JP2003051932A - Image processing unit, image processing system, image processing method, storage medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system that can surely and efficiently warrant image information possessing copyright. SOLUTION: An image provider side 102 stores a plurality of image data and image information as to the respective image data and returns corresponding image data in the storage information, on the basis of a request from an edit side 101 (N) to the edit side 101 (N). The edit side 101 (N) detects relation of positions between one or more image data on the basis of the image data and the image information given to the image data included in edit data and checks the propriety of the image data or the like, on the basis of the result of detection.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and an image processing method used for an apparatus or system for protecting image data using a digital watermark. The present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing the program, and the program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, along with the widespread use of computers and the Internet, the distribution of image data using media such as the Internet and CDROM has become popular. However, in such an environment, it is possible to easily divert or modify the image data without permission, and it is difficult to identify the location of the image data after the diversion of the image data or the modification of the image data. For the image data that are actually distributed, the author abandoned the copyright claim,
So-called free contents were the main ones. Therefore, many valuable image data cannot be distributed easily because the author hesitates, and it is not possible to improve the quality of the entire distributed image data.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, many security techniques and generally categorized techniques such as data protection by encryption have been invented or implemented. Among them, a digital watermark technique is mainly used as a technique for protecting image data.

The "digital watermark technique" here is mainly to manipulate each pixel data constituting the still image data so that another information such as text data is included in the still image data. When embedding text data etc. by embedding technology and manipulating each pixel data (pixel value) forming the still image data (original image data), the image data and the original image data after data embedding In order to make it indistinguishable by visual inspection, this is a technique that takes into consideration the frequency band of pixel values of image data to be embedded. The data to be embedded in the target image data will also be referred to as “digital watermark data” below.

According to the above digital watermark technique, for example, data such as copyright information is used as the digital watermark data for the target image data, and the digital watermark data is embedded in the target image data in a visually unidentifiable state. In addition, the digital watermark data can be detected from the target image data after the data embedding. Thereby, for example, by inspecting generally distributed image data and detecting digital watermark data from the image data, it is possible to determine the acquisition source and the usage right of the image data, or whether the image data has been tampered with. You can judge.

[0006]

However, in the conventional digital watermark technology as described above, the copyright holder of the image data can protect the image data, and unauthorized copying or alteration of the image data can be prevented. Although it can be detected, the range to which such a function is applicable is basically a single image data.

Specifically, for example, when there is document data created by using image data of a certain copyright holder, a computer system detects electronic watermark data for the image data itself and evaluates its validity. It is possible to do automatically. However, if there is another illegal image data having a content that slanders the image data adjacent to the image data, it is difficult to detect the existence of the illegal image data, and as a result, Requires visual confirmation by the copyright holders.

[0008] In addition, when the copyright holder uses (uses) his or her image data (authorized image data), a method of forcing a copyright notice separately from the image data is generally used. However, for example, when the digital watermark data is added to the image data by a conventional digital watermark technique and the user of the image data uses it in an appropriate manner, the above copyright display method Regarding the copyright notice by, it is necessary for the user of the image data himself to make a judgment and to visually confirm it, which is very important for both the user of the character image data and the copyright holder. This is a tedious task. In particular, for example,
In the case of a plurality of pages of document data consisting of one or a plurality of image data, whether the copyright holder displays the copyright display position or the copyright display for each individual image data,
Alternatively, if it is designed to display one copyright on one page, more complicated work is required.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, for example, the actual image data and the copyright notice are combined into one image data, and digital watermark data for protection of the image data is applied to the image data. The method of giving it is conceivable. However, in such a method, it is sufficient for the user of the image data that, for example, the background color of the copyright display portion does not match the background color around it, or one copyright display is provided for each page. Nevertheless, in reality, there is a problem that the copyright is displayed for each image data.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an image processing apparatus capable of reliably and efficiently guaranteeing copyrighted image information,
An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system, an image processing method, a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for implementing the same, and the program.

Specifically, for example, the first object of the present invention is to set the following relation information between images as electronic watermark data for a certain image data in document data in which a plurality of image data can exist. By checking the contents of the document data being edited by the image user based on the inter-image relation information and notifying the image user of the unauthorized use, This is to make it possible to guarantee the right holder how to use the image data as intended by the copyright holder. Inter-image relationship information: -Whether another image data should exist within a predetermined position range from the target image data. If the above designation specifies that different image data should exist, whether only one image data should exist as the image data, or whether multiple image data can exist. -Whether another image data should exist within a predetermined position range from a plurality of target image data.

A second object of the present invention is to realize the above-mentioned first object and automatically delete the unnecessary unnecessary image data when an illegal usage pattern of the image data is detected. At the same time, necessary image data (appropriate image data) is acquired from the outside and pasted at a predetermined position to create document data according to the intention of the copyright holder without the image user's particular awareness. It is possible to do.

Further, a third object of the present invention is to perform inspection based on the above-mentioned inter-image relation information and appropriate image data pasting in an image distribution service such as image storage and printing using a network. By implementing processing by a server computer that implements the image distribution service rather than by a document editing application operated by an image user, a configuration that achieves the above first and second objects in a wider range of usage environment is implemented. It is to be.

[0014]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Under such a purpose,
A first invention is an image processing apparatus for inspecting target image data existing in edit data, wherein the image processing device exists in the edit data based on predetermined image information given to the target image data. An inter-image relation processing means for detecting a relation with one or a plurality of other image data, and an inspection means for inspecting the target image data on the basis of the detection result of the inter-image relation processing means. .

The second invention is the same as the first invention,
The image information includes digital watermark data.

A third invention is the same as the first invention,
The inter-image relation processing means detects a positional relation with respect to one or a plurality of target image data whether one or a plurality of predetermined image data exist within a predetermined position range. And

A fourth invention is the same as the third invention,
It is characterized in that the predetermined position range includes at least one of a range on one page and a range over a plurality of pages.

A fifth invention is the same as the above-mentioned third invention,
The predetermined image data includes text data.

A sixth invention is the same as the first invention,
Communication means for acquiring missing information from a plurality of pieces of information constituting the image information by communication with the outside is provided, and the inter-image relation processing means detects the detection based on the information obtained by the communication means. It is characterized by executing processing.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is an image processing system in which a plurality of devices are communicably connected to each other, and at least one of the plurality of devices is a device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
It is characterized by having the function of the image processing device described in any one of 1.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is an image processing system in which at least an editing side and an image providing side are communicably connected via an arbitrary communication means, and the editing side is image data included in the editing data. And extraction means for extracting image information added to the image data, and inter-image relation processing means for detecting a positional relation between one or more pieces of image data based on the image information obtained by the extraction means. The image providing side holds a plurality of image data and a holding unit that holds the image information of each image data, and the image data corresponding to the holding information of the holding unit based on the request from the editing side. Is provided to the editing side.

A ninth aspect of the invention is the same as the eighth aspect of the invention.
The image information is added to the image data as digital watermark data.

In a tenth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the inter-image relation processing means performs a predetermined process for one or a plurality of image data as a positional relation detecting process performed based on the image information. It is characterized in that processing for detecting whether or not one or a plurality of image data of (1) exists within a predetermined position range is executed.

In an eleventh aspect based on the eighth aspect, the image information includes constraint condition information relating to the existence range of image data, and the inter-image relation processing means on the editing side violates the constraint condition information. Then, when one predetermined image data does not exist within the predetermined position range for one or a plurality of image data, an image request is issued to the image providing side based on the image information, The image providing means on the image providing side returns the corresponding image data of the holding information of the holding means to the editing side based on the image request from the editing side, and the inter-image relation processing means on the editing side is The image data from the image providing side is inserted into a predetermined position of the edit data based on the image information.

In a twelfth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the image information includes constraint condition information relating to the existence range of image data, and the inter-image relation processing means on the editing side violates the constraint condition information. When one predetermined image data exists within a predetermined position range with respect to one or more image data, the image data is removed from the edit data based on the image information. And

A thirteenth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the tenth to twelfth inventions, the predetermined image data includes text data.

In a fourteenth aspect of the present invention based on any one of the tenth to twelfth aspects, the predetermined position range includes at least one of a page number of document data and a coordinate position relationship between image data. Characterize.

In a fifteenth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the communication means includes a network, the editing side includes an information processing device used by a user, and the image providing side includes a document processing service. An information processing apparatus to be provided, wherein one or more information processing apparatuses on the editing side and the information processing apparatus on the image providing side are communicably connected to each other on the network. .

