixel area that includes an image of a characteristic part of the image information. The rule is the first partial image information.
Various images of the characteristic part are conceivable. For example, the image information may include destination information (the IP address of the personal computer Y1 or the name of the user of the personal computer Y1). Similarly, the image information may include source information (such as the IP address of the multifunction device X1). Such information is often an important part of the image information. Therefore, if the pixel area of the information is extracted and classified as the first partial image information, the second part is the remaining part. In many cases, the loss of confidentiality due to leakage of partial image information can be avoided.

Discrimination of pixel areas such as the destination information and the destination information is performed as follows. For example, in the case of an IP address, the description is always a numeric string of a predetermined length with periods arranged at predetermined intervals. Therefore, the control unit 1 applies character recognition to all the pixel areas of the image information according to the classification information stored in the control program 10 (ROM), and adds a period to a numeric string of a predetermined length at predetermined intervals. Extraction of the pixel area portion in which is arranged. Also, an area having a predetermined shape including the pixel area portion (considered as a rectangle, an ellipse, etc.) is classified as the first partial image information.
Further, when extracting a user name, a user name preliminarily considered as a destination and a destination is registered (stored in the storage unit 4) in the multifunction device X1 by an operation input through the operation unit 2. The control unit 1 applies character recognition to all pixel areas of the image information according to the classification information stored in the control program 10 (ROM), and matches the user name registered in the storage unit 4 in advance. The pixel area portion to be extracted is extracted. Also, an area having a predetermined shape including the pixel area portion (considered as a rectangle, an ellipse, etc.) is classified as the first partial image information.
The image information sorting process as described above is an example of the content of step S4.

In step S5 following step S4, the control unit 1 generates management information of the image information in step S4. That is, the coordinates of the pixel area sorted as the first partial image information are obtained. Further, a password based on a random number generated by a predetermined random number generation program is generated. Further, the first partial image information is encrypted with the password. This encryption process is not essential in the present invention and may be skipped.
Such management information is used when the personal computer 11 combines the first partial image information and the second partial image information.
In step S6 (an example of a second image transmission process) subsequent to step S5, the control unit 1 is the second part that is the remaining part other than the first partial image information sorted in step S4 in the image information. Image information is transmitted from the communication unit 3 (an example of second image transmission means) to the personal computer Y1 (an example of a predetermined other device, an example of an image reception processing device) via the Ethernet N (an example of a predetermined signal transmission medium). ). As a transmission protocol, ftp, e-mail, etc. are conceivable.
In step S7 (first image recording step) following step S6, the control unit 1 transfers the first partial image information and the classification information classified in step S4 to the USB 5 (an example of the first image recording means). It is stored in a connected USB memory (an example of a portable storage medium). The management information may be transmitted via the Ethernet N in step S6. However, it is preferable that the management information is stored in a portable storage medium and read out from the personal computer Y1 from the viewpoint of security.
In step S8 following step S7, the control unit 1 deletes the image information stored in the storage unit 4.

The personal computer Y1 (image reception processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention) will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the personal computer Y1 includes a CPU 13, which is a calculation unit, and the Ethernet N (an example of a predetermined transmission signal medium), and the multifunction device X1 (an example of an image transmission processing device, another device). A receiving unit 11 (an example of second image receiving means) that receives the second partial image information and the like, and a USB 12 that connects the USB memory (an example of a portable storage medium) and reads the first partial image information and the like therefrom. (An example of a first image reading unit).
The personal computer Y1 reads the first partial image information from the USB memory connected to the USB 12 and reads the second partial image information as the remaining portion of the image information from the receiving unit 11 as follows. A function of receiving, and a function of combining the first partial image information and the second partial image information to restore the original image information.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image reception and composition processing executed by the personal computer Y1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the reception processing and composition processing of the image information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, S101, S102... Indicate processing numbers (steps). When a predetermined image reception synthesis request input operation is performed from the operation unit 2, the processing of step S101 is performed. To be executed by the CPU 13.

