JP2001218031A - Picture processor, picture processing method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a picture whose printing is inhibited by law cannot precisely be decided at high speed in a band unit. SOLUTION: A judgment means judging whether information showing that picture is the object of decision is included in the picture which is supplied in the band unit and whose output is requested at every prescribed area and a deciding means deciding the prescribed area for the picture whose output is requested at every prescribed distance are disposed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the improvement in the performance of color image forming apparatuses such as color copying machines and color printers, crimes have been made to illegally use them to forge bills and securities.

[0003] In order to prevent such crimes, a technology for embedding information relating to copyrights or restrictions on the use of images as electronic watermark information in printed images has been disclosed.
In the image forming apparatus, when printing out image data, it is determined whether or not the identification information is added to the output printed matter.

[0004]

When determining image data output from an application program, the image data is divided into small pieces and output, or the application temporarily enlarges or reduces the image data at different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal directions. In some cases, the presence / absence of identification information cannot be determined correctly, such as by requesting output at a magnification to be corrected.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to determine even in such a case.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, it is determined for each predetermined area whether or not an image requested to be output, supplied in band units, contains information indicating that the image is a determination target image. The image processing apparatus further comprises: determining means for determining, and determining means for determining the predetermined area at predetermined distances with respect to the image requested to be output.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram for realizing the present embodiment. The host computer includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103,
A keyboard 104, a display 105, and a hard disk 106 are interconnected via a system bus. The ROM 102 stores a boot program. The RAM 103 is used as a main memory and a work area, and has a band memory 103a. Band memory 103a
Is for developing the image of the data of the target band area. The keyboard 104 is for issuing commands. The display 105 is for displaying processing results and the like.

On the host computer side, characters, images,
In the case of a so-called dumb printer, in which data such as graphics are developed as an image in the RAM 103 in the host computer in accordance with the resolution of the printer and then sent to the printer, the printer driver usually has a page image 3
01 is decomposed into a plurality of band images 302, and data belonging to the target band is developed as an image in the band memory 103a of the RAM 103 according to the resolution of the printer.
After that, the data in the band memory 103a is output to the printer.

In order to prevent a crime of forgery of an image in which a printer is illegally used and printing is prohibited by laws such as banknotes and securities, a printer driver uses digital watermark information,
It is necessary to determine whether the data includes recognition information such as information for identifying bills and securities. It should be noted that the above-mentioned digital watermark may be any type of digital watermark, such as a type in which invisible information is embedded in a specific frequency of an image, or a type in which information is embedded in an image by a color (for example, yellow) which is invisible. Good. Also, other identification information may be used.

However, when the image data is output from the application program, as shown in FIG. 4, the image data is finely divided and output. In some cases, such as when an output request is made, it may not be possible to make a correct determination depending on the determination module. However, even in such a case, the divided image is synthesized in the image data expanded to the band image, and the data obtained by enlarging or reducing the image data to different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal directions is expanded in the corrected image. Therefore, it is possible to perform the determination processing.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process for determining whether or not recognition information is included in the image data expanded in the band memory. First, in step S101, the printer driver sets the height and width of the print area of the page to W and H, respectively. Information (recognition information described above) required for determination to reduce detection errors is periodically included in the entire surface of the image to be determined, and determination can be made from a specific range of an arbitrary location in the image. . The area required for the determination is determined by the determination module used. In S102, the minimum area required for this determination is set to t. This area t is
This is an area where at least one piece of the above-described recognition information is included. When determining the image developed in the band memory, it is possible to determine all the areas, but depending on the determination module, it is possible to determine in some areas of the image data to be determined. Alternatively, it is also possible to determine a skip s between regions for making a determination for speeding up and make a determination for each s.

