JP2007036406A - Image editing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To identify two image data used for editing easily. <P>SOLUTION: An MFP comprises an image data input 10 for inputting the image data; an image formation section for forming an image on a paper sheet; an original image data input 11 for forming inputted original image data at an image formation section; a storage 102 for storing original image data 51 and history data 52 for showing that images have been formed; an image data designator 14 for identifying the original image data stored into the storage section 102, based on the history data 52; and an editing section 22 for editing the original image data by using replacement image data, when the replacement image data are outputted from a replacement image data input 12 for reading the image formed on the paper sheet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image editing apparatus, and more particularly to an image editing apparatus that edits image data with other image data.

  An image processing system that replaces a part of an image read in the past or inserts a new image is known. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-317155 (Patent Document 1), when a document is read and filed with a scanner, if the document is an updated document B of the document A that has already been filed, the document B and the document A Are extracted, and a filing method is described in which the additional information image is hierarchically added to the document A. When the filing document C is printed, the selection code is printed on the print, and when the document D with the selection code added with new information is read by the scanner, the original filing document C is recognized from the selection code. Then, a filing method is described in which the additional information image is extracted by comparing the document D and the document C, and the additional information image is hierarchically added to the document C.

However, with the filing method described in JP-A-8-317155, it is difficult to specify the document A that has already been filed. As the number of documents being filed increases, it becomes more difficult to specify the document A. Further, although the original document C can be specified by the selection code, if the document has a plurality of pages, all pages must be compared.
JP-A-8-317155

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is that two image data used for editing can be easily specified, and image data can be edited. An image forming apparatus is provided.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily specifying a page to be edited even if the image data to be edited is a plurality of pages and editing the image data. Is to provide.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image editing system capable of easily specifying two image data used for editing and capable of editing the image data.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an input unit that inputs image data, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the given image data. Control means for causing the image forming means to form an image of the first image data input to the input means, storage means for storing the first image data and history data indicating that the image has been formed, history data The specifying means for specifying the first image data from the image data stored in the storage means, and the input means includes a reading means for reading the image formed on the recording medium and outputting the image data. When the second image data is output from the pre-reading unit, the editing unit includes an editing unit that edits the specified first image data using the second image data.

  According to the present invention, when the first image data is formed, the first image data and history data indicating that the image has been formed are stored. Then, the first image data is specified based on the history data, and when the document is read and the second image data is output, the first image data is edited using the second image data. For this reason, since the first image data is specified from the history data, it is possible to easily specify the image data to be edited. In addition, since editing is performed when the document is read and the second image data is output, the image data used for editing can be specified by an operation of reading the document. As a result, two image data used for editing can be easily specified, and an image forming apparatus capable of editing image data can be provided.

  Preferably, the editing unit includes a replacing unit that replaces at least a part of the specified first image data with at least a part of the second image data.

  According to the present invention, since at least a part of the first image data is replaced with at least a part of the second image data, a part of the image data before editing can be changed to another image data.

  Preferably, the editing means includes difference addition means for adding a difference between at least a part of the specified first image data and at least a part of the second image data to the first image data.

  According to this invention, since the difference is added to the original image data, it is possible to prevent the image quality of the first image data from deteriorating.

  Preferably, the editing unit includes an adding unit that adds at least a part of the second image data to the specified first image data.

  According to the present invention, new image data can be added.

  Preferably, at least a part of the second image data is obtained by reading an image formed on the recording medium based on the first image data by the image forming unit.

  According to the present invention, for example, if the second image data is obtained by reading a stamp or a signature on a recording medium on which an image is formed based on the first image data, the first image data is stamped. Or it can be set as image data with a signature.

  Preferably, the editing unit includes a comparison unit that compares at least a part of the second image data with at least a part of the identified first image data.

  According to the present invention, since at least a part of the second image data is compared with at least a part of the identified first image data, the part to be edited in the first image data is automatically selected. Can be determined.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is input to an input unit that inputs image data, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the supplied image data, and the input unit. Identification information adding means for assigning identification information to the first image data for each page, storage means for storing the first image data and identification information assigned for each page in association with each other, and first image data A combination unit that generates identification information-added image data obtained by combining each page and identification information assigned to each page, a control unit that supplies the identification information-added image data to the image forming unit, and an input unit. An identification information separation means for separating the identification information from the second image data output from the reading means, and a reading means for reading the formed image and outputting the image data; Accordingly, the image data specifying means for specifying the first image data from the image data stored in the storage means, and the page to which the identification information extracted from the specified first image data is assigned are identified information. And editing means for replacing with the separated second image data.