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is an image processing method for inspecting image data in document edit data, which is extraction for extracting image data in the document edit data and image information attached to the image data. And an inter-image relation processing step of inspecting a positional relation between one or more pieces of image data based on the image information obtained by the extraction step.

A seventeenth invention is characterized in that, in the sixteenth invention, the image information is added to the image data as digital watermark data.

In an eighteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the inter-image relation processing step is a positional relation inspection process executed on the basis of the image information. The predetermined one or a plurality of image data are present within a predetermined position range, or one image data does not have one or more predetermined image data within a predetermined position range. It is characterized in that it includes a processing step for inspecting.

The nineteenth invention is characterized in that, in the eighteenth invention, the predetermined image data includes text data.

A twentieth invention is characterized in that, in the eighteenth invention, the predetermined position range includes at least one of a page number of document data and a coordinate positional relationship between image data.

In a twenty-first aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, a communication step of communicating with the outside through an arbitrary communication network, and a missing step of obtaining the missing information of the image information from the outside by the communication step. And an information acquisition step.

A twenty-second aspect of the present invention provides a computer for realizing the function of the image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the function of the image processing system according to any one of claims 7 to 15. The program is recorded in a computer-readable storage medium.

A twenty-third invention is characterized in that a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to any one of the sixteenth to twenty-first aspects is recorded in a computer-readable storage medium.

A twenty-fourth aspect of the invention is for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the function of the image processing system according to any one of claims 7 to 15. It is a program.

A twenty-fifth aspect of the invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to any one of the sixteenth to the twenty-first aspects.

[0039]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] The present invention is applied to, for example, an image service system 100 as shown in FIG.

<Overall Configuration of Image Service System 100> The image service system 100 is, for example, a system that uses a network 103 such as the Internet, and includes user side terminal devices 101 (1), 101 (2),
101 (3), ... And the image server 102 are configured to be connectable via the network 103.

User side (image user side) terminal device (information processing device) 101 (1), 101 (2), 101
Each of (3), ...
It includes a personal computer (PC) including a PU, a ROM, a RAM, a HDD, and the like, and has a processing function for a user to create a document using an image, and if necessary, connects to the network 103 to send various processing requests It has the function to do. Below, these user side (image user side)
Terminal devices 101 (1), 101 (2), 101 of
(3), ... is replaced by “User PC 101 (1), 101
(2), 101 (3), ...

In this embodiment, the number of user PCs is indefinite. That is, in FIG.
C101 (1), 101 (2), 101 (3), ... Are shown, but the number is not limited to this. User PCs 101 (1), 101 (2), 101
Since the processing functions executed in (3), ... Have the same value, here, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, a certain user PC 101 (N)
This will be explained by focusing on.

The image server 102 is a network 103.
Is an information processing device that is constantly connected to the user PC 1
It has a function of supplying image data, additional information and the like prepared in advance to the user PC 101 (N) based on a processing request from 01 (N).

The network 103 is, for example, the Internet in the present embodiment. . A network system such as the Internet is a system including a network that is a communication path and various communication control devices that control the network, but in the following description, it is simply referred to as a network.

In this embodiment, the network 10
3 is the Internet, and the user PC 101 (N) and the image server 102 each have a function of connecting to the Internet (network 103). For example, the user PC 101 (N) directly connects to the image server 102 by dial-up or the like. It may be configured to do so.

<Structure of User PC 101 (N) and Image Server 102> Each of the user PC 101 (N) and image server 102 is composed of an information processing apparatus 200 having a structure as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

In FIG. 2, "220" is a system bus group (hereinafter, simply referred to as "system bus"). The system bus 220 is a transmission path that is provided in the housing of the information processing device 200 and connects the units described below, and transmits data and control information between the units.

Reference numeral "201" denotes a central processing unit (hereinafter, simply referred to as "CPU") that controls the operation of the information processing apparatus 200 as a whole and executes various calculations.

Reference numeral “202” is a random access memory (RAM), which functions as a main memory of the CPU 201, and also functions as an area of a program executed by the CPU 201, an execution area of the program, a data area, and the like. “203” is a read-only memory (ROM) that stores a processing procedure of operation control in the CPU 201, and is a basic program (generally “BIOS” for controlling each unit that configures the information processing device 200). "), Information necessary for operating the information processing apparatus 200, and the like are stored.

"204" is a flexible disk or C
A group of units for inputting and outputting data to and from a removable external storage medium such as a D-ROM (hereinafter, simply referred to as "FD
"D").

"205" is a network interface (hereinafter, simply referred to as "NETIF"), which is connected to an external network via a modem 206 described later or is connected to a LAN 207 described later. Also, N
The ETIF 205 also executes control for performing data transfer with another information processing apparatus (user PC 101 (N), image server 102, or the like) via the network 103, and diagnosis of connection status.

“206” is a device for connecting the external network (here, the network 103) and the information processing apparatus 200 via a telephone line, and is a modem or a terminal adapter (TA) for ISDN connection. Etc. are applicable. Here, as an example thereof, the device 20
Use a modem as 6.

"207" is a network such as Ethernet (R) (hereinafter referred to as "LAN"). Here, in the present embodiment, the modem 206 or the LAN2
It is assumed that the network 103 is connected through a communication device such as a router or a gateway connected on the 07. On the user PC 101 (N), LA
N207 is not an essential component.

"208" is a video RAM (hereinafter, simply referred to as "VRAM"), which is a display device 209 described later.
The image data to be displayed is expanded and the display control of the image data is performed. “209” is a display device such as a display (hereinafter, referred to as “CRT”).

"210" is an external input device 21 which will be described later.
A controller (hereinafter, simply referred to as “KBC”) that controls the input signals from 1 and 212. "211"
Means that the user of the information processing device 200
It is an external input device (hereinafter, simply referred to as “KB”) including a keyboard for performing various input operations with respect to 0.
“212” is an external input device (hereinafter simply referred to as “mouse”) including a pointing device for the user of the information processing device 200 to perform various input operations on the information processing device 200.

In the image server 102, the CRT
The 209, the KB 211, and the mouse 212 are not essential components and are used only for the purpose of managing the information processing device 200 itself.

"213" is a hard disk drive (hereinafter simply referred to as "HDD"), which is used for storing application programs, various data, and the like.
The application program in the present embodiment includes a software program or the like that realizes the present embodiment.

"214" is an external input / output device 2 which will be described later.
A controller that controls 15 and 216 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “IOC”). “215” is an external input / output device (hereinafter, simply referred to as “PRT”) including a printer. “216” is an external input / output device including a scanner (hereinafter referred to as “scanner”).

It should be noted that the printer 21 is connected via the IOC 214.
5, an external input / output device other than the scanner 216 and the scanner 216, such as an externally connected HDD or MO drive, can be connected, but this configuration is omitted here for the sake of simplicity of description. Further, in the present embodiment, the IOC21
4, the printer 215, and the scanner 216 are not essential components.

<Document Editing Application in User PC 101 (N)> In the user PC 101 (N), for example, a document editing application 300 as shown in FIG. 3 is started.

First, the document editing application 200
Is a so-called application program as a processing unit that is expanded and executed in the RAM 202 by the CPU 201 in the user PC 101 (N). Also,
The document editing application 300 is, for example, the HDD 2
13 or FDD204, or read from ROM202 and expand in RAM202, or NETIF20
5 is acquired from an external computer such as the image server 102 via the network 103, and can be expanded and executed in the RAM 202 (for example, “Java (R) Applet”).

Further, the document editing application 300
Is the same as an application program having a general document editing function, the user can use the KB211 or mouse (M
OUSE) 212 is an application program having a function of making it possible to edit text and images and create desired document data while referring to the display screen of CRT 209.

During the above editing work, the RAM 202
The document data stored therein is composed of, for example, script data or the like, which describes editing information such as a text input by a user's operation, an image data group, and a layout.

When a certain image portion is edited, for example, rotated or the like, in the present embodiment, an editing method for holding the edited image data as new image data (hereinafter, simply Both "the image direct editing method") and the editing method of retaining the image data before the editing and the script data indicating the editing content (hereinafter, simply referred to as the "image editing script method") are applicable. .

Document editing application 3 as described above
00 indicates the inter-image relation processing unit 30 as shown in FIG.
1, a watermark detection processing unit 302, an image processing unit 303, and a communication processing unit 304 are included.

In this embodiment, as the processing function unit of the document editing application 300, the inter-image relation processing section 301, the watermark detection processing section 302, and the image processing section 30.
3 and the communication processing unit 304, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a text or image editing function,
Various processing function units such as a document file operation function and a dialog box display function may be included. These functions can be implemented by an application program having a general document editing function.

The inter-image relationship processing section 301 is a processing function unit having a main processing function of this embodiment, the details of which will be described later.

The watermark detection processing unit 302 has a RAM 202.
From the document data (edited document data) stored in
It has a function of extracting an image area to which predetermined digital watermark data (invisible digital watermark) is added and digital watermark data in the image area. For example, arbitrary digital watermark addition capable of detecting digital watermark data And a detection algorithm. That is, the digital watermark that can be extracted by the watermark detection processing unit 302 is rotated when the image direct editing method is adopted in the above-described two types of editing methods of the edited image data (the image direct editing method and the image editing script method). And the like, and an electronic watermark of an algorithm capable of extracting the electronic watermark added portion from the combined image data. On the other hand, when the image editing script method is adopted, an image editing application other than the document editing application 300 is used. It is a digital watermark that is resistant to direct editing by programs.

The image processing unit 303 has a function of directly performing a process of extracting a designated area from the image data on the RAM 202. The communication processing unit 304 uses the NETIF
By accessing the network 103 via 205, it has a function of transmitting a request to the image server 102 and a function of receiving data returned from the image server 102 in response to the request.

In the present embodiment, as an example,
Although the network 103 is the Internet and the communication processing unit 304 has the client side functions of the transmission protocols HTTP and FTP, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the network 103 is configured by another network, Equivalent functions can be implemented.

<Processing Module Configuration of Image Server 102> In the present embodiment, the image server 102 is an information processing apparatus that is always connected to the network 103, which is the Internet, and is generally called an Internet server. As the network 103, a network other than the Internet is particularly applicable. However, in the present embodiment, since the network 103 is the Internet, the network 103 has various functions of a processing module that constitutes the image server 102 described below. Will be explained on the assumption that is the Internet.

Therefore, the image server 102 uses the Internet server program 40 as shown in FIG. 4, for example.
1, a digital watermarking unit 402, an image information providing unit 403,
The image storage unit 404 and the image information storage unit 405 are included.

Internet server program 401
For example, "Internet Informati" of "Micro Soft"
on Server ”and other programs, including network 10
The image server 10 responds to various requests received via
2 returns a file stored in the HDD 213 in the second server, or expands and executes another application program in the RAM 202 in the image server 102 to display the execution result (output content of the application program) in the network 103. It has a function of returning to the request source via the above.

The digital watermark adding section 402 has a function of adding digital watermark data corresponding to the digital watermark algorithm in the watermark detection processing section 302 of the document editing application 300 to the target image data. Specifically, for example, the electronic watermarking unit 402 is first activated by the Internet server program 401 based on the image data acquisition request received via the network 103. As a result, the digital watermark adding unit 402
Is the image storage unit 404.
From the image information storage unit 405, and after embedding the digital watermark data in the image data, the digital watermark data corresponding to the image data is acquired from the image information storage unit 405. Generate image data that has been embedded (digital watermark added),
It replies to the request source via the Internet server program 401.

In the above-described processing of the digital watermark adding section 402, if there is no particular processing to be performed when the image acquisition request is received, such as changing the size of the image data, the digital watermark data corresponding to each image data is previously generated. It may be configured such that they are provided and stored in the image storage unit 404.

The image information providing unit 403 uses the network 1
On the basis of the image information acquisition request received via 03, the Internet server program 401 is activated to acquire the image information corresponding to the image information acquisition request from the image storage unit 404, and to acquire the image information. Reply to the requestor.

The image storage unit 404 corresponds to the HDD 213 or the like of the image server 102, and retrieves a file group of image data before or after the digital watermark is added, for example, a path name is uniquely determined by an image identifier. Store as much as possible. The image information storage unit 405 is the image storage unit 4
The image information such as the identifier (image identifier) of each image data stored in 04, the digital watermark data, etc.
Store in a searchable format using a commercially available database system.

<Digital Watermark Data> FIG. 5 shows an example of the image information 500 in this embodiment.
The image information 500 is stored in the image information storage unit 405 of the image server 102 in a format that can be searched by the image identifier, and the digital watermark adding unit 402 is used as digital watermark data.
Is information that is embedded in the image data by and is detected by the watermark detection processing unit 302 of the document editing application 300.

As shown in FIG. 5, the image information 500 includes an image identifier 501, a constraint condition 502, a relational image identifier 503, and a constraint application neighborhood value 504.

The image identifier 501 is information used for the purpose of identifying the target image data within the purpose of this embodiment.

Here, in general, the image identifier needs to be able to uniquely identify the target image data in one system, and therefore, in the present embodiment as well, in the image information storage unit 405. At the image identifier 50
In addition to 1, information for uniquely identifying the target image data, such as the number (image number) of the target image data, is added to the target image data, and this is included in the image information 500. By holding it, it becomes possible to specify the path name of the target image data.

However, the image identifier 501 in the present embodiment is used not for uniquely identifying the target image data but for identifying the relationship between the target image data and other image data. Therefore, for a plurality of image data groups that can be subjected to the same processing, for example, image data groups that are the same character image created by the same author and only have different character poses,
By assigning the same image identifier 501 in advance, the required data length of the image identifier 501 is shortened, and this is set in a range in which it can be embedded as digital watermark data. It goes without saying that if the digital watermark algorithm can embed unique information such as an image number, the image identifier 501 can be used as the unique information.

The constraint condition 502 is a method for determining the constraint condition of the relationship with other image data in the same page or the same document data when the target image data exists in the document data being edited by the document editing application 300. This is the specified information. The portion indicated by “505” in FIG. 5 above is
It is an example of a possible value of the constraint condition 502. For example, when the value of the constraint condition 502 is any one of “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4”, the target image data is within the same page and within a certain distance range. It indicates that there must be image data in which digital watermark data including the related image identifier 503 is embedded.

In the present embodiment, the one-digit numerical value is used as the value that the constraint condition 502 can take, but the present invention is not limited to this and, for example, any other code system can be applied. Is.

The related image identifier 503 is the constraint condition 502.
Is an image identifier of another image data (other image data related to the target image data) that is a part of the constraint condition 502 of the target image data. Related image identifier 5
As 03, the image identifier of the image data related to the target image data may be used, or, for example, the extended regular expression notation method of POSIX or its enumeration (for example, “1 [0-9] 789”). , 34587 ") and the like.

The neighborhood value 504 to which the constraint is applied is the constraint condition 502.
It is an actual size value that explicitly expresses the “neighborhood” that is the criterion for determining. Here, the constraint application neighborhood value 504 is, for example, the actual size value of the distance between the image data in the same page, the distance between the center points of the smallest rectangles including the respective image data areas, or the distance between the image data area edges. The minimum straight line distance or the like can be applied. In the present embodiment, the distance between center points of the smallest rectangle that includes each image data area is used as the constraint application neighborhood value 504.

When the image information 500 as described above is embedded in the target image data as digital watermark data, it is not necessary to particularly embed the related image identifier 503, the constraint application neighborhood value 504, or both of these pieces of information 503 and 504. Although details will be described later, if any of the information 501 to 504 constituting the image information 500 is missing in the digital watermark data, for example, the document editing application 30
The communication processing unit 304 of 0 may issue a missing information request to the image server 102 to acquire the missing information from the image information storage unit 405 of the image server 102. Similarly, the constraint condition 502 may be treated as information that does not need to be embedded as digital watermark data.

A plurality of combinations of the constraint condition 502, the relational image identifier 503, and the constraint application neighborhood value 504 may be attached to one image identifier 501. In this case, for example, a combination of one piece of information in which the constraint condition 502 is “5” and one piece of information in which the constraint condition 502 is “1” to “4” is selected so as not to cause a logical inconsistency. Limited Further, in the image information storage unit 405, the information 5 constituting the image information 500 shown in FIG.
In addition to 01 to 504, data such as the path name of the image data file is also held. Further, when embedding the image information 500 as digital watermark data, control data such as data length and check digit is also necessary, but is omitted because it is not particularly necessary in the description of the present embodiment.

<Operation of User PC 101 (N)> FIG. 6
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the inter-image-data relation processing, which is carried out by activating the document editing application 300 shown in FIG. 3 in the user PC 101 (N).

In FIG. 6, "600" indicates the area of one page in the document data being edited by the document editing application 300. Page area 6
00 is displayed on the CRT 209 of the user PC 101 (N) by the document editing application 300 or is output by the PRT 215.

"601" and "602" are image data in which the digital watermark data in this embodiment is embedded. In the image data 601 and the image data 602, the image information in the image information storage unit 405 is embedded as the electronic watermark data 606 by the electronic watermark adding unit 402 of the image server 102. The image data 601 and the image data 602 are respectively stored in the user PC 1
01 (N) of the communication processing unit 304 or an external unit having the same value is used to acquire the image from the image server 102 using the network 103 or an external medium such as a CDROM, and the document editing application 300 uses it as an editing material.

The circular areas indicated by "603" and "604" are centered on the center points of the rectangular areas of the image data 601 and the image data 602, and the restrictions in the digital watermark data 606 of the image data 601 and the image data 602 are applied. The value indicated by the neighborhood value 504 (“150 mm” in the above FIG. 6)
Is a range area having a radius of. However, the areas 603 and 604 are especially displayed on the display screen of the CRT 209 or the PRT2.
It is not drawn on the output of 15.

“605” is the image data identified by the related image identifier included in the digital watermark data 606 of the image data 601 and the image data 602. "60
7 ″ is electronic watermark data embedded in the image data 605.

In FIG. 6, as an example, the image data 6
01 and the image data 602 have the same image identifier in the present embodiment. Therefore, the respective electronic watermark data of the image data 601 and the image data 602 become the same electronic watermark data 606.

In the digital watermark data 606, the value of the constraint condition 502 is “3” (the existence of the related image in the neighborhood (n: n)). Therefore, the image data 6
01 and the image data 602, that is, the radius from the center point of each of the image data 601 and the image data 602 is the neighborhood value 504 of the constraint application of the digital watermark data 606.
In the circular area of “150 mm” indicated by, the image data similarly indicated by the related image identifier 503 of the electronic watermark data 606, that is, the center point of the image data 605 must exist, and the electronic watermark data 60
A plurality of images in which 6 is embedded (here, image data 6
01 and image data 602) has a common part in the vicinity area, it indicates that the center point of the image data 605 must exist in the common part.

In the digital watermark data 607 of the image data 605, the value of the constraint condition 502 is "6" (the target image exists only subordinate to the related image). Therefore, the image data 605 cannot exist alone in the page area 600, coexists with image data in which digital watermark data having the identifier of the image data 605 as the related image identifier 503 is embedded, and Indicates that the constraint must be met.

In FIG. 6 described above, the positions of the image data 601, the image data 602, and the image data 605 satisfy the constraint condition in the digital watermark data embedded in each.

The document editing application 300 extracts the digital watermark data of each image data, for example, when the document file is stored or printed, or when the user explicitly requests the determination using the menu screen or the like, The contents of the digital watermark data are analyzed, the positional relationship of the respective image data is judged, and it is judged whether the constraint condition as shown in FIG. 6 is satisfied. Then, the document editing application 300 executes processing such as displaying a warning message or not saving or printing the document file based on the determination result.

FIG. 7 shows a document editing application 300.
The processing executed by the inter-image relation processing unit 301 is shown as an example of the main processing of 1.

FIG. 8 shows an internal table 800 used during execution of the processing shown in FIG. This internal table 800 is the user PC 101.
(N) is held in the temporary work area of the RAM 202,
"Image identifier", "constraint condition", "relationship image identifier",
It is composed of information of "constraint application neighboring value", "center point coordinate", and "processed flag". "Image identifier", "constraint condition", "relationship image identifier", and "constraint application neighborhood value"
Corresponds to the information forming the image information 500 shown in FIG. The "center point coordinate" is a logical coordinate value of a rectangular area occupied by each image data in the drawing area. In the following description, the i-th entry in the internal table 800 is represented by “entry (i)”, and the data item of entry (i) is represented by “constraint condition (i)” for “constraint condition”, for example. Represent

The processing shown in FIG. 7 is performed between the image data existing in the page area 600 for one page area 600 in the document being edited by the document editing application 300 as shown in FIG. Is a process for determining the validity of the existence and position of the document and is executed as part of various processing operations performed by the document editing application 300. That is, for example, when the user instructs the document editing application 300 to save or print the document data being edited, the document editing application 300 instructs the inter-image relation processing unit 301 which is an internal processing module. Then, the start of the process shown in FIG. 7 is instructed.

Before reaching the processing shown in FIG. 7, the user acquires necessary image data. That is, the user issues an image acquisition request to the image server 102 via the network 103 by activating the document editing application 300 or an application program having another equivalent function in the user PC 101 (N), for example. As a result, the image server 102 provides the user PC 101 (N) with the corresponding image data in which the image information in the image information storage unit 405 is embedded as the electronic watermark data by the electronic watermark adding unit 402.
Therefore, the provided image data is used as a material when the document is edited by the document editing application 300. Alternatively, the image data in which the digital watermark is embedded may be transferred to a user PC via a storage medium such as a CDROM.
It may be taken into 101 (N) and used as a material when the document is edited by the document editing application 300.

The processing executed by the inter-image relation processing unit 301 of the document editing application 300 shown in FIG. 7 will be described below in detail.

Step S701: Inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 transfers control to the watermark detection processing unit 302. As a result, the watermark detection processing unit 302 manipulates the drawing area in the target page area (the page area as shown in FIG. 6 above) with respect to the image processing section 303, so that the electronic page included in the target page area is displayed. All the image data in which the watermark data is embedded are extracted. Further, the watermark detection processing unit 302 extracts image information included in the digital watermark data embedded in the image data extracted from the target page area.

Then, the watermark detection processing section 302 stores the center point coordinates of each image data obtained by the image processing section 303 as an entry in the internal table 800 shown in FIG. 8 together with the above-mentioned extracted image information. All processed flags are set to “OFF”.

When storing the image information, depending on the digital watermark data, the related image identifier 503 and the constraint application neighborhood value 5
In some cases, 04 is missing, but in this case, the corresponding part is left blank.

Here, when extracting the image data from the target page area, the editing information holding method (editing method of the edited image data) in the document editing application 300 is
In the case of the image direct editing method as described above, the watermark detection processing unit 302 extracts image data by extracting a digital watermark embedding area from the entire drawing area of the target page area. On the other hand, in the case of the image editing script method, the watermark detection processing unit 302 reads the editing information on the script to display the image data displayed in the drawing area of the target page area, that is, not hidden by another area. Extract only.

Step S702: inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 scans the internal table 800, extracts all the image identifiers of the entries in which the “relationship image identifier” or the “constraint-approximated neighborhood value” is blank in the entry, and sends this image identifier group to the communication processing unit 304. By requesting each value to be output.

The communication processing unit 304 is the inter-image relation processing unit 3.
By accessing the image server 102 via the network 103 based on the request from 01, the image identifier group from the inter-image relationship processing unit 301 is output to the image server 102, so that Request acquisition.

Based on the request from the communication processing unit 304, the image server 102 searches the image information storage unit 405 by the image information providing unit 403 using the image identifier group from the communication processing unit 304 as a key, and The relational image identifier of the image information to be processed and the constraint application neighborhood value are acquired, and this is returned to the inter-image relation processing unit 301 via the communication processing unit 304.

The inter-image relation processing unit 301 is the communication processing unit 3
The image information providing unit 40 of the image server 102 via 04.
The relational image identifier and the constraint-applied neighborhood value returned from # 3 are acquired and stored in the “relationship image identifier” or “constraint-applied neighborhood value” of the corresponding entry in the internal table 800.

When the image data is acquired, the related image identifier and the neighborhood value to which the constraint is applied are set to the user PC 101, for example.
It is recorded in another file or the like on the HDD 213 of (N), and the inter-image relation processing unit 301 directly acquires the relation image identifier and the constraint application neighborhood value from the file without using the communication processing unit 304. You may

Step S703: inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 scans the internal table 800 and searches for an entry whose processed flag is "OFF" and whose constraint condition is not "6". As a result, when the corresponding entry exists, the entry is the i-th entry. As step S7
Go to 05.

If the corresponding entry does not exist as a result of the above search, and the processed flag is "OFF" and the constraint condition is "6", the inter-image relation processing unit 301 determines that It proceeds to step S704. In this case, the constraint condition is “6” (refer to FIG. 5 above: the target image exists only depending on the related image), that is, the target image data can exist only when another related image data exists. It means that only image data that means data is present without related image data, in other words, the relationship of the image data group is abnormal.

