JP2006093920A - Information processor and processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To read out watermark information from a print document surely by imparting a watermark image again depending on output conditions when an electronic document imparted with a watermark image is printed out. <P>SOLUTION: The information processor comprises an image extraction section 13 for reading an electronic document or a paper document having a watermark image where specific information is embedded as a watermark in a first specific image and extracting the watermark image from the electronic document or paper document thus read in, an image analyzing/image restoring section 15 for acquiring the specific information and first specific image from the watermark image extracted at the image extraction section 13, and an information embedding section 17 for embedding the specific information acquired at the image analyzing/image restoring section 15 into second specific image as a watermark and generating other watermark image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method for outputting an electronic document or paper document including an electronic watermark image in a predetermined form, and more particularly to a technique for reconstructing an electronic watermark image in accordance with the output form.

  In recent years, a so-called “digital watermark” technique has been developed as a method of embedding a computer-readable code (code image) in a printed electronic document. Here, for example, in the case of a digital watermark, the code image is formed by a method for controlling the density of a part of the image. For this reason, the digital watermark image is also enlarged / reduced in accordance with the conditions (reduction ratio and N-up) relating to the reduction / enlargement (reduction / enlargement) of the printer output inside the image forming apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral. Particularly in the case of reduction processing, the result of the density control is lost, and the digital watermark may not be decoded. The same applies to the printing of a code image other than the digital watermark, and there is a desirable output magnification of the encoded image (digital watermark).

  For example, depending on the digital watermarking method to be applied, decoding is possible even if the digital watermark image is output within a few% to several tens% of the original size. However, in that case, restrictions such as the necessity of a certain scanning resolution at the time of reading occur, which is inconvenient to use (see Patent Document 1).

  The applicant of the present application has separately filed an invention for setting an output condition of a printer in accordance with the digital watermark technology when a document including an image to which the digital watermark technology is applied is output from the printer. This forcibly changes the presence / absence of compression and the output mode (for example, the speed priority mode and the image quality priority mode) so that the digital watermark becomes effective. In this case, the output is not different from what is output under the output conditions specified by the user, so that the user does not feel uncomfortable.

JP 2004-64516 A

  However, for example, N-up (a form in which N page images are reduced to one page and output) is changed to 1-up, or conversely, 1-up is changed to N-up. If the conditions related to enlargement are changed, the digital watermark image included in the image is also reduced, so that the digital watermark itself is destroyed or the reading of the digital watermark part exceeds the allowable range of the scanner or analysis software. Become. For this reason, there arises a problem that the digital watermark cannot be detected accurately.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, the present invention reads an electronic document or paper document having an electronic watermark image in which predetermined information is embedded as an electronic watermark in the first specific image, and the image data of the electronic document or paper document obtained by the reading Extraction means for extracting a digital watermark image from the image, analysis means for acquiring predetermined information and a first specific image from the digital watermark image extracted by the extraction means, and predetermined information acquired by the analysis means as second information An information processing apparatus includes information embedding means for embedding a specific image as a digital watermark to generate another digital watermark image.

  The present invention also reads an electronic document or paper document including an electronic watermark image in which predetermined information is embedded as an electronic watermark in the first specific image, and the image data of the electronic document or paper document obtained by the reading. A step of extracting a digital watermark image from the image, a step of acquiring predetermined information and a first specific image from the extracted digital watermark image, and embedding the acquired predetermined information as a digital watermark in the second specific image And an information processing method including a step of generating another digital watermark image.

  In the present invention, an electronic watermark image is extracted from image data of an electronic document or a paper document, and information on the electronic watermark and the original image (first specific image) in which the electronic watermark information is embedded are extracted from the extracted electronic watermark image. Have acquired. Therefore, when an image of an electronic document or a paper document is reduced / enlarged or rotated and output, the original image (first specific image) is reduced / enlarged / rotated in accordance with the output form, and the second is performed. The second specific image is generated, and the digital image information previously extracted is re-embedded in the second specific image to generate another digital watermark image. Therefore, the original image (first specific image) is reduced / enlarged. Even if the rotation processing is performed, the digital watermark information is not affected.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when reading an electronic document or paper document to which an electronic watermark image is added and outputting the image, the information of the electronic watermark is accurately read even if processing such as reduction, enlargement, and rotation is performed. It is possible to output in a state where it is possible. As a result, the user can reliably obtain a document to which effective digital watermark information is added even under an output condition in which reduction / enlargement processing such as N-up is executed without being bothered by the presence / absence or characteristics of the digital watermark information. It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Here, an example in which an electronic document with an electronic watermark image is read and printed out is shown, but the same applies to a case where a paper document is read by a scanner and printed out.

  The information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a print parameter extraction unit 11, a watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12, an image extraction unit 13, a re-embedding position information calculation unit 14, an image analysis / image restoration unit 15, and an image reduction / enlargement unit. 16, an information embedding unit 17, a data conversion unit 18, and an output unit 19 are provided.