  According to the present invention, image data with identification information obtained by combining each page of the first image data with identification information provided for each page is formed on a recording medium, and the image formed on the recording medium is read. Since the identification information is extracted from the second image data obtained in this way, it is possible to extract the page that is the target of replacement of the first image data simply by reading the document. As a result, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily specifying a page to be edited even when the image data to be edited is a plurality of pages, and capable of editing the image data. it can.

  Preferably, the control unit gives the first image data edited by the editing unit to the image forming unit in response to the input of the second image data.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus further includes authentication means for authenticating the user, the storage means stores the first image data in association with the user authentication information, and the control means stores the authentication information of the user authenticated by the authentication means. The first image data that has been edited by the editing means is provided to the image forming means on condition that it matches the authentication information associated with the first image data.

  According to the present invention, the edited first image data is subjected to image formation on condition that the authentication information of the user authenticated by the authentication means matches the authentication information associated with the first image data. As a result, the first image data is not image-formed by another person.

  Preferably, when an instruction to form an image of the first image data stored in the storage unit is input, a warning unit that further warns on the condition that the first image data has not been edited by the editing unit is further included. .

  According to this invention, when it is assumed that the first image data will be edited later, a warning is given when an instruction to print out the first image data is input. 1 image data can be prevented from being erroneously output.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, an image editing system is an image editing system including a computer and an image forming apparatus, the computer including first image data and history data indicating that an image is formed. Is specified when the second image data is input, the specifying means for specifying the first image data from the image data stored in the storage means, based on the history data An editing unit that edits the first image data using the second image data, and the image forming apparatus inputs the image on the recording medium based on the input unit that inputs the image data and the given image data. An image forming unit to be formed, a control unit for causing the image forming unit to form an image of the first image data input from the computer to the input unit, and the input unit include an image formed on the recording medium. The includes reading means for outputting the read image data, comprising the reading means when the second image data is output, and transmission means for transmitting the image data of the second to the computer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image editing system capable of easily specifying two image data used for editing and editing the image data.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of an image editing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the image editing system includes an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 1 and personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “PCs”) 2, 2A, 2B connected to a network 3, respectively. The PCs 2, 2A, and 2B are general computers, and their configurations and functions are well known, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated here.

  Although an example in which three PCs 2, 2A, 2B are connected to the network 3 is shown here, the number is not limited. The network 3 is a local area network (LAN), and the connection form may be wired or wireless. The network 3 is not limited to a LAN, and may be a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a network using a general public line, or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the MFP according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, MFP 1 includes a control unit 100, an image reading unit 120 for reading a document, and an image forming unit 130 for forming an image on a recording medium such as paper based on the image data. It has an image reading function, a copying function, and a facsimile transmission / reception function.

  The image reading unit 120 includes an automatic document feeder and can continuously read a plurality of pages of a document. The image data output by the image reading unit 120 is obtained by reading a document of a plurality of pages, and includes a plurality of pages.

  The control unit 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 connected to the bus 111, a storage unit 102, an input image processing unit 104 that processes image data output from the image reading unit 120, and image data as an image. An output image processing unit 105 that performs processing for conversion into data suitable for output to the forming unit 130, a network interface (I / F) 107, a modem 108, an operation panel 109, and a card I / F 110 are included. .

  The CPU 101 controls the entire MFP 1. The storage unit 102 includes a semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable / Programmable ROM), and a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD).

  The input image processing unit 104 receives image data output from the image reading unit 120. The input image processing unit 104 performs image processing such as color correction processing and resolution conversion processing on the input image data, and stores the processed image data in the storage unit 102. The output image processing unit 105 reads out the image data from the storage unit 102 and executes image processing such as color conversion processing, screen control processing, smoothing processing, density correction processing, pulse width modulation (PWM), and the like. The image data is output to the image forming unit 130.

  The storage unit 102 stores an image editing program to be executed by the CPU 101, and the CPU 101 executes the image editing program stored in the storage unit 102.

  An IC card 110A is attached to the card I / F 110. The CPU 101 can access the IC card 110 </ b> A via the card I / F 110. A network I / F 107 connects the MFP 1 to the network 3. The network I / F 107 outputs data to the network 3 according to a predetermined communication protocol, and receives data from the network 3 according to a predetermined communication protocol. The CPU 101 can communicate with the PCs 2, 2A, and 2B connected to the network 3 via the network I / F 107. Therefore, the MFP 1 can transmit / receive image data to / from the PCs 2, 2A, 2B.

