JP2004166037A - System and method for issuing card, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card issuing system capable of verifying before issuing a card that electronic watermark information is correctly embedded in order to prevent erroneous data from being embedded as an electronic watermark. <P>SOLUTION: A system is provided with an electronic watermark information storing means for storing electronic watermark information inherent to a card embedded in an image, an electronic watermark information embedding means for embedding the electronic watermark information in an image printed on the surface of a card ticket and generating an electronic watermark image, and an electronic watermark information verifying means for verifying the electronic watermark image by extracting the electronic watermark information embedded in the generated electronic watermark image from the electronic watermark image and collating the extracted electronic watermark information with the electronic watermark information read from the electronic watermark information storing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card issuing system using a magnetic card, an IC card, and the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a card issuing system for issuing a card in which an electronic watermark is embedded in an image of a card surface.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A card issuing system having a function of embedding other information as an electronic watermark in an image printed on the surface of a magnetic card that records information on a magnetic stripe or various cards that record information on an IC chip has conventionally existed. I have.
For example, a patent application has been filed for a card issuing system in which an encoder is provided so that data can be encoded in a card printer that prints a face photograph and character information on a plastic card (see Patent Document 1).
When a digital watermark is embedded in an image to be printed in this way, in order to detect the digital watermark, the digital image in which the digital watermark is embedded is once printed to be an analog image, and the analog image is scanned by a scanner. The digital watermark is read again by a reading device such as a digital camera or a digital camera, and the original digital watermark is detected from the captured digital image. Therefore, embedding of a digital watermark is performed by a method that can withstand the deterioration of information in the process of conversion from digital image to analog image to digital image.
As a digital watermarking method that is resistant to information degradation in the above-described conversion process, a technique of embedding a digital watermark in a specific frequency region in an image has already been invented (see Patent Document 2).
[0003]
In the conventional card issuing system, a process of editing data, a process of embedding a digital watermark in an image to be printed on a ticket, and an image in which the edited data and the digital watermark are embedded, using the above-described techniques. The process of each process in the process of issuing a card using is performed.
Here, for example, when an ID (identification) card used as an employee ID card is issued, in the process of editing the data, data related to an employee code, a name, and the like are edited, and image data of a photograph of the face of the employee is edited. Is done.
In the process of embedding the digital watermark, character information (for example, an employee code, a name, a card expiration date, etc.) or image information (for example, a company logo mark) is embedded as an electronic watermark in the image data of the face photograph. In some cases, instead of embedding a digital watermark in image data of a face photograph, a digital watermark may be embedded in a background image on a card voucher or the like.
In the process of issuing a card, the image data and other character data in which the digital watermark is embedded are transferred to a card printer, so that the card is printed on the card surface and the magnetic stripe, IC chip, or the like is printed. Necessary information is written to the storage medium.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-216476 A [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-064700
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above conventional technology has the following problems.
First, if any trouble occurs during the process of embedding a digital watermark, image data in which a digital watermark is not correctly embedded may be transferred to a card printer, and an erroneous card may be printed. Further, due to an operation error of the user of the card issuing system, there is a possibility that wrong data is embedded as an electronic watermark and an incorrect card is printed. Also, after performing a process of embedding data in image data as a digital watermark, the data is further edited and updated, and as a result, the latest edited data and the image printed on the card are embedded. There is a possibility that the card will be issued while the digital watermark information does not match each other.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in order to solve the above various problems, a card capable of verifying that digital watermark information is correctly embedded before issuing the card. The purpose is to provide a publishing system.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is a card issuing system for transferring an image to be printed on a card surface to a printer, wherein the electronic watermark stores card-specific electronic watermark information for embedding in the image. Information storage means, electronic watermark information embedding means for embedding the electronic watermark information in an image to be printed on the card face and generating an electronic watermark image, and an electronic watermark embedded in the electronic watermark image from the generated electronic watermark image Electronic watermark information verifying means for verifying the digital watermark image by extracting information and comparing the extracted digital watermark information with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage means. The gist is a card issuing system characterized by the above.