  The print parameter extraction unit 11 performs a process of extracting print parameters based on an electronic document print instruction. The watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12 determines whether or not digital watermark information is included based on the data of the electronic document. The image extraction unit 13 extracts a digital watermark image from the data of the electronic document when the watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12 determines that the digital watermark information is included, and extracts the embedded position information. Do.

  The re-embedding position information calculation unit 14 performs a process of calculating a new embedding position from the printing parameters extracted by the printing parameter extraction unit 11 and information on the embedding position of the digital watermark image extracted by the image extraction unit 13. For example, when reduction is designated as the print parameter, a new embedding position of the digital watermark image is calculated according to the reduction rate. When rotation is designated as a print parameter, a new embedding position is calculated by performing coordinate conversion on the extracted embedding position (original embedding position).

  The image analysis / image restoration unit 15 extracts information (digital watermark information) embedded as a digital watermark from the digital watermark image extracted by the image extraction unit 13, and at the same time the specific image (electronic digital information embedded with the digital watermark information) A process of extracting an image in which watermark information is not embedded (first specific image) is performed.

  The image reduction / enlargement unit 16 is a part that reduces / enlarges the first specific image extracted by the image analysis / image restoration unit 15 in accordance with the parameters extracted by the print parameter extraction unit 11. As a result, it is possible to obtain a second specific image obtained by reducing / enlarging only the image in which the digital watermark information is not embedded in accordance with the print parameter.

  The information embedding unit 17 performs a process of embedding again the digital watermark information extracted by the image analysis / image restoration unit 15 in the second specific image reduced / enlarged by the image reduction / enlargement unit 16. The data conversion unit 18 is a part that synthesizes the data of the electronic document and the new digital watermark image in which the digital watermark information is re-embedded by the information embedding unit 17 and converts it into data for printing. The output unit 19 performs a process of printing out on a medium (paper or the like) using the data for printing output from the data conversion unit 18.

  In the information processing apparatus having such a configuration, when printing out an electronic document having a digital watermark image, a specific image in the digital watermark image (an image in which digital watermark information is not embedded: a first specific image) Is converted according to the print parameters, and the digital watermark information is embedded again in the converted image (second specific image) to be combined with the electronic document, so that processing such as reduction / enlargement or rotation of the electronic document is performed. However, the digital watermark information remains as it is, and the digital watermark information can be reliably detected from the printed document.

  Next, the operation (information processing method) by the information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, reference numerals not shown in FIG. 2 refer to FIG. First, an electronic watermark image in which predetermined information is embedded as an electronic watermark is assigned to the electronic document A to be output. In addition, the electronic document A includes information regarding the added digital watermark.

  When the electronic document A is instructed to be printed, the watermark information presence / absence detecting unit 12 of the printer driver determines the presence / absence of the electronic watermark information from the electronic document A to be output. The digital watermark image in which the information is embedded is extracted from the electronic document. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the electronic document A includes three digital watermark images S1 to S3.

  Further, the image extraction unit 13 extracts the embedded position information P1 to P3 of the digital watermark images S1 to S3. Further, the image analysis / image restoration unit 15 decodes (analyzes) the digital watermark images S1 to S3, extracts information (digital watermark information) J1 to J3 embedded therein, and extracts the digital watermark images S1 to S3. The original images (first specific images G1 to G3) in which the digital watermark information is not synthesized are extracted.

  Next, the print parameter extraction unit 11 extracts conditions relating to enlargement / reduction (reduction ratio, N-up information) from the printer output parameters included in the print instruction. Then, the image enlargement / reduction unit 16 generates the second specific images G <b> 1 ′ to G <b> 3 ′ by reducing and enlarging the first specific images G <b> 1 to G <b> 3 with the enlargement / reduction rate extracted by the print parameter extraction unit 11.

  Thereafter, the information embedding unit 17 executes a process of embedding the embedding information J1 to J3 extracted by the image analysis / image restoration unit 15 in the second specific images G1 'to G3'. Thereby, new digital watermark images S1 'to S3' in which information is embedded again are generated. Then, the position (rotation direction, etc.) at which the new digital watermark images S1 ′ to S3 ′ are rearranged is determined from the embedded position information extracted by the image extraction unit 13 and the conditions regarding the enlargement / reduction (reduction ratio, N-up). The re-embedding position information calculation unit 14 performs calculation.

  Finally, the data conversion unit 18 converts the document into a format that can be printed out (for example, xdw or PDL) and converts the new digital watermark image information S1 ′ to S3 ′ into a file that has been converted into a format that can be printed out. In addition, print processing commands suitable for the digital watermark images S1 ′ to S3 ′ are attached and printed out from the output unit 19.

  Through the above-described operation, the user can obtain effective digital watermark information even under print conditions in which reduction / enlargement processing such as N-up or rotation processing is executed without being bothered by the presence / absence of digital watermark information and characteristics. It is possible to reliably output the added document.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. This information processing apparatus includes a print parameter extraction unit 11, a watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12, a re-embedding position information calculation unit 14, an image reduction / enlargement unit 16, an information embedding unit 17, a data conversion unit 18, and an output unit 19. Although it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, it differs in the point provided with the image information / embedded information extraction part 20 instead of the image extraction part 13 and the image analysis / image restoration part 15 in 1st Embodiment.