  Modem 108 connects MFP 1 to telephone line 113. The modem 108 enables facsimile communication of data according to a facsimile communication protocol. The modem 108 stores the data received by facsimile in the HDD of the storage unit 102. The modem 108 also includes an NCU (Network Control Unit) to enable communication with a computer connected to the telephone line 113. Image data received from another computer by the modem 108 is stored in the HDD of the storage unit 102.

  Operation panel 109 includes an input unit 109A and a display unit 109B. The input unit 109 </ b> A is an input device such as a touch panel, a keyboard, or a mouse for receiving an operation input by the user of the MFP 1. The display unit 109B is a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display panel. When a touch panel made of a transparent member is used as the input unit 109A, an instruction of a button displayed on the display unit 109B can be detected by placing the touch panel on the display unit 109B. Thereby, various operations can be input.

  Note that the image editing program executed by the CPU 101 is not limited to the one stored in the ROM of the storage unit 102, and may be stored in the EEPROM. If stored in the EEPROM, the program can be rewritten or additionally written. Therefore, another computer connected to the network 3 can rewrite the program stored in the EEPROM of the MFP 1 or can write a new program. Further, the MFP 1 can download a program from another computer connected to the network 3 and store the program in the EEPROM. Further, the program may be stored in the IC card 110A, and the CPU 101 may load and execute the image editing program recorded in the IC card 110A attached to the card I / F 110.

  The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 101 but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  The recording medium for storing the program is not limited to the IC card 110A, but is a flexible disk, cassette tape, optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM) / MO (Magnetic Optical Disc / MD (Mini Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD)). Digital Versatile Disc)), or a medium carrying a fixed program such as an optical card, a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the CPU of the MFP according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, CPU 101 includes an image data input unit 10 to which image data is input from input image processing unit 104, a user authentication unit 16 for user authentication, and an image data specification unit that accepts specification of image data. 14, a warning unit 18 that outputs a warning to the user, a comparison unit 20 that compares the image data input to the image data input unit 10 and the image data stored in the storage unit 102, and a comparison unit 20 And an editing unit 22 that edits the image data stored in the storage unit 102 based on the comparison result of the above.

  The user authentication unit 16 is connected to the operation panel 109, and user information is input from the operation panel. The user information includes user identification information and a password. A user who uses the MFP 1 is registered in the MFP 1, and user information of the registered user is stored in the storage unit 102 in advance. The user authentication unit 16 compares user information input from the operation panel 109 with previously registered user information, and authenticates as a true user if they match.

  The image data input unit 10 receives image data obtained by reading an original with the image reading unit 120 or image data received from the PCs 2, 2 A, and 2 B via the network I / F 107 from the input image processing unit 104. . The image data input unit 10 includes an original image data input unit 11 and a replacement image data input unit 12. When the user reads a document from the image reading unit 120, user information and the original image data or the replacement image data are input from the operation panel 109. When the image data is received from the PCs 2, 2A, 2B, the user information and the original image data or the replacement image data are received together with the image data.

  When the original is read as original image data by the image reading unit 120 or when the original image data is received from the PCs 2, 2A, 2B, the original image data input unit 11 stores the input original image data in the storage unit 102. As a result, the original image data 51 is stored in the storage unit 102. The original image data input unit 11 outputs the input image data to the output image processing unit 105 and causes the image forming unit 130 to form an image. The original image data input unit 11 generates history data of a job for forming an image of the image data and stores it in the storage unit 102. As a result, the history data 52 is stored in the storage unit 102.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of history data. Referring to FIG. 4, the history data includes job identification information for identifying a job, image data identification information for identifying image data, a printing date and time when an image is formed, A data storage address indicating a position, user identification information, a password, and an edit flag are included. The job identification information is a serial number assigned by the MFP 1. The image data identification information is a file name attached to the image data. The history data is data in which image data is associated with user identification information. The edit flag is information indicating whether or not an image edit process, which will be described later, has been processed. The edit flag is set to “1” when the image edit process is executed, and is set to “0” otherwise.

  Returning to FIG. 3, when a document is read as replacement image data by the image reading unit 120, or when replacement image data is received from the PCs 2, 2 </ b> A, 2 </ b> B, the replacement image data input unit 12 The input image data is output to the comparison unit 20 as replacement image data. The replacement image data is image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 reading a document including a sheet on which an image is formed based on the original image data. For example, the replacement image data is image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 reading a sheet that is stamped, signed, or handwritten on a sheet on which an image is formed based on the original image data.