Further, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 ends this processing in the case other than the above, that is, when the processed flags of all the entries are "ON". In this case, it means that the relationship of the image data group in the target page area is normal.

Step S704: As a result of the search process of step S703, when there is an entry with the processed flag being “OFF” and the constraint condition being “6”, the inter-image relation processing unit 301, for example, CR message box indicating that there is an abnormality in the relationship of the image data group
Perform error processing such as displaying at T209, and then
This process ends. At this time, the document editing application 300 may be configured not to execute subsequent processes such as saving the document file.

Step S705: When the processed flag is "OFF" and there is an entry whose constraint condition is not "6" as a result of the search processing of step S703, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 makes the entry (i) The value of the constraint condition (i) is “0” (no constraint), or
It is determined whether it is "1" to "5" other than "0". As a result of this determination, if the value of the constraint condition (i) is “0”, the process proceeds to step S706, and if not, the process proceeds to step S707.

Step S706: If the result of the determination in step S705 is that the value of the constraint condition (i) is "0", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 sets the processed flag (i) to "O".
N ″ is set, the process returns to step S703 again, and the subsequent processing steps are repeated.

Step S707: If the result of the determination in step S705 is that the value of the constraint condition (i) is any one of "1" to "5", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 determines that the constraint condition (i) is satisfied. The following processing is executed based on the value of.

As described with reference to FIG. 5 above, the relational image identifier 503 can specify a plurality of image identifiers using an extended regular expression and so on. "Identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i)" means that the image identifier (j) matches any one of the plurality of image identifiers indicated by the relational image identifier (i). In addition, a determination flag is prepared as a variable in the RAM 202 as a storage area for the result of each determination process.

When the constraint condition (i) is "1": the internal table 800 is scanned and the entry (j) being scanned
On the other hand, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i) constraint condition (j) = “6” distance between center point coordinate (i) and center point coordinate (j) <= neighborhood value of constraint application ( i) Search for an entry (j) that satisfies all the conditions of processed flag (j) = “OFF”. As a result of this search,
If there is no corresponding entry or if there are a plurality of entries, "error" is set in the determination flag and the process proceeds to step S708.
On the other hand, when the corresponding entry (j) is present, the internal table 800 is again searched based on this entry (j).
For the entry (k) being scanned, image identifier (j) = relevant image identifier (k), constraint condition (k) = “1”, center point coordinate (j) and center point coordinate Search for an entry (k) satisfying all the conditions: distance of (k) <= neighborhood value of constraint application (k) -processed flag (k) = "OFF". As a result of this search,
If there is a corresponding entry, the determination flag is set to "error" and the process proceeds to step S708. On the other hand, if there is no error, the determination flag is set to "OK", and the indexes "j" and "i" of the entries obtained in this search and the first search are stored as the elements of the set X.

When the constraint condition (i) is "2": The internal table 800 is scanned and the entry (j) being scanned
On the other hand, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i) constraint condition (j) = “6” distance between center point coordinate (i) and center point coordinate (j) <= neighborhood value of constraint application ( i) Search for an entry (j) that satisfies all the conditions of processed flag (j) = “OFF”. As a result of this search,
If there is no corresponding entry, the determination flag is set to "error" and the process proceeds to step S708. At this time, since there may be a plurality of entries (j), the indexes of these entries are stored as the element A (j) of the set A. Then, the internal table 800 is scanned again based on the entry (A (j)) indicated by each element A (j) of the set A, and the image identifier (A ( j)) = relational image identifier (k) -restriction condition (k) = "1" -distance between center point coordinates (A (j)) and center point coordinates (k) <
= Neighboring value of constraint application (k) -Processed flag (k) = "OFF" Search for an entry (k) that satisfies all the conditions. As a result of this search,
If there is a corresponding entry, the determination flag is set to "error" and the process proceeds to step S708. On the other hand, if there is no error, the determination flag is set to “OK”, and each element A (j) of the set A obtained in this search and the index “i” of the entry obtained in the first search are set. Store as an element of set X.

When the constraint condition (i) is "3": The internal table 800 is scanned, and for the entry (j) being scanned, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i) (J) = "6" -Distance between center point coordinate (i) and center point coordinate (j) <= neighborhood value (i) to which constraint is applied-Processed flag (j) = "OFF", all conditions are satisfied Search for the entry (j) that you want. As a result of this search,
If there is no corresponding entry or if there are a plurality of entries, "error" is set in the determination flag and the process proceeds to step S708.
On the other hand, when the corresponding entry (j) is present, the internal table 800 is again searched based on this entry (j).
For the entry (k) being scanned, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (k), constraint condition (k) = “1”, center point coordinate (j) and center point coordinate ( The entry (k) satisfying all the conditions of the distance of k) <= nearest value of constraint application (k) and processed flag (k) = “OFF” is searched. Then, the determination flag is set to "OK", and the index "j" and "i" of the entries obtained in this search and the first search are set to one or more "k" values, which are elements of the set X. Remember as.

When the constraint condition (i) is "4": the internal table 800 is scanned, and for the entry (j) being scanned, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i) constraint condition (J) = "6" -Distance between center point coordinate (i) and center point coordinate (j) <= neighborhood value (i) to which constraint is applied-Processed flag (j) = "OFF", all conditions are satisfied Search for the entry (j) that you want. As a result of this search,
If there is no corresponding entry, the determination flag is set to "error" and the process proceeds to step S708. At this time, since there may be a plurality of entries (j), the indexes of these entries are stored as the elements of the set AA (j). Then, the internal table 800 is scanned again based on the entry (A (j)) indicated by each element A (j) of the set A, and the image identifier (A ( j)) = relational image identifier (k) -restriction condition (k) = "1" -distance between center point coordinates (A (j)) and center point coordinates (k) <
= Constraint-approximated neighborhood value (k) -Processed flag (k) = "OFF", search for an entry (k) that satisfies all the conditions, and set the determination flag to "O".
K ”is set, and each element A of the set A obtained by this search
(J), the index “i” of the entry obtained by the first search and the value of one or more “k” are stored as the elements of the set X.

When the constraint condition (i) is "5": the internal table 800 is scanned, and for the entry (j) being scanned, image identifier (j) = relational image identifier (i) (J) = "6" -Distance between center point coordinate (i) and center point coordinate (j) <= neighborhood value (i) to which constraint is applied-Processed flag (j) = "OFF", all conditions are satisfied Search for the entry (j) that you want. As a result of this search,
If the corresponding entry exists, "error" is set in the determination flag and the process proceeds to step S708. On the other hand, if the corresponding entry does not exist, “OK” is set in the determination flag and the index i is stored as an element of the set X.

As described above, the constraint condition (i) from "1" to
By the processing according to the value of “5”, the inspection of the relationship between the images is completed, and the processed entry, that is, the entry (X (i)) in the internal table 800 that can refer to the element of the set X as an index The extraction will be completed.

Step S708: inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 indicates whether the relationship between the images is “error” or “OK” depending on the value of the determination flag set in step S707.
If the result is "OK", the process proceeds to step S709. If the result is "error", the process proceeds to step S710.

Step S709: If the result of determination in step S708 is that the relationship between the images is "OK", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 uses each element X (i) of the set X stored in step S707 as an index. , The processed flag (X (i)) of the internal table 800 is set to “ON”. Then, it returns to step S703 again and repeats the subsequent processing steps.

Step S710: If the result of determination in step S708 is that the relation between the images is "error", the inter-image relation processing section 301 executes the same error processing as in step S704, and ends this processing.

In this embodiment, for example, a character string may be used instead of the image data identified by the related image identifier 503, that is, the image data whose constraint condition is "6". (Hereinafter, this configuration is referred to as "configuration example 1"). In this case, a character string is held instead of the related image identifier 503, and instead of searching the image data existing in the vicinity of each image data in the process shown in FIG. 7, the character string indicated by the related image identifier 503 is retained. It can be realized by searching for the existence of. Also, in this case,
In step S701 of the process shown in FIG. 7, it is difficult to retrieve all the candidate character strings and hold them in the internal table 800. Therefore, in the constraint determination process of step S707, the internal table 800 is used instead of the internal table 800. The determination process may be performed based on the character string in the document edit data and the rectangular position of the character string in the drawing area. Furthermore, in the related image identifier 503, for example, by setting a flag indicating whether the related image identifier 503 is an image identifier or a character string for the first character or the like,
Both the image data and the character string data can be processed as the related image data.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, the determination of "vicinity" of an image may be extended to the entire document including a plurality of pages (hereinafter, this configuration will be referred to as "configuration example 2"). "). In this case, the constraint application neighborhood value 50
4 is set so as to include a flag indicating whether the constraint application neighborhood value 504 is the actual size value on the drawing area or the number of pages. Further, in steps S701 and S702 of the processing shown in FIG. 7, the internal table 800 is generated for the image data of the entire document, and the page number is also given to the center point coordinates stored in the internal internal table 800. To do. Further, in step S707 of the processing shown in FIG. 7, when the constraint application neighborhood value (i) is the number of pages, the absolute value of the difference in page number from the page may be determined as the neighborhood value.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, as the additional information of the image information 500 shown in FIG. 5, the existence position of the related image may be set (hereinafter, this configuration will be referred to as “configuration”). Example 3 "). For example, the validity of the inter-image relationship is determined by setting information indicating whether the position is not in an arbitrary position in the vicinity of the image data but in the vicinity of the image data and within a specific position range. It is also possible. Specifically, for the image information 500 shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the constraint application neighborhood value 504, for example, from the center point position of the image data identified by the image identifier 501 to the center point of the related image data. Of the vector of
The allowable range of the angle value of the drawing area space coordinates with respect to the X axis or the Y axis is set. In step S707 of the process shown in FIG. 7, not only the distance between the center points but also the angle of the center point vector with respect to the X axis or the Y axis of the drawing area space coordinates of the page and the allowable range are determined. The process based on the comparison result is executed.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, any combination of the configuration examples 1 to 3 described above may be applied.

[Second Embodiment] In the present embodiment, in the image service system 100 shown in FIG. 1, if an error is found as a result of the inter-image relationship determination processing, an error message is simply displayed. Not error handling such as
It is configured to correct the relationship between the images.

The main difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is the image information 500 shown in FIG.
And a part of the processing shown in FIG. Here, for simplicity of description, only the configuration and operation different from those of the first embodiment will be specifically described. Further, also in the present embodiment, other configuration examples 1 to 3 described in the first embodiment, for example, a configuration in which a character string (text data) is handled as related image data, can be applied. is there.

<Characteristics of this Embodiment> FIG. 9 (a)-
(C) is the image service system 100 of the present embodiment.
It is a schematic diagram which shows the example (1)-(2) of the processing content by. In FIGS. 9A to 9C, “901”,
“903” and “905” are user PC 1 respectively
Document editing application 300 that is started with 01 (N)
"90" shows the contents in the page area being edited by
2 ”,“ 904 ”, and“ 906 ”indicate the contents in the page area as a result of performing the processing in the present embodiment described later on the page areas 901, 903, and 905, respectively.

First, in the example (1) shown in FIG. 9A, a digital watermark is added to each image data existing in the page area 901. For example,
Constraint 50 of image information 500 of the digital watermark data
2 is “3”. That is, the page area 901 is in the same state as the page area 600 shown in FIG. However, in the page area 901, there is no image data that should be a related image of each image data, that is, image data corresponding to the image data 605 shown in FIG. In this case, in the first embodiment, an error message is displayed on the CRT 209 and the processing ends. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the relational image data is acquired, and the relational image data is pasted at a predetermined position in the page area 901, so that the inter-image relation of the document being edited is appropriate. Correct to. The result is a page area 902 (corrected page area), and as shown in the page area 902, the related image data 907 is attached.

On the other hand, the example (2) shown in FIG.
Contrary to the example (1), this is an example of a correction method by removing inappropriate image data. That is, a digital watermark is added to each image data existing in the page area 903. For example, the constraint condition 502 of the image information 500 of the digital watermark data is “5”, and the related image identifier 503 indicates the image data 908. In this case, in the first embodiment, the image data 9
The presence of 08 causes an error, and the error message is C
The message is displayed on the RT 209 and the process is completed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the image data 908 that is in error is
Is removed to correct the inter-image relationship of the document being edited to an appropriate one. This result is the page area 904 (corrected page area), and as shown in the page area 904, the error image data 908 is removed.

The example (3) shown in FIG. 9C is an example in which the example (1) and the example (2) are combined. That is,
In the example (2), the constraint condition in the digital watermark data added to each image data is "5", that is, the related image does not exist in the neighborhood, but the example (3)
Then, the constraint condition is set to "3" as in the example (1).
In this case, first, the image data 908 is an error because there is no subordinate related image, but it is once removed as in the case of the example (2). However,
Since only this removal is still in an incorrect state as shown in the page area 901 of the example (1), the example (1)
Similarly, the appropriate image data 907 is acquired and pasted at a predetermined position. This result is the page area 906.
(Corrected page area), and as shown in the page area 906, the image data 908 in error is removed, and appropriate image data 907 is pasted instead.

<Digital Watermark Data> FIG. 10 shows an example of the image information 500 'in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the image information 500 ′ according to the present embodiment further includes the automatic setting flag 511 and the automatic insertion position 512 in addition to the information 501 to 504 forming the image information 500 shown in FIG. Is included.

In the image information 500 'of FIG. 10, the information 501 to 504 other than the automatic setting flag 511 and the automatic insertion position 512 is the same as the information 501 to 504 of the image information 500 of FIG. , Its detailed description is omitted.

The automatic setting flag 511 can take two values of "ON" or "OFF". Further, the automatic setting flag 511 determines whether the related image data is document edit data when the related image data exists or does not exist in violation of the constraint of the constraint condition 502 at the time of determining the existence of the related image data of the target image data. It is used for the purpose of specifying whether to delete more or to obtain and paste from the outside.

The automatic insertion position 512 designates a pasting position when the related image data is externally acquired and pasted to the document edit data in the determination processing described later. For example, the drawing region of the target image data is designated. Upper center point,
And information represented by a vector value or the like of the center point of the related image data to be pasted.

When the image information 500 'as described above is embedded as digital watermark data in the target image data,
The automatic setting flag 511 and the automatic insertion position 512 need not necessarily be included in the digital watermark data, like the related image identifier 503 and the constraint application neighboring value 504.

<Operation of User PC 101 (N)> FIG.
FIG. 4 shows processing executed by the inter-image relation processing unit 301 as an example of main processing of the document editing application 300 activated by the user PC 101 (N).

FIG. 12 shows an internal table 800 'used during execution of the processing shown in FIG. In this internal table 800 ′, items for storing the automatic setting flag 511 and the automatic insertion position 512 of the image information 500 ′ shown in FIG. 10 are added to the internal table 800 shown in FIG. There is.

The processing executed by the inter-image relation processing section 301 of the document editing application 300 in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 11 will be specifically described below.

Step S751: Inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 extracts the electronic watermark data of the image data, and the image information of the electronic watermark data (here, the image information 5 in FIG. 10 is used, as in step S701 shown in FIG. 7).
00 ') information 501-504 and 511,5
12 is stored in the internal table 800 ′.

Step S752: Inter-image relation processing unit 30
Similar to step S702 shown in FIG. 7, the first item acquires blank information (missing data) in the internal table 800 ′ via the communication processing unit 304 or the like and stores it in the internal table 800 ′. At this time, the automatic setting flag and the automatic insertion position are also processed information.

Step S753: Inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 scans the internal table 800 ′ and searches for one entry whose constraint condition is “5”. As a result, when there is a corresponding entry, the index value of the entry is set to “i” and the step is performed. Go to S704,
On the other hand, if there is no corresponding entry, the process proceeds to step S760.

Step S754: If the result of the search in step S703 is that there is a corresponding entry, the inter-image relationship processing section 301 prepares a judgment flag as a variable in the RAM 202 as a storage area for the result of the inter-image relationship judgment process. Then, the same processing as the processing when the constraint condition of step S707 shown in FIG. 7 is “5” is executed. However, the internal table used at this time is the internal table 800 'shown in FIG.

Step S755: inter-image relation processing section 30
1 determines whether the determination flag set in the process of step S754 is "error" or "OK". If the determination flag is "OK", step S75
If not, the process proceeds to step S707.

Step S756: If the result of determination in step S755 is that the determination flag is "OK", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 sets the processed flag (i) to "ON" and returns to step S753. , And the subsequent processing steps are repeatedly executed.

Step S757: If the result of determination in step S755 is that the determination flag is "error", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 determines that the automatic setting flag (i) is "ON".
, Or "OFF", and then "ON"
If so, the process proceeds to step S758, and if not, the process proceeds to step S759.