In this card issuing system, a digital watermark image is printed on the card only when the result of the verification processing by the digital watermark information verifying unit indicates that the verification is normal. Can be prevented.
[0008]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for causing a computer to execute a card issuing process of transferring an image to be printed on a card surface to a printer, wherein the electronic watermark stores card-specific electronic watermark information to be embedded in the image. Reading the digital watermark information from the information storage means, embedding the digital watermark information in an image to be printed on the card face, and generating a digital watermark image; and a digital watermark information embedding process based on the generated digital watermark image. An electronic watermark for verifying the digital watermark image by extracting digital watermark information embedded in the image and comparing the extracted digital watermark information with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage means. A computer that causes a computer to perform processing with the watermark information verification process. Is a program.
[0009]
Further, the present invention provides a card issuance method of embedding digital watermark information in an image and then printing the image on a card face, wherein the digital watermark information embedded in the image is printed before the image is printed on the card face. It has a process of extracting and verifying.
Further, the present invention is a card issuing method for transferring an image to be printed on a card surface to a printer, wherein the electronic watermark information storing means for storing card-specific electronic watermark information for embedding in the image includes: A process of reading the watermark information, embedding the digital watermark information in an image to be printed on the card face, and generating a digital watermark image; and a digital watermark embedded in the digital watermark image from the generated digital watermark image. A digital watermark information verification step of verifying the digital watermark image by extracting information and comparing the extracted digital watermark information with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage means. It is characterized by the following.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(1st Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the case of an ID card will be described as an example of a card, but it goes without saying that any card such as an IC card or a magnetic card may be used.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of an ID card issuance process according to the embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ID card issuing system, in which the data editing (11) process, the digital watermark embedding (12) process, and the digital watermark verification (13) are performed. ) Of each process. As a result of these processes, data required for card issuance is transferred from the ID card issuing system 1 to the card printer 2, and the card printer 2 performs printing on the card surface using the data. , An ID card issuance (14) is performed.
That is, the feature of the ID card issuing system according to the present embodiment is that a process of verifying a digital watermark is provided before transferring data necessary for issuing an ID card to a card printer.
[0011]
Hereinafter, processing inside the ID card issuing system 1 will be described in more detail.
In the process of data editing (11), the user of this system allows data to be written on the magnetic stripe or IC chip of the card, character data or symbol data to be printed on the card surface, and a face photograph to be printed on the card surface. The image data or the image data of the background of the card surface and the data embedded as an electronic watermark in these image data are edited. The data embedded as an electronic watermark in each ID card is data related to the ID card, such as an employee code, a name, a department, an expiration date, and the like. These data are stored in an electronic watermark information database (DB). ).
In the process of embedding a digital watermark (12), data related to an ID card, such as characters, symbols, and figures, is embedded as digital watermark in the image data of the face photograph or the image data of the background of the card face, and the digital watermark is included. Generate image data.
In the digital watermark verification process, the digital watermark information embedded in the digital watermarked image data is extracted, and the extracted digital watermark information is compared with the data stored in the digital watermark information database. Is used to verify whether the data is correctly embedded in the digital watermarked image data.
[0012]
Next, the processing in the process of embedding the digital watermark will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing a digital watermark embedding process, and this configuration is included in a part of the ID card issuing system 1. As shown in FIG. 2, in order to perform the process of embedding digital watermark (12), the ID card issuing system 1 includes an image storage unit 121, a digital watermark information storage unit 122, a digital watermark information embedding unit 123, , A digital watermark image storage unit 124. The image storage unit 121 stores image data before embedding digital watermark information (information related to an ID card). The electronic watermark information storage unit 122 stores data related to the ID card to be embedded in image data to be printed on the ID card. The digital watermark information embedding unit 123 reads out data corresponding to each other from the image storage unit 121 and the electronic watermark information storage unit 122, and embeds data related to the ID card unique to the card corresponding to the image data. Then, the digital watermark image storage means 124 stores the digital watermarked image data generated by the digital watermark information embedding means 123. As the storage means of the image storage means 121, the digital watermark information storage means 122, and the digital watermark image storage means 124, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk is used.
[0013]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the specific processing contents of the digital watermark embedding (12). The face image data 121a and the card ticket background image data 121b in FIG. 3 are data stored in the image storage unit 121 shown in FIG. Similarly, the digital watermark information database (DB) 122a corresponds to the digital watermark information storage unit 122. The digital watermark embedding software 123a is a computer program, and the functions of the digital watermark information embedding unit 123 are realized by executing the digital watermark embedding software 123a by a computer constituting the ID card issuing system 1. The digital watermarked image data 124a and 124b are data stored in the digital watermark image storage unit 124.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 3, by the processing of the digital watermark embedding software 123a, data corresponding to these image data is read from the digital watermark information database 122a into image data represented by the face image data 121a or the card ticket background image data 121b, This data is embedded as a digital watermark in the above-described image data to generate digital watermarked image data 124a or 124b.
As a correspondence between these image data and the digital watermark information database 122a, an employee code or the like uniquely defined in the image data is used as a file name of the image data. Further, when the image data is stored in the image storage unit 121, it is conceivable that the employee code or the like is managed in advance in the same manner as a table format database as a key that is uniquely determined. In any case, it is preferable that the image data and the data related to the ID card can be managed in association with each other. This is particularly important when the image data is individually different for each ID card, such as face photograph data, and is not so important when the card card background image data is uniform for the ID card.
[0015]
The digital watermark information database 122a holds data relating to an ID card in a table format including items such as an employee code, a name, an affiliation, and an expiration date that are uniquely determined. The card issuer corresponds to data unique to each ID card. As the face image data 121a, image data representing the face image of the ID card issuer is used. In the processing of the electronic watermark embedding software 123a, watermark information is embedded in a specific frequency region in an image represented by image data. Specifically, for example, the data is embedded in the image data as digital watermark information using the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-064700. Thus, even if the image data is once printed on a card surface or the like and converted into an analog form, the printed image is read by a scanner, a digital camera, or the like, so that digital watermark information can be extracted from the digitized image.
[0016]
Next, the processing in the digital watermark verification process will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing the process of digital watermark verification (3). This configuration is included in a part of the ID card issuing system 1. As shown in FIG. 4, in order to perform the digital watermark verification (3), the ID card issuing system 1 includes a digital watermark information detecting unit 132, a digital watermark information matching unit 134, and a result storage unit 135. ing. The digital watermark information detecting means 132 reads the digital watermarked image data from the digital watermark image storage means 124 and performs processing for extracting the digital watermark information embedded in the image data. The digital watermark information matching unit 134 relates to the digital watermark information extracted by the digital watermark information detecting unit 132 and the latest ID card stored in the digital watermark information storage unit corresponding to the extracted digital watermark information. Check the data and determine if they match. Further, information of the digital watermark verification result by the digital watermark information matching unit 134 is written in the result storage unit 135, and the result storage unit 135 stores the information of the digital watermark verification result.
The combination of the digital watermark information detecting means 132 and the digital watermark information matching means 134 corresponds to a digital watermark information verifying means.
[0017]
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing specific processing contents of the digital watermark verification (3). The digital watermark verification software 132a in FIG. 5 is a computer program. When the computer executes the digital watermark verification software 132a, the functions of the digital watermark information detecting unit 132 and the digital watermark information matching unit 134 shown in FIG. Is achieved. The digital watermark processing result database (DB) 135a shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the result storage unit 135 shown in FIG.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 5, by the processing of the digital watermark verification software 132a, first, the digital watermarked image data 124a or 124b to be verified is read from the digital watermark image storage unit 124. Then, a process of extracting the embedded digital watermark information from the digital watermarked image data 124a or 124b is performed. In the example shown in the figure, the employee code (“000001”), name (“Tenpan Taro”), department (“development department”), and expiration date (“2003/03/31”) are obtained from the digital watermarked image data 124a or 124b. ) Is extracted. On the other hand, from the digital watermark information database 122a, data relating to the ID card that is the subject of the ID card issuance, that is, the ID card corresponding to the digital watermarked image data is read. In the illustrated example, the data of the employee code (“000001”), the name (“Taroban Taro”), the department (“Development Department”), and the expiration date (“2002/03/31”) are related to the ID card. Read as data. Then, the digital watermark information and the data are collated, and the collation result is written to the digital watermark processing result database 135a. In the illustrated example, since the digital watermark information extracted from the digital watermarked image data 124a or 124b and the data related to the ID card read from the digital watermark information database 122a match, the digital watermark processing result database 135a stores In the column of the digital watermark verification result corresponding to the employee code (“000001”), “1” indicating “verification is normal” is written. In the case of “verification abnormal”, “−1” is written. If the digital watermark verification (3) has not been performed, “0” indicating “no verification” is written as an initial value. ing.
The process of detecting (extracting) the digital watermark information is performed by a method corresponding to the digital watermark method of the present embodiment (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-064700).
[0019]
Then, as a result of the verification, the image data with the digital watermark that has been verified to be normal, and other information required for the ID card are transferred from the ID card issuing system 1 to the card printer 2 and are printed on the card surface by the card printer 2. Printing is performed. In other words, a card is issued only for data that has been verified to be normal, and no card is issued if verification is abnormal such as an error or an improper situation or verification has not been completed.
As a result, it was possible to solve the problem that the digital watermark information has a problem after the card is issued or the digital watermark information does not correspond to the data related to the ID card.
[0020]
(Second embodiment)
The present invention can also be used in the following technical fields.
This technical field may be used when issuing a certificate including a character, a symbol, or an image to which data is to be embedded using a digital watermark technique.
In other words, conventionally, for a certificate on which an image or the like containing digital watermark information is printed, it is necessary to confirm the content transcribed in the certificate after printing (that is, issuance) and the content of the digital watermark embedded in the image and the like. Had been done. This is performed to confirm whether the certificate has been falsified in order to enhance security.
However, before the certificate is created, the presence or absence of the digital watermark information is not checked, and if the digital watermark technology is used, the digital watermark information cannot be discriminated by human eyes. It was not possible to confirm whether or not such data was embedded in the certificate as digital watermark information. Thus, similar to the previous embodiment, the same problem as in the case of issuing an ID card has occurred.
Therefore, the present invention can be applied to certificates other than the above-mentioned issue of an ID card.
[0021]
In the present invention, a certificate is a document made to prove the truth in order to present or possess a certificate. For example, the above-mentioned ID card, license, health insurance card, passport And so on.
In light of the above embodiment, the information of the characters and symbols described in the certificate is regarded as data related to the certificate, and the image data of the face photograph printed on the certificate and the image serving as the background of the certificate Implementation is possible if it is data. As in the previous embodiment, data related to the certificate and image data to be printed on the certificate are managed using, for example, a license number, an insurance number, a passport number, or the like as a key instead of the employee code. May be.
As described above, if the information to be described in each certificate and the image data to be printed on the certificate are closely related, and the certificate includes different information, it is useful to implement the present invention. is there.
In other words, the content described in each certificate is different, and further, if different information is inserted into the image data by using the digital watermark technology, the information cannot be visually checked by humans. It is very important to make sure.
In addition, it is very important to confirm before printing a certificate, since confirmation after printing increases costs.
[0022]
As described above, the ID card issuing system 1 of the present embodiment is realized using a computer. The process of each process is stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above process is performed by reading and executing the program by the computer. Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to a computer via a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program.