In step S101 (an example of a second image receiving step), the CPU 13 determines whether or not the second partial image information has been received through the receiving unit 11. While it is determined that it has not been received (NO in S101), the process in this step is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that it has been received (YES in S101), the process proceeds to step S102.
In step S102, the CPU 13 determines the image information that is the target of the image reception synthesis request based on the contents of the input operation.
This determination can be performed in various ways. For example, when the MFP X1 performs the image information sorting process (S4), an identification number is generated for each image information to be sorted. The identification number is displayed on the display unit 6 or printed from the image forming unit 8 to notify the operation of the personal computer Y1. Therefore, assuming that the input operation of the image reception synthesis request includes the input operation of the identification number generated by the multifunction device X1, the CPU 13 is based on the identification number read from the input operation. Thus, it is possible to determine the image information that is the target of the image reception synthesis request. The identification number is superimposed on the second partial image information, and the multifunction device X1 transmits the identification number to the personal computer Y1, and the personal computer Y1 obtains the identification number from the second partial image information received in step S101. A case of reading is also conceivable.
When it is preset in the personal computer Y1 that the first partial image information is stored in the USB memory, the CPU 13 connects the USB memory to the USB 12 in step S103 following step S102. It is determined whether or not. While it is determined that it is not connected (NO in S103), the processing in this step is repeated, for example, a predetermined memory connection request display is performed from a display (not shown), while when it is determined that it is connected (S103). YES) The process proceeds to step S104.

In step S104, the CPU 13 determines whether or not the first partial image information in the image information that is the target of the image reception synthesis request determined in step S102 is stored in the USB memory. If it is determined that it is not stored (NO in S104), a predetermined error display or the like is performed from a display (not shown), for example, while repeating the processing in this step. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is stored (YES in S104), the process proceeds to step S105.
In step S105 (first image reading step), the CPU 13 reads from the USB memory connected to the USB 12 the first partial image information in the image information subject to the image reception synthesis request, and the Read management information.
In step S106 (an example of an image composition step) subsequent to step S105, the CPU 13 (an example of an image composition unit) cancels the encryption of the first partial image information while referring to the management information, and receives the image. The first partial image information and the second partial image information in the image information that is the target of the synthesis request are combined to restore the original image information (an example of generation). Such restoration is usually performed by converting the first partial image information to the second partial image information based on the position map (of the pixel area) in the second partial image information of the first partial image information, which is normally included in the management information. It is executed by writing in the partial image information.
As described above, since the multifunction device X1 records a part of the image information in the USB memory and transmits the remaining part via the Ethernet N, even if there is a leak and the image information is read. , Which is the missing part of the image information without the decoding value, thereby maintaining security in the transmission / reception process. Further, since only a part of the image information with a small capacity is stored in the USB memory, and the amount of the transport of the image information is difficult to be limited due to the storage capacity limit of the USB memory, a large amount of data can be transmitted. The merit of transmission / reception of image information by the Ethernet N can be enjoyed.

In the above-described embodiment, the description pixel area of the transmission destination and transmission source information is classified as the first partial image information as the characteristic part of the image information, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As another example of such a characteristic portion, the following example can be considered.
For example, when the image information is a photograph of a person, the face of the person is considered to be important information in the image information. Therefore, the pixel area in which the face is described may be classified as the first partial image information. The face is composed of characteristic elements such as eyes, nose and mouth, and these elements can be extracted by applying image recognition. What is necessary is just to classify the pixel area | region containing the description parts, such as eyes, nose, and a mouth extracted in that way as said 1st partial image information.
In addition, by an operation input through the operation unit 2 (an example of an area classification setting unit), the user sets a pixel area (the contents of the pixel area by the image classification unit) that is classified as the first partial image information each time. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the first partial image information is classified based on the pixel area, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Normally, the image information is information in which density information for a plurality of primary colors such as RGBK is assigned to each pixel. Therefore, the control program 10 (ROM) stores, as classification information, for example, a rule for classifying only the density information for R as the first partial image information (the density information of the remaining colors as the second partial image information). The control unit 1 (an example of an image sorting unit) may perform a sorting process according to this rule.
Also in this case, the user performs setting of which of RGBK is classified as the first partial image information (contents of color classification) by an operation input through the operation unit 2 (an example of color classification setting means). There may be.
By the way, as in the above-described embodiment, when the pixel area of the character (IP address or the like) is classified as the first partial image information, an example in which the pixel area of the character part is converted into a character code can be considered. . That is, the IP address determined by character recognition is converted into a character code, and the character code is stored in a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. Further, the personal computer Y1 combines the first partial image area and the second partial image area based on the character code read from the USB memory, and converts the character into the first information of the image information. This is done by filling in the pixel area of one partial image area.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the image transmission processing device is a multifunction peripheral having a scanner function and the image reception processing device is a personal computer has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the image transmission processing device is a signal relay device disposed between the Internet and a local network, and the image acquired from the Internet is processed by the relay device, and then the image in the local network is processed. Distribution to a reception processing device is also conceivable.
Further, the image reception processing device is a printer, and the first partial image information transmitted from the personal computer which is the image transmission processing device and the second partial image information read from the portable storage medium are combined. An example of performing a continuous printing process is also conceivable.
Further, the image transmission processing device is a digital camera, a part of image information obtained by imaging is transmitted to a host computer as a wireless signal, and the remaining part is transferred by connecting the digital camera to the host computer. Cases are also conceivable. In this example, the portable storage medium is an image memory built in the digital camera. As described above, the portable storage medium defined in the present invention is not always detachable from the main unit, such as a USB memory.
As described above, the personal computer can be employed as both an image transmission processing device and an image reception processing device. In this case, a program for causing the personal computer to execute the flowcharts of FIGS. Must be installed.
In addition, various modifications can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image transmission / reception processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image transmission processing executed by the image transmission processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image reception synthesis processing executed by the image reception processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Image transmission / reception processing system X1 according to the embodiment of the present invention X1 multifunction device Y1 ... personal computer N ... Ethernet 1 ... control unit 2 ... operation unit 3 ... communication unit 4 ... storage unit 5 ... USB
6 ... Display unit 7 ... Image reading unit 8 ... Image forming unit 9 ... Image memory 10 ... Control program 11 ... Receiving unit 12 ... USB
13 ... CPU

Claims (13)

An image transmission processing apparatus that includes image acquisition means for acquiring image information, and that transmits the acquired image information;
An image reception processing device for receiving and processing image information transmitted from the image transmission processing device;
An image transmission / reception processing system comprising:
The image transmission processing device comprises:
Image classification means for classifying the image information into first partial image information which is a part thereof and second partial image information which is a remaining part thereof;
First image recording means for storing the first partial image information in a predetermined portable storage medium;
Second image transmission means for transmitting the second partial image information to the image reception processing device through a predetermined signal transmission medium;
Comprising
The image reception processing device comprises:
First image reading means for reading the first partial image information from the portable storage medium;
Second image receiving means for receiving the second partial image information from the image transmission processing device through the signal transmission medium;
Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the first partial image information and the second partial image information to generate the image information;
An image transmission / reception processing system comprising: An image transmission processing device comprising image acquisition means for acquiring image information, and transmitting the acquired image information to another device,
Image classification means for classifying the image information into first partial image information which is a part thereof and second partial image information which is a remaining part thereof;
First image recording means for storing the first partial image information in a predetermined portable storage medium;
Second image transmitting means for transmitting the second partial image information to the other device through a predetermined signal transmission medium;
An image transmission processing apparatus comprising:   The image transmission processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image acquisition unit is an image reading unit that reads the image information from a document.   4. The image transmission processing device according to claim 2, wherein the image classification unit separates the image information into the first partial image information and the second partial image information according to a pixel area. 5.   The image transmission processing device according to claim 4, wherein the image classification unit classifies a pixel area including a predetermined feature image from the image information as the first partial image information.   The image transmission processing device according to claim 5, wherein the characteristic image is an image related to a transmission destination and / or a transmission source of the image information.   The image transmission processing device according to claim 4, further comprising an area classification setting unit that sets contents of the pixel area by the image classification unit.   4. The image classification unit according to claim 2, wherein the image classification unit classifies the first partial image information and the second partial image information according to color classification with respect to the color image information including single-color image information of a plurality of colors. The image transmission processing device described in 1.   The image transmission processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a color classification setting unit configured to set a content of color classification by the image classification unit. An image reception processing device for receiving and processing image information acquired by a predetermined other device,
First image reading means for reading the first partial image information from a predetermined portable storage medium in which the first partial image information which is a part of the image information is stored;
Second image receiving means for receiving second partial image information which is a remaining portion excluding the first partial image information from the image information through a predetermined signal transmission medium from the other device;
Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the first partial image information and the second partial image information to generate the image information;
An image reception processing apparatus comprising:   The image reception processing device according to claim 10, wherein the image synthesis unit synthesizes the first partial image information and the second partial image information based on management information of the image information. A program comprising image acquisition means for acquiring image information, and causing a computer to execute processing for an image transmission processing device that transmits the acquired image information to another device,
Computer
An image separation step of separating the image information into a first partial image information which is a part thereof and a second partial image information which is a remaining part thereof;
A first image recording step of storing the first partial image information in a predetermined portable storage medium;
A second image transmission step of transmitting the second partial image information to the other device through a predetermined signal transmission medium;
A program characterized by having executed. A program that causes a computer to execute processing for image reception processing that receives and processes image information acquired by a predetermined other device,
Computer
A first image reading step of reading the first partial image information from a predetermined portable storage medium in which the first partial image information that is a part of the image information is stored;
A second image receiving step of receiving second partial image information which is a remaining part of the image information excluding the first partial image information from the other device through a predetermined signal transmission medium;
An image combining step of combining the first partial image information and the second partial image information to generate the image information;
A program characterized by having executed.

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