Step S758: If the result of determination in step S757 is that the automatic setting flag (i) is "ON", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 causes the image processing section 303 to edit the document while the target image data is being edited. Delete from the data. At this time, a message or the like notifying that the image has been deleted may be displayed on the CRT 209. Further, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 uses the internal table 8
The entry (i) is deleted from 00 ', the process returns to step S753 again, and the subsequent processing steps are repeatedly executed.

Step S759: If the result of determination in step S757 is that the automatic setting flag (i) is "OFF", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 performs the same processing as in step S704 or step S710 shown in FIG. , CR
Error processing such as displaying an error message is executed at T209, and the present processing ends.

Step S760: Step S7 described above
If the corresponding entry does not exist as a result of the search in 53, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 scans the internal table 800 ′ in the same manner as in step S703 shown in FIG. 7 above, and the processed flag is “OFF”. ", And the constraint condition is not" 6 "are searched, and as a result, if there is a corresponding entry, the entry is set to the i-th step and the process proceeds to step S7612. In addition, as a result of the above search, if the corresponding entry does not exist, and the processed flag is “OFF” and the constraint condition is “6”, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 proceeds to step S7761. move on. In addition, the inter-image relationship processing unit 301
In the case other than the above, that is, when the processed flags of all the entries are "ON", this processing ends.

Step S761: If, as a result of the search processing in step S760, there is an entry with the processed flag being “OFF” and the constraint condition being “6”, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 executes the steps shown in FIG. Similar to S704, error processing such as displaying an error message on the CRT 209 is executed, and then this processing ends.

Step S762: When the processed flag is "OFF" and there is an entry whose constraint condition is not "6" as a result of the search processing of step S760, the inter-image relation processing unit 301 makes the entry (i) The value of the constraint condition (i) is “0” (no constraint), or
It is determined whether it is "1" to "4" other than "0". As a result of this determination, if the value of the constraint condition (i) is "0", the process proceeds to step S763, and if not, the process proceeds to step S764.

The process of step S762 is the same as that of FIG.
Although the processing is the same as the processing of step S705 shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, for the entry whose constraint condition (i) is “5”, all processed flags are “ON” by step S759. Alternatively, since it is deleted from the internal table 800 ', it does not exist as an entry to be processed.

Step S763: If the result of the determination in step S762 is that the value of the constraint condition (i) is "0", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 sets the processed flag (i) to "O".
N "is set, the process returns to step S760 again, and the subsequent processing steps are repeatedly executed.

Step S764: If the result of the determination in step S762 is that the value of the constraint condition (i) is any one of "1" to "4", the inter-image relation processing unit 301 shows the above-mentioned FIG. Similarly to step S707, the processing based on the value of the constraint condition (i) is executed. However, the internal table used in the process is the internal table 80 of the above 8.
It is not 0, but the internal table 800 'of FIG. Further, in the processing when the constraint condition (i) is “1” or the processing when the constraint condition (i) is “3”, as a result of the first scan of the internal table 800, there are a plurality of corresponding entries. That is, although the constraint condition (i) is that there is only one related image data within the predetermined neighborhood, when there are a plurality of related image data, at that point, the step S709 or the step S761 is performed. The same error processing is executed, and this processing ends.

Even in step S764, the internal table 80 is obtained as the processing result as in the case of the processing of FIG.
A set X of index values on 0'is set.

Step S765: inter-image relation processing unit 30
1 indicates whether the relationship between the images is “error” or “OK” depending on the value of the determination flag set in step S764.
If it is “OK”, the process proceeds to step S766, and if it is “error”, the process proceeds to step S767.

Step S766: If the result of the determination in step S765 is that the relation between the images is "OK", the inter-image relation processing unit 301 uses each element X (i) of the set X stored in step S764 as an index. , The processed flag (X (i)) of the internal table 800 ′ is set to “ON”. Then, it returns to step S760 again and repeats the subsequent processing steps.

Step S767: If the result of determination in step S765 is that the relationship between the images is "error", the inter-image relationship processing unit 301 determines whether the value of the automatic setting flag (i) is "ON". If the result is "ON", the process proceeds to step S768, and if not, the process proceeds to step S769.

Step S768: If the result of determination in step S767 is that the automatic setting flag (i) is "ON", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 determines that the related image identifier (i)
An image acquisition process is requested by passing the first related image identifier of the above to the communication processing unit 304. The communication processing unit 304 connects to the network 103 based on a request from the inter-image relationship processing unit 301 and transmits the related image identifier from the inter-image relationship processing unit 301 to the image server 102.
The image server 102 causes the image information providing unit 403 to return the image data indicated by the relational image identifier from the communication processing unit 304 to the inter-image relation processing unit 301 via the communication processing unit 304. Inter-image relationship processing unit 301
Receives the image data from the image server 102, and instructs the image processing unit 303 to change the document edit data currently being edited so as to embed the image data in the position indicated by the automatic insertion position (i). . At this time, CR
At T209, it is possible to display a message or the like in which the image data is embedded. After that, the inter-image relationship processing unit 301 sets the processed flag (X (i)) of the internal table 800 ′ to “ON”, and again the step S76.
The process returns to 0 and the subsequent processing steps are repeated.

Step S769: If the result of determination in step S767 is that the automatic setting flag (i) is "OFF", the inter-image relationship processing section 301 executes the CRT 209 in the same manner as in step S704 shown in FIG. Error processing such as displaying an error message is executed, and this processing ends.

[Third Embodiment] The present invention is applied to, for example, an image service system 1000 as shown in FIG. Image service system 1000 of the present embodiment
Provides network services such as document printing and storage.
It is configured so that it can be provided via.

The image service system 1 shown in FIG.
000, the image service system 10 of FIG.
Portions that function similarly to 0 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Here, in the first and second embodiments, the user PC 101 (N) which is directly used by the user mainly performs the processing such as the determination of the relationship between images and the acquisition of the related image, which are the features of this embodiment. ). On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the processing is executed by the information processing apparatus 1006 that is connected to the network 103 and that provides the print service system.

Specifically, first, the image service system 1000 includes the user PC 101 (N), the information processing apparatus (order processing server) 1006, and the image server 102.
However, it is configured to be communicably connected via the network 103.

The order processing server 1006 is an information processing apparatus having the computer function 200 as shown in FIG. 2, is constantly connected to the network 103, and is based on the processing request from the user PC 101 (N). It has a function of receiving document data transmitted from the user PC 101 (N) and printing out the document data by the printing apparatus 1005.

The user PC 101 (N) is the user PC 1
It has a document processing application 1001 and a print ordering / ordering unit 1002, which are application programs operating on 01 (N).

The document processing application 1001 has a function of editing and creating document data composed of texts, images, etc., similarly to the document editing application 300 (see FIG. 3) in the first and second embodiments. It is an application program provided to the user.

The document processing application 1001 does not require the image relation processing section 301 and the watermark detection processing section 302 in the document editing application 300.

The print order ordering unit 1002 has a function of reading the document data created by the document processing application 1001, connecting to the order processing server 1303 via the network 103, and ordering the printing of the document data.

The order processing server 1006 uses the order receiving unit 1
003 and a print processing unit 1004. A printing device 1005 is connected to the order processing server 1006.

The order receiving unit 1003 is connected to the network 10
The print order and the document data output by the print order ordering unit 1302 of the user PC 101 (N) are received via 3,
The document data is used as print data, and printing of the print data is performed by the printing apparatus 1005 via the print processing 1004.
It has a function to ask.

The print processing unit 1004 is the print order receiving unit 100.
By transmitting the print data from the printer 3 to the printing apparatus 1005, the print processing of the print data is performed. As the printing apparatus 1005, for example, a printing apparatus or system that is connected to the PRT 215 and the network 103 shown in FIG. 2 and has a function of receiving a print instruction from the print processing unit 1004 and executing printing can be applied. .

The image service system 100 as described above.
0, the order receiving unit 1003 of the order processing server 1006.
Is an inter-image relation processing unit 301 included in the document editing application 300 according to the first and second embodiments,
It has the functions of the watermark detection processing unit 302, the image processing unit 303, and the communication processing unit 304, and has the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 in the first embodiment or the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 in the second embodiment. Perform processing according to.