  The image data specifying unit 14 is connected to the operation panel 109. When the replacement image data is read by the image reading unit 120, an image data specifying screen for specifying original image data is displayed on the operation panel 109. Prompt the user to specify original image data. The image data specifying unit 14 reads the history data 52 stored in the storage unit 102 and displays an image data specifying screen for displaying a list of image data identification information included in the history data 52. The user can designate the original image data 51 by designating any one of the image data identification information displayed as a list on the displayed image data designation screen.

  The image data specifying unit 14 is provided on the condition that the user identification information of the user authenticated by the user authentication unit 16 matches the user identification information associated with the original image data 51 specified by the user and the history data. Specification of image data identification information by the user is valid. If they do not match, the image data designation unit 14 invalidates the designation and causes the operation panel 109 to display an error message. The image data designation unit 14 outputs the image data identification information of the original image data 51 that is effectively designated by the user to the comparison unit 20.

  The image data specifying unit 14 extracts history data including user identification information of the user authenticated by the user authentication unit 16 and displays a list of image data identification information included in the extracted history data on the image data specifying screen. It may be. As a result, the image data identification information of only the original image data read in the past by the authenticated user is displayed in a list, so that the number of image data identification information to be displayed is reduced and the original image data can be easily specified. .

  The comparison unit 20 receives the image data identification information of the original image data 51 from the image data specification unit 14 and the replacement image data from the replacement image data input unit 12. The comparison unit 20 reads the original image data 51 specified by the image data identification information from the storage unit 102 and compares it with the replacement image data for each page. As a result of the comparison, if there are similar pages, information specifying a page similar to the replacement image data in the original image data, information specifying the page of the replacement image data corresponding to the page, and the original image The data and the replacement image data are output to the editing unit 22.

  The editing unit 22 replaces a similar page in the original image data with a corresponding page in the replacement image data. For example, a case where the original image data is a plan document will be described as an example. When the plan document before approval is formed as original image data and then approved, the first page of the plan document is stamped. When the first stamped page is read by the image reading unit 120 and the replacement image data is input, only the first page of the original image data is replaced with the replacement image data. For this reason, since the original image data is formed on the second and subsequent pages, it is possible to minimize deterioration in image quality. Further, since it is only necessary to read only the first page on which the plan document is stamped, the reading time can be shortened and the work efficiency can be improved.

  The editing unit 22 is connected to the operation panel 109 and receives input of processing contents for the remaining pages not similar to the original image data of the replacement image data from the operation panel 109. The editing unit 22 displays a processing content designation screen for inputting the processing content on the operation panel 109, and accepts the designation of the processing content. The processing content includes a replacement process and an additional process. When the replacement process is specified as the processing content, the specification of the page to be replaced with the original image data and the specification of the page to be replaced with the replacement image data are accepted. When the additional process is designated as the processing content, the position information (page number and information before and after it) to be added to the original image data and the designation of the page to which the replacement image data is to be added are accepted. The editing unit 22 edits the original image data 51 with the replacement image data according to the processing content input from the operation panel 109. Then, the edited original image data 51 is output to the output image processing unit 105. The editing unit 22 sets the editing flag of the history data 52 to “1”. This is because the original image data 51 is stored in the history edited based on the replacement image data.

  When the editing flag of the history data 52 is “0”, it indicates that the original image data specified by the history data 52 has not been edited by the editing unit 22. The warning unit 18 is connected to the operation panel 109, the history data 52 with the editing flag “0” is read, and an image forming process of the original image data before editing specified by the history data 52 is instructed. In this case, a warning message indicating that the file has not been edited is output to the operation panel 109.

  The editing unit 22 replaces the similar page of the original image data with the corresponding page of the replacement image data. However, the editing unit 22 replaces the page similar to the original image data with the corresponding page of the replacement image data. The difference may be added. Thereby, for example, the stamped portion is extracted as a difference, and the image of the stamped portion is added to a similar page of the original image data. Thereby, it is possible to minimize deterioration of the image quality of the original image data.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of image editing processing executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, the user of MFP 1 is authenticated (step S01). If the user is authenticated, the process proceeds to step S02. In step S02, it is determined whether or not original image data has been input. If the original image data is input, the process proceeds to step S03, and if not, the process proceeds to step S06.

  In step S03, history data is generated. The history data is data in which the original image data is associated with the user identification information of the user authenticated in step S01. Then, the original image data and history data are stored in the storage unit 102 (step S04). Thereafter, the original image data is output to the output image processing unit 105, and the original image data is formed (step S05).

  In step S06, it is determined whether original image data has been designated. If specified, the process proceeds to step S07. If not specified, the process ends. In step S06, the original image data designation process shown in FIG. 6 is executed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the original image data designation process executed in step S06 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 6, in the original image data designation process, first, history data stored in storage unit 102 is read (step S21). Then, an image data designation screen for displaying a list of image data identification information included in the history data is displayed (step S22). The user can designate the original image data 51 by designating any one of the image data identification information displayed as a list on the displayed image data designation screen. Then, it is determined whether or not designation of image identification information has been accepted (step S23). If the designation is accepted, the process returns to the image editing process. If not, the process returns to step S22. In step S22, history data including user identification information of the user authenticated by the user authentication unit 16 is extracted, and the image data identification information included in the extracted history data is displayed in a list on the image data designation screen. May be. As a result, the image data identification information of only the original image data read in the past by the authenticated user is displayed in a list, so that the number of image data identification information to be displayed is reduced and the original image data can be easily specified. .

  Returning to FIG. 5, in step S07, it is determined whether or not the designated original image data is stored by the user authenticated in step S01. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the user identification information of the user authenticated in step S01 matches the user identification information associated with the original image data and history data specified in step S06. If they match, the process proceeds to step S08, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, a warning message is displayed on operation panel 109, and the process ends. As a result, it is possible to prevent the original image data from being imaged by another person without the user's knowledge.

  In step S08, the original image data designated in step S06 is read from the storage unit 102. Then, replacement image data is input (step S09). The replacement image data is image data obtained by reading the document including the paper on which the image is formed based on the original image data in step S05 by the image reading unit 120.

  Then, the original image data 51 read in step S08 and the replacement image data input in step S09 are compared for each page (step S10). The pages of the replacement image data are sequentially set as processing target pages, and the processing target pages of the replacement image data are compared with all the pages of the original image data. Then, as a result of the comparison, it is determined whether there are similar pages (step S11). If there is a similar page, the process proceeds to step S12, and if not, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S12, the similar page of the original image data is replaced with the corresponding page of the replacement image data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S13, a processing content designation screen for inputting processing content is displayed on the operation panel 109. Then, the designated process content is determined (step S14). If the process content is a replacement process, the process proceeds to step S15. If the process content is an additional process, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S15, the specification of the page to be replaced with the original image data and the specification of the page to be replaced with the replacement image data are accepted, and the page of the specified original image data is replaced with the specified replacement. It is replaced with a page of image data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S16, the position information to be added to the original image data (page number and information before and after it) and the designation of the page to which the replacement image data is to be added are accepted, and the position of the designated original image data is received. The specified replacement image data page is added (inserted). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S17, it is determined whether there is a page that has not yet been processed in the replacement image data. If there is a page, the process returns to step S10, and if not, the process proceeds to step S18.

  In step S18, the history data of the original image data designated in step S06 is updated. Specifically, the edit flag of the history data 52 is set to “1”. The original image data replaced or added in step S12, step S15, or step S16 is image-formed by the image forming unit 130 (step S19).

  The image editing process described above may be executed by any of the PCs 2, 2A, 2B. Here, the case where it is executed by the PC 2 will be described. The original image data 51 and the history data 52 shown in FIG. 3 are stored in the PC 2. Further, the user authentication unit 16, the image data designation unit 14, the warning unit 18, the comparison unit 20, and the editing unit 22 are realized by the CPU by executing the image editing processing program on the PC 2. In the CPU of the PC 2, the image editing process shown in FIG. 5 is executed. The CPU 101 of the MFP 1 includes only the image data input unit 10, and original image data or replacement image data input by the image reading unit 120 is transmitted from the network I / F 107 to the PC 2. Alternatively, original image data or replacement image data is received from the PC 2 by the network I / F 107. The screen displayed on the operation panel 109 is received from the PC 2 by the network I / F 107, and the user operation input to the operation panel 109 is transmitted to the PC 2 via the network I / F 107.

  As described above, the MFP 1 in the first embodiment stores the original image data and the history data in the storage unit 102 when the original image data is formed. Then, the original image data is designated on the original image data designation screen. For this reason, it is possible to easily specify the image data to be edited. When the original of the image-formed original image data is read by the image reading unit 120, the original image data is edited using the replacement image data. Therefore, the image data used for editing is specified by the operation of reading the original. Can do. As a result, the two image data used for editing can be easily specified, and the image data can be edited.

  Further, since the editing process replaces the page of the original image data with the page of the replacement image data, a part of the original image data can be changed to another image data.

  In addition, since the editing process adds the difference between the original image data page and the replacement image data page to the original image data page, the image quality of the original image data can be prevented from deteriorating.

  In addition, since the editing process adds a page of replacement image data to the original image data, new image data can be added.

  Further, the replacement image data is data that is output by reading the original image data original formed by the image reading unit 120, so that the original image data can be edited into image data with a stamp or signature.

  Further, since the original image data page and the replacement image data page are compared and similar pages are replaced, a page to be replaced can be automatically determined from the original image data.

  In addition, since the original image data is edited with the replacement image data and the image is formed on condition that the users who input the original image data and the replacement image increase data match, the original image data can be used without permission. It is never formed.

  Further, an edit flag is provided in the history data, and a warning is given when an instruction to form an image of original image data that has not been edited because the edit flag is “0”. Output can be prevented.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, an editing system according to the second embodiment will be described. The overall outline of the image editing system and the outline configuration of the MFP in the second embodiment are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. The description will not be repeated here. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of the CPU of the MFP according to the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, CPU 101 includes an image data input unit 10, a user authentication unit 16, an identification information adding unit 24, an identification information extracting / separating unit 26, and an editing unit 22. Since the image data input unit 10 and the user authentication unit 16 are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 3, description thereof will not be repeated here.

  Original image data is input from the original image data input unit 11 to the identification information adding unit 24. The identification information adding unit 24 adds unique identification information to each page of the original image data. Here, the identification information is information obtained by adding a page number to the image data identification information. An image composition process is used to add the identification information to the image data. The identification information is converted into a barcode to generate a barcode image, and the image data and the barcode image are synthesized. Thereby, the image data with identification information in which the barcode of the identification information is attached to each page of the original image data is generated. The identification information adding unit 24 outputs the generated image data with identification information to the output image processing unit 105 and causes the image forming unit 130 to form an image. Further, the identification information adding unit 24 adds the identification information attached to each page of the original image data to the history data 52. As a result, the history data 52 is data in which the image data identification information is associated with the identification information of each page.

  Replacement image data is input from the replacement image data input unit 12 to the identification information extraction / separation unit 26. The replacement image data is image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 reading a document including a sheet on which an image is formed based on the original image data. For this reason, the replacement image data includes data including a barcode of identification information. The identification information extraction / separation unit 26 extracts identification information for each page of replacement image data. Then, the extracted identification information is output to the editing unit 22. Thereby, the editing unit 22 can specify and read the original image data stored in the storage unit 102 from the input identification information. Since the identification information is information attached to each page of the original image data, the editing unit 22 associates the page from which the identification information of the replacement image data is extracted with any page of the original image data. Can do. In addition, the identification information extraction / separation unit 26 removes the identification information from the replacement image data by separating the identification information and other images for the page including the identification information of the replacement image data. Then, the replacement image data from which the identification information is removed is output to the editing unit 22.

  The editing unit 22 receives the identification information from the identification information extraction / separation unit 26 and the replacement image data from which the identification information has been removed. The editing unit 22 reads the original image data 51 specified by the identification information from the storage unit 102, and converts the page specified by the identification information of the original image data 51 to the page of replacement image data from which the identification information is extracted. replace. Since the identification information is removed from the replacement image data, the original image data after replacement does not include the identification information.

  The editing unit 22 replaces the page of the original image data with the corresponding page of the replacement image data, but the difference between the page of the original image data and the corresponding page of the replacement image data. May be added. Thereby, it is possible to minimize deterioration of the image quality of the original image data.

  The editing unit 22 is connected to the operation panel 109, and accepts input of processing contents for the page from which the identification information is not extracted from the replacement image data from the operation panel 109. The editing unit 22 displays a processing content designation screen for inputting the processing content on the operation panel 109, and accepts the designation of the processing content. The editing unit 22 edits the original image data 51 with the replacement image data according to the input processing content. Then, the edited original image data 51 is output to the output image processing unit 105. The editing unit 22 sets the editing flag of the history data 52 to “1”. This is because the original image data 51 is stored in the history edited based on the replacement image data.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of image editing processing executed by the MFP according to the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the user of MFP 1 is authenticated (step S31). If the user is authenticated, the process proceeds to step S32. Otherwise, the process enters a standby state. In step S32, it is determined whether image data has been input. If image data is input, the process proceeds to step S33, and if not, a standby state is entered.

  In step S33, it is determined whether or not the identification information is extracted from the input image data. If the image data includes a barcode, the identification information is extracted by detecting and analyzing the barcode. If the identification information is not extracted, the process proceeds to step S34, and if it is extracted, the process proceeds to step S38. The image data from which the identification information is extracted is determined to be replacement image data, and the processing from step S38 is executed. However, the image data from which the identification information is not extracted is executed as the original image data from step S34. . When image data includes a plurality of pages, if at least one page includes identification information, the process proceeds to step S38 as replacement image data. This is because the image data may include an additional page.

  In step S34, history data is generated. The history data is data in which the original image data is associated with the user identification information of the user authenticated in step S31. Then, the original image data and history data are stored in the storage unit 102 (step S35). Then, identification information is added to the original image data for each page (step S36). The identification information is added by synthesizing a barcode image of the identification information with each page of the original image data to generate image data with identification information. Also, all the identification information added for each page of the original image data is added to the history data. Thus, the history data becomes data in which the image data identification information is associated with the identification information added for each page. For this reason, original image data can be specified from identification information using history data. Thereafter, the image data with identification information is output to the output image processing unit 105, and the original image data to which the identification information is added is formed (step S37).

  In step S38, it is determined whether or not the user who has instructed input of replacement image data matches the user who has instructed input of original image data. Specifically, history data including the identification information extracted in step S33 is extracted from the storage unit 102, and user identification information included in the history data is detected. This user identification information is the user identification information of the user who instructed the input of the original image data. The user identification information input in step S31 is the user identification information of the user who instructed the replacement image data input. In step S38, if both user identification information matches, it will progress to step S39, and if it does not correspond, it will progress to step S50. In step S50, a warning message is displayed on operation panel 109, and the process ends. As a result, it is possible to prevent the original image data from being imaged by another person without the user's knowledge.

  In step S39, the original image data is read from the storage unit 102. The original image data read here is original image data including a page to which the identification information extracted in step S33 is added. As the original image data, history data including the identification information extracted in step S33 is extracted from the storage unit 102, and specified by the image identification information included in the history data.

  In step S40, it is determined whether or not the corresponding page of the original image data is specified from the page of the replacement image data. If the identification information is included in the processing target page of the replacement image data, the process proceeds to step S41. If the identification information is not included, the process proceeds to step S43. In step S41, the identification information is separated from the processing target page of the replacement image increase data. Then, a replacement process is executed in which the page specified by the separated identification information of the original image data is replaced with the processing target page of the replacement image increase data. Then, the process proceeds to step S47.

  On the other hand, in step S43, a processing content designation screen for inputting processing content is output to the operation panel 109. Then, the designated process content is determined (step S44). If the process content is a replacement process, the process proceeds to step S45. If the process content is an additional process, the process proceeds to step S46. In step S45, the specification of the page to be replaced with the original image data and the specification of the page to be replaced with the replacement image data are accepted, and the page of the specified original image data is replaced with the specified replacement. It is replaced with a page of image data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S47. In step S46, position information to be added to the original image data (page number and information before and after it) and designation of a page to which replacement image data is to be added are accepted, and the position of the designated original image data is received. The specified replacement image data page is added (inserted). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S47.

  In step S47, it is determined whether or not there is a page not to be processed in the replacement image data. If it exists, the process returns to step S40, and if not, the process proceeds to step S48.

  In step S48, the history data of the original image data read in step S39 is updated. Specifically, the edit flag of the history data 52 is set to “1”. When the editing flag of the history data 52 is “0”, it indicates that the original image data specified by the history data 52 has not been edited by the editing unit 22. For this reason, when the history data 52 with the edit flag “0” is read and the image forming process of the original image data before editing specified by the history data 52 is instructed, it is not yet edited. Can be output to the operation panel 109.

  Then, the original image data subjected to the replacement process or the addition process in step S42, step S45, or step S46 is image-formed by the image forming unit 130 (step S49).