[0023]
As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes a design and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a card issuing method of embedding a digital watermark in an image and then printing the digital watermark on a card face, the digital watermark embedded in the image is printed before printing this image on the card face. Since there is a process of extracting and verifying, it is possible to prevent the issuance of a card in which an erroneous digital watermark is embedded due to, for example, an operation error of the system user or a defect in the digital watermark embedding process.
A digital watermark information storage unit for storing digital watermark information; a digital watermark information embedding unit for embedding digital watermark information in an image to generate a digital watermark image; and a digital watermark image embedded in the digital watermark image from the generated digital watermark image. Digital watermark information verifying means for verifying the digital watermark image by extracting digital watermark information, and comparing the extracted digital watermark information with the digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage means. With the card issuing system, it is possible to realize a system capable of preventing issuance of a card in which an erroneous electronic watermark is embedded. Further, even when the information stored in the digital watermark information storage unit is updated after the digital watermark information embedding unit embeds the digital watermark information into the image, the mismatch can be detected by the digital watermark information verification unit. , It is possible to prevent issuance of an incorrect card.
In addition, if information is embedded in an image using a digital watermark technique, it cannot be perceived by humans, so it is necessary to confirm the digital watermark before the issuance.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of processing for issuing an ID card according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing a digital watermark embedding process according to the embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing specific processing contents of digital watermark embedding according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing digital watermark verification processing according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing specific processing contents of digital watermark verification according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ID card issuing system 2 Card printer 11 Data editing (process)
12 Digital watermark embedding (process)
13 Digital Watermark Verification (Process)
121 Image storage means 121a Face image data 121b Card face background image data 122 Digital watermark information storage means 122a Digital watermark information database (DB)
123 Digital watermark information embedding means 123a Digital watermark embedding software 124 Digital watermark image storage means 124a, 124b Digital watermarked image data 132 Digital watermark information detecting means 132a Digital watermark verification software 134 Digital watermark information matching means 135 Result storage means 135a Digital watermark Processing result database (DB)

Claims (4)

A card issuing system for transferring an image to be printed on a card surface to a printer,
Digital watermark information storage means for storing digital watermark information unique to a card for embedding in the image,
Digital watermark information embedding means for embedding the digital watermark information in an image to be printed on the card face, and generating a digital watermark image;
Digital watermark information embedded in the digital watermark image is extracted from the generated digital watermark image, and the extracted digital watermark information is compared with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage unit. By this, digital watermark information verification means for verifying the digital watermark image,
A card issuance system comprising: A computer program for causing a computer to execute a card issuing process of transferring an image to be printed on a card surface to a printer,
An electronic device that reads the digital watermark information from a digital watermark information storage unit that stores digital watermark information unique to a card to be embedded in the image, embeds the digital watermark information in an image to be printed on a card surface, and generates a digital watermark image. Watermark information embedding process,
Digital watermark information embedded in the digital watermark image is extracted from the generated digital watermark image, and the extracted digital watermark information is compared with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage unit. By this, a digital watermark information verification step of verifying the digital watermark image,
A computer program that causes a computer to execute the processing described above. In a card issuance method of embedding digital watermark information in an image and then printing the image on a card surface,
A card issuance method comprising the steps of extracting and verifying the digital watermark information embedded in the image before printing the image on a card surface. A card issuing method for transferring an image to be printed on a card face to a printer,
An electronic device that reads the digital watermark information from a digital watermark information storage unit that stores digital watermark information unique to a card to be embedded in the image, embeds the digital watermark information in an image to be printed on a card surface, and generates a digital watermark image. Watermark information embedding process,
Digital watermark information embedded in the digital watermark image is extracted from the generated digital watermark image, and the extracted digital watermark information is compared with card-specific digital watermark information read from the digital watermark information storage unit. By this, a digital watermark information verification step of verifying the digital watermark image,
A card issuance method comprising:

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