However, as a matter of course, the display on the CRT 209 of the order processing server 1006 is changed to the user PC 101.
Since the user on the (N) side cannot directly see, the order processing server 1006 returns the contents of the message, the document being edited, etc. to the print order ordering unit 1002 of the user PC 101 (N). The print order placement unit 1002 is configured to display on the CRT 209 of the user PC 101 (N).

When the network 103 is, for example, the Internet, the print ordering unit 1002 uses a general web browser application (Microsoft
In this case, the order processing server 1006 may have an Internet server program like the image server 102, and the order receiving unit 11003 may be implemented as a so-called CGI program. It is possible.

The object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the host and the terminal of the first to third embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to supply the storage medium to the system or apparatus. It is needless to say that it is also achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the device reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the first to third embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code and the program code constitute the present invention. Becomes A ROM, flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, or the like can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the first to third embodiments are realized, but also the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that this also includes the case where the above-mentioned processes perform part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the first to third embodiments are realized by the processing. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the extended function board inserted in the computer or the extended function unit connected to the computer, the extended function is executed based on the instruction of the program code. C on board and function expansion unit
It goes without saying that this also includes the case where the PU or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the first to third embodiments.

[0186]

As described above, according to the present invention, the positional relationship with other image data is detected based on the image information added to the target image data in the edit data in which a plurality of image data can exist. As configured. Based on this detection result, it is possible to check the validity of the image data in the edited data. The image information added to the image data is
It may be added to the image data as digital watermark data.

Specifically, for example, with the above configuration, with respect to the target image data existing in the document data: designation of whether another image data should exist within a predetermined position range from the target image data . When the above-mentioned designation specifies that another image data should exist, whether one image data should exist as the image data or a plurality of image data can exist. -Specifying whether another image data should exist within a predetermined position range from a plurality of target image data. Image information (relationship information between images) including such information is added as digital watermark data. By using this image information, it is possible to inspect the content of the document data being edited and notify the unauthorized use of the image data. Therefore, it is possible to assure the copyright holder of the image data how to use the image data as intended by the copyright holder.

Further, as a result of the above-mentioned inspection, when an unauthorized usage pattern of image data is detected, unnecessary unnecessary image data is automatically removed, or necessary image data (proper image data) is obtained. Is configured to be acquired through communication with the outside and attached to a predetermined position, the document data can be created in accordance with the intention of the copyright holder without the user's particular awareness.

In addition, one or more editing side (user side) information processing apparatus and an image providing side information processing apparatus are communicably connected via a communication means such as a network. For example, when applied to an image distribution service such as image storage and printing using a network, etc., it is not a document editing application operated by a user that performs inspection based on the above image information and paste of appropriate image data. The image distribution service can be processed by a server computer (information processing apparatus on the image providing side) that implements the image distribution service, and the image distribution service can be provided in a wider range of usage environments.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image service system to which the present invention is applied in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device of the image service system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document editing application activated by the information processing apparatus (user PC).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the information processing apparatus (image server).

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining image information used as digital watermark data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining inter-image data relation processing that is carried out when the document editing application is activated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining processing executed by an inter-image relation processing unit as an example of main processing of the document editing application.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an internal table used in the processing of the inter-image relationship processing unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining inter-image data relation processing that is performed by starting the document editing application in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining image information used as digital watermark data in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for describing processing executed by an inter-image relationship processing unit as an example of main processing of the document editing application in the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an internal table used in the processing of the inter-image relationship processing unit in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image service system to which the present invention has been applied in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 image service system 101 (1), 101 (2), ... User PC 102 image server 103 network 201 CPU 202 Random access memory (RAM) 203 Read-only memory (ROM) 204 External Input / Output Device (FDD) 205 Network Interface (NETIF) 206 Network connection device (modem) 207 Local network (LAN) 208 Video RAM (VRAM) 209 Display (CRT) 210 controller (KBC) 211 keyboard (KB) 212 Pointing device (mouse) 213 Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 214 External Input / Output Controller (IOC) 215 Printer (PRT) 216 Reader (scanner) 300 Document editing application 301 Inter-image relation processing unit 302 Watermark detection processing unit 303 Image processing unit 304 Communication processing unit 401 Internet server program 402 Digital Watermarking Unit 403 Image information provision department 404 image storage 405 Image information storage unit

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for inspecting target image data existing in edit data, wherein one image processing apparatus exists in the edit data based on predetermined image information attached to the target image data. An image characterized by comprising an inter-image relation processing means for detecting a relation with a plurality of other image data, and an inspection means for inspecting the target image data based on a detection result of the inter-image relation processing means. Processing equipment. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information includes digital watermark data. 3. The inter-image relationship processing means determines a positional relationship with respect to one or a plurality of target image data as to whether or not one or a plurality of predetermined image data exist within a predetermined position range. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus detects the image. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined position range includes at least one of a range on one page and a range extending over a plurality of pages. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined image data includes text data. 6. A communication means for acquiring missing information among a plurality of pieces of information constituting the image information by communication with the outside, and the inter-image relation processing means is provided with the information obtained by the communication means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection processing is executed based on the above. 7. An image processing system in which a plurality of devices are communicably connected to each other, wherein at least one device among the plurality of devices is an image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An image processing system having the function of. 8. An image processing system in which at least an editing side and an image providing side are communicably connected via an arbitrary communication means, wherein the editing side includes image data included in the editing data and the image data. Image providing means for extracting the image information given to the image information, and inter-image relationship processing means for detecting the positional relationship between one or more pieces of image data based on the image information obtained by the extracting means. The holding side holds a plurality of image data and the image information for each image data, and, based on a request from the editing side, sets the corresponding image data of the holding information of the holding means to the editing side. An image processing system comprising: an image providing unit that sends a reply to. 9. The image processing system according to claim 8, wherein the image information is added to the image data as digital watermark data. 10. The inter-image relationship processing means performs a predetermined one or more image data for one or more image data as a positional relationship detection process performed based on the image information. 9. The image processing system according to claim 8, which executes a process of detecting whether or not the position is within the position range. 11. The image information includes constraint condition information relating to an existing range of image data, and the inter-image relation processing means on the editing side, contrary to the constraint condition information, applies to one or a plurality of image data. Then, when one predetermined image data does not exist within the predetermined position range, an image request is issued to the image providing side based on the image information, and the image providing means of the image providing side Based on the image request from the editing side, the corresponding image data of the holding information of the holding means is returned to the editing side, and the image-to-image relation processing means of the editing side, the image data from the image providing side, 9. The image data is inserted into a predetermined position of the edit data based on the image information.
The image processing system described. 12. The image information includes constraint condition information relating to the existence range of image data, and the inter-image relation processing means on the editing side, contrary to the constraint condition information, applies to one or a plurality of image data. Then, when one predetermined image data exists within a predetermined position range,
9. The image processing system according to claim 8, wherein the image data is removed from the edit data based on the image information. 13. The image processing system according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined image data includes text data. 14. The image processing according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined position range includes at least one of a page number of document data and a coordinate position relationship between image data. system. 15. The communication means includes a network, the editing side includes an information processing device used by a user, the image providing side includes an information processing device that provides a document processing service, and 9. The image processing system according to claim 8, wherein one or more information processing devices on the editing side and information processing devices on the image providing side are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other. 16. An image processing method for inspecting image data in document edit data, comprising: an extracting step of extracting image data in the document edit data and image information attached to the image data. Based on the image information obtained by the extraction step,
An image processing method, comprising: an inter-image relationship processing step of inspecting a positional relationship between one or more pieces of image data. 17. The image processing method according to claim 16, wherein the image information is added to the image data as digital watermark data. 18. The inter-image relation processing step is a predetermined one or a plurality of pieces of image data for one or a plurality of pieces of image data, as a positional relation inspection processing executed based on the image information. Is present within the position range, or one image data is not subjected to a predetermined one or more image data within the predetermined position range. Claim 1
6. The image processing method according to item 6. 19. The image processing method according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined image data includes text data. 20. The image processing method according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined position range includes at least one of a page number of document data and a coordinate position relationship between image data. 21. A communication step of communicating with the outside via an arbitrary communication network, and a missing information acquisition step of acquiring the missing information of the image information from the outside by the communication step. The image processing method according to claim 16. 22. A program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the function of the image processing system according to any one of claims 7 to 15 is recorded. Computer readable storage medium. 23. A computer-readable storage medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to claim 16. 24. A program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the function of the image processing system according to any one of claims 7 to 15. 25. A program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to any one of claims 16 to 21.