An example of obtaining the skip s will be described below.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the determination skip. The determination can be made if the hatched area in the drawing includes the determination area t × t. The size of the image to be determined is m, n (m <= n). m and n are the sizes of the image to be determined, but if the recognition information is not included in the entire surface of the target image, the size of the area including the recognition information is not the size of the image to be determined. The sizes are m and n. Since there is a possibility that the judgment target image is rotated at an arbitrary angle,

[0013]

[Outside 1] Can be obtained by When there are a plurality of judgment image types and different sizes (for example, plural judgments such as 10,000 yen and $ 100), the minimum value of the above result of each judgment image is s. In addition, a smaller value may be used due to a limitation of the determination module, and the skip s is 1 when all the regions have to be determined.

Next, the size of the band is determined so that the determination area t × t does not become the boundary of the band so that the determination area t × t does not become the boundary of the band and the determination becomes impossible. Since the band size cannot be changed for each band depending on the system, in S104, for example, a band size that satisfies the following condition is determined for all the bands in the page.

Band boundary <= (st) + s * (N-1) (N = 1,
The number of bands in pages 2 and 3) or s * N <= band boundary (N = number of bands in pages 1, 2, and 3) Instead, the determination may be made in a plurality of parts, in which case the determination criterion is changed according to the conditions.

Next, in order to obtain the first determination coordinates, S105
Then, s-1 is set as the initial value y of the determination coordinate in the vertical direction, and S105
Let s-1 be the initial value x of the determination coordinate in the horizontal direction. S107
The determination is made with the coordinates (x, y) as the starting point. S10 in S108
Processing branches according to the result of step 7. If it is determined that the image is the target image, the process for the target image is performed in S109. For example, a message indicating that printing is not possible is displayed to the user, and the printing process is terminated. Thereafter, the entire process ends.

On the other hand, if the determination is negative, s is added to x in step S110 to obtain the next coordinate. In S111, S11
A result of 0 determines whether the output image determination in the horizontal direction at the vertical coordinate y has been completed.
The processing from S107 is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the determination on the vertical coordinate y has been completed, a step s is added to y in S112 to obtain the next vertical coordinate. In S113, S
It is determined whether the result of step 112 is that the output image determination in the vertical direction has also been completed, and if not, the processing from S106 is repeated. On the other hand, if the determination in the vertical direction has also been completed, this processing is terminated assuming that the determination of all the output images has been completed.

In S104, a system in which the band size cannot be changed in the middle of the page has been described. However, depending on the system, the band size can be changed in the middle of the page. In that case, instead of deciding the band size at the beginning of the page, it is determined whether or not the region t × t is on the boundary of the band for each band. It can be determined by changing it.

As described above, the banknote which is the image to be determined,
The size (m, n) of the security is known, and the embedding period of the digital watermark information used for determining that the image is the determination target image in the determination target image is known. Since the region size (t * t) at which sufficient determination accuracy can be obtained at the time of determination is experimentally known, the period (to the output request image for determining the digital watermark after achieving sufficient determination accuracy) ( That is,
In the case where the output request image is sampled in this cycle and the determination is performed, a cycle in which one area size (t * t) is always extracted from the determination target image included in the output request image)
Can be obtained like s.

Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the output request image includes a determination target image using only the image data having the minimum necessary area size.

When simultaneously judging a plurality of judgment target images, the judgment is carried out by using the image data sampled at the maximum area size and the minimum cycle for each judgment target image, so that a plurality of judgment target images are obtained. In addition to achieving sufficient determination accuracy for each of the target images, the fastest (with a small amount of processing) determination is possible.

If the region t * t described above becomes the boundary of the band, it may not be possible to determine the band width.
Since the bandwidth is determined so that the region t does not become a boundary of the band, the determination target image can be reliably determined.

When the band size can be determined, it is determined whether the region of t * t is not the boundary of the band after the band, and the band size is changed, so that the image to be determined can be determined accurately.

By realizing an algorithm for such a high-speed (small processing amount) determination, even in a printer device in which the cost of a single unit is low and the determination of bills, securities, and the like by high-cost hardware cannot be adopted, Software such as a printer driver, which has a low processing speed but can reduce costs, can determine bills, securities, and the like.

Incidentally, the processing speed of the printer driver is improved in accordance with the improvement of the processing speed of the CPU of the computer. Therefore, by taking measures such as shortening the above-mentioned cycle or increasing the above-mentioned area size, A more accurate determination can be made.