  The image editing process described above may be executed by any of the PCs 2, 2A, and 2B. Here, a description will be given of a case where the program is executed by the PC 2. The original image data 51 and the history data 52 shown in FIG. 7 are stored in the PC 2. Moreover, the user authentication part 16, the identification information addition part 24, and identification information extraction. The separation unit 26 and the editing unit 22 are realized by a CPU by executing an image editing processing program on the PC 2. The CPU of the PC 2 executes the image editing process shown in FIG. The CPU 101 of the MFP 1 includes only the image data input unit 10, and original image data or replacement image data input by the image reading unit 120 is transmitted from the network I / F 107 to the PC 2. Alternatively, original image data or replacement image data is received from the PC 2 by the network I / F 107. The screen displayed on the operation panel 109 is received from the PC 2 by the network I / F 107, and the user operation input to the operation panel 109 is transmitted to the PC 2 via the network I / F 107.

  As described above, in MFP 1 in the second embodiment, image data with identification information is formed by combining each page of original image data with identification information assigned to each page. Since the identification information is extracted from the replacement image data obtained by reading the paper on which the image data with the identification information is formed, it is possible to extract the page that is the target of the replacement of the original image data simply by reading the document. . As a result, even if the image data to be edited is a plurality of pages, the page to be edited can be easily specified, and the image data can be edited.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of an image editing system in one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an MFP in the present embodiment. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a CPU of the MFP according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of log | history data. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of image editing processing executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of original image data designation processing executed in step S06 in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a CPU of an MFP according to a second embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of image editing processing executed by the MFP according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image editing system, 2, 2A, 2B PC, 3 network, 10 Image data input part, 11 Original image data input part, 12 Replacement image data input part, 14 Image data designation part, 16 User authentication part, 18 Warning part , 20 comparison unit, 22 editing unit, 24 identification information addition unit, 26 identification information extraction / separation unit, 51 original image data, 52 history data, 100 control unit, 102 storage unit, 104 input image processing unit, 105 output image processing Part, 108 modem, 109 operation panel, 109A input part, 109B display part, 110A IC card, 113 telephone line, 120 image reading part, 130 image forming part, 107 network I / F, 110 card I / F.

Claims (11)

Input means for inputting image data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the given image data;
Control means for causing the image forming means to form an image of the first image data input to the input means;
Storage means for storing the first image data and history data indicating that an image has been formed;
Specifying means for specifying first image data from among the image data stored in the storage means based on the history data;
The input means includes reading means for reading an image formed on a recording medium and outputting image data,
An image forming apparatus comprising: editing means for editing the specified first image data using the second image data when the second image data is output from the reading means.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit includes a replacing unit that replaces at least a part of the identified first image data with at least a part of the second image data.   The editing means includes difference adding means for adding a difference between at least a part of the identified first image data and at least a part of the second image data to the first image data. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit includes an adding unit that adds at least a part of the second image data to the specified first image data.   2. The image according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the second image data is obtained by reading an image formed on a recording medium by the image forming unit based on the first image data by the reading unit. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit includes a comparison unit that compares at least a part of the second image data with at least a part of the identified first image data. Input means for inputting image data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the given image data;
Identification information adding means for giving identification information to the first image data input to the input means for each page;
Storage means for storing the first image data and identification information assigned to each page in association with each other;
Combining means for generating image data with identification information obtained by combining each page of the first image data and identification information given to each page;
Control means for providing the image data with identification information to the image forming means;
The input means includes reading means for reading an image formed on a recording medium and outputting image data,
Identification information separating means for separating the identification information from the second image data output from the pre-reading means;
Image data specifying means for specifying the first image data from among the image data stored in the storage means based on the separated identification information;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an editing unit that replaces the page to which the extracted identification information of the specified first image data is added with the second image data separated from the identification information.   8. The control unit according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the control unit provides the first image data after being edited by the editing unit to the image forming unit in response to the input of the second image data. Image forming apparatus. An authentication means for authenticating the user;
The storage means stores the first image data in association with user authentication information,
The control means may be configured such that the first authentication information after being edited by the editing means is provided on condition that authentication information of a user authenticated by the authentication means matches authentication information associated with the first image data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image data is provided to the image forming unit.   When an instruction to form an image of the first image data stored in the storage means is input, warning means for further warning is provided on condition that the first image data is not edited by the editing means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 7. An editing system comprising a computer and an image forming apparatus,
The computer
Storage means for storing first image data and history data indicating that an image has been formed;
Specifying means for specifying first image data from among the image data stored in the storage means based on the history data;
Editing means for editing the specified first image data using the second image data when the second image data is input;
The image forming apparatus includes:
Input means for inputting image data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the given image data;
Control means for causing the image forming means to form an image of the first image data input from the computer to the input means;
The input means includes reading means for reading an image formed on a recording medium and outputting image data,
An image editing system comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the second image data to the computer when the second image data is output from the reading unit.

Images