  The image information / embedded information extraction unit 20 is a specific image (first specific image) that incorporates a digital watermark from data of the electronic document when the watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12 determines that the digital watermark information is included. Are extracted, information to be embedded is extracted from the electronic document, and information on the embedded position is extracted.

  In the second embodiment, information (position information) indicating the position of a specific image in which a digital watermark is incorporated into the data of the electronic document and contents to be incorporated as a digital watermark are included. The exact position of the specific image into which the digital watermark is incorporated can be detected by the extraction process, and the digital watermark image can be accurately given at the time of print output.

  Since the configuration other than the image information / embedded information extraction unit 20 is the same as that of the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted. Next, the operation (information processing method) of the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described.

  Next, an operation (information processing method) by the information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, reference numerals not shown in FIG. 4 refer to FIG. First, the electronic document A to be output has an image or position designation information for which information is to be embedded and embedding target information.

  When the electronic document A is instructed to be printed, the watermark information presence / absence detection unit 12 of the printer driver determines the presence / absence of electronic watermark information from the electronic document A to be output. The embedded information extraction unit 20 extracts from the electronic document A images (first specific images G1 to G3) to be digitally watermarked and information J1 to J3 to be embedded.

  Next, the print parameter extraction unit 11 extracts conditions relating to enlargement / reduction (reduction ratio, N-up information) from the printer output parameters included in the print instruction. Then, the image enlargement / reduction unit 16 generates the second specific images G <b> 1 ′ to G <b> 3 ′ by reducing and enlarging the first specific images G <b> 1 to G <b> 3 with the enlargement / reduction rate extracted by the print parameter extraction unit 11.

  Thereafter, the information embedding unit 17 performs processing for embedding the embedding information J1 to J3 extracted by the image information / embedding information extracting unit 20 in the second specific images G1 'to G3'. Thereby, new digital watermark images S1 'to S3' in which information is embedded again are generated. Then, the position (rotation direction, etc.) at which the new digital watermark images S1 ′ to S3 ′ are rearranged are embedded position information extracted by the image information / embedding information extraction unit 20 and the conditions (reduction ratio, N -up), the re-embedding position information calculation unit 14 calculates.

  Finally, the data conversion unit 18 converts the document into a format that can be printed out (for example, xdw or PDL) and converts the new digital watermark image information S1 ′ to S3 ′ into a file that has been converted into a format that can be printed out. In addition, print processing commands suitable for the digital watermark images S1 ′ to S3 ′ are attached and printed out from the output unit 19.

  Through the operations described above, the user is effective during the printing process even in the printing conditions in which the scaling process such as N-up or the rotation process is executed without being bothered by the presence or absence of the digital watermark information and the characteristics. It is possible to reliably output a document to which digital watermark information is assigned.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second specific image is obtained by performing processing such as reduction / enlargement and rotation on the first specific image. However, the second specific image is different from the first specific image. Watermark information may be embedded using a specific image. For example, when an electronic watermark image is arranged based on a document layout on the screen, it may be inconvenient if the arrangement or the image is printed as they are in the print output. In such a case, if the watermark information is embedded using another specific image (second specific image) prepared in advance for the first specific image and arranged in accordance with the layout on printing, the printed document Therefore, it is possible to obtain a printed material from which digital watermark information can be reliably read.

It is a block diagram explaining the information processor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the operation | movement (information processing method) by an information processing apparatus. It is a block diagram explaining the information processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the operation | movement (information processing method) by an information processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Print parameter extraction part, 12 ... Watermark information presence detection part, 13 ... Image extraction part, 14 ... Re-embedding position information calculation part, 15 ... Image analysis / image restoration part, 16 ... Image reduction / enlargement part, 17 ... Information embedding , 18 ... data conversion unit, 19 ... output unit, 20 ... image information / embedded information extraction unit

Claims (5)

A digital document or paper document having a digital watermark image in which predetermined information is embedded as a digital watermark in the first specific image is read, and the digital watermark image is obtained from the read image data of the electronic document or paper document. Extracting means for extracting;
Analyzing means for obtaining the predetermined information and the first specific image from the digital watermark image extracted by the extracting means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: an information embedding unit that embeds the predetermined information acquired by the analyzing unit as a digital watermark in a second specific image to generate another digital watermark image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second specific image is formed by reducing or enlarging the first specific image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second specific image is formed by rotating the first specific image. 2. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the information embedding unit arranges the another digital watermark image at a position on the paper according to a form of output of the electronic document or the paper document onto the paper. apparatus. A digital document or paper document having a digital watermark image in which predetermined information is embedded as a digital watermark in the first specific image is read, and the digital watermark image is obtained from the read image data of the electronic document or paper document. Extracting, and
Obtaining the predetermined information and the first specific image from the extracted digital watermark image;
An information processing method comprising: embedding the acquired predetermined information as a digital watermark in a second specific image to generate another digital watermark image.

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