(Another Embodiment of the Present Invention) A program for operating the configuration of the above-described embodiment so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment is stored in a storage medium, and the program stored in the storage medium is stored in code. A processing method of reading the present embodiment and executing the present embodiment on a client computer and a server computer is also included in the category of the above-described embodiment, and a storage medium storing the above-described program is also included in the above-described embodiment.

As such a storage medium, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, and ROM can be used.

The present invention is not limited to the one which executes the processing by the program stored in the storage medium alone, but operates on the OS in cooperation with other software and the functions of the extension board to execute the processing of the above-described embodiment. The one that performs the operation is also included in the category of the above-described embodiment.

[0030]

According to the present invention, for example, when an image is output from an application program, the image data is finely divided and output, or the image data is once enlarged or reduced in different lengths and widths by an application, and output at a magnification for correcting the output. It can be determined even when required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram for realizing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether recognition information is included in image data expanded in a band memory.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of dividing a page image into a plurality of bands.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing that image data is divided or output once at different magnifications vertically and horizontally.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a determination skip.

Claims (27)

[Claims] A determination unit configured to determine, for each predetermined region, whether or not an image requested to be output, supplied in band units, includes information indicating a determination target image; An image processing apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines a predetermined image for each predetermined distance. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image to be determined is an image whose printing is prohibited by laws such as bills and securities. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating the determination target image is a visible or invisible digital watermark. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination unit is executed by a printer driver. 5. The information indicating the image to be determined is periodically embedded in the image to be determined, and the predetermined area includes at least one piece of information indicating the image to be determined. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area is a region to be processed. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is an area necessary for determining the determination target image. 7. The predetermined distance is determined such that when the output requested image is determined for each of the predetermined distances, the predetermined area is always set once in the determination target image. The image processing device according to claim 1. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the plurality of determination target images are plural, the determination unit determines a minimum distance among the predetermined distances for the plurality of determination target images as the predetermined distance. Image processing device. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance is determined in consideration of rotation of the determination target image. 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the band is set so that the predetermined area does not become a boundary of the band. 11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the width of the band is changeable in an image requested to be output, and the band is set such that the predetermined area does not become a boundary of the band. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1. 12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein it is determined whether the predetermined area extends over a boundary of the band, and the width of the band is set. 13. When the determination result indicates that the image to be determined is included, the output of the image requested to be output is stopped, or another image is output, or a notification is output that the image cannot be output. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein any one of the processes is performed. 14. It is determined for each predetermined area whether or not an image requested to be output supplied in band units includes information indicating that the image is a determination target image. An image processing method, wherein the image processing method is determined for each predetermined distance. 15. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the determination target image is an image whose printing is prohibited by laws such as bills and securities. 16. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the information indicating the image to be determined is a visible or invisible digital watermark. 17. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the determination is performed by a printer driver. 18. The information indicating the image to be determined is periodically embedded in the image to be determined,
15. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined area is an area including at least one piece of information indicating the determination target image. 19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined area is an area necessary for determining the determination target image.
Item. 20. When the output requested image is determined for each of the predetermined distances, the predetermined distance is determined so that the predetermined area is always set once in the determination target image. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein 21. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein when there are a plurality of determination target images, a minimum distance among the plurality of the determination target images is determined as the predetermined distance. . 22. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined distance is determined in consideration of that the determination target image is rotating. 23. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the band is set so that the predetermined area does not become a boundary of the band. 24. The band width of the band can be changed in an image requested to be output, and the field of the band is set so that the predetermined region does not become a boundary of the band. Item 15. The image processing device according to Item 14. 25. The image processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein it is determined whether the predetermined area extends over a boundary of the band, and the width of the band is set. 26. When it is determined that the image to be determined is included in the determination result, the output of the image requested to be output is stopped, another image is output, or the output is notified. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein any one of the processes is performed. 27. A storage medium storing a code for performing the image processing method according to claim 14. Description: