JP2006148792A - Image processing device, and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing device, and an image processing method which can excellently discriminate kinds of images. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing device is characterized to be provided with an image input means which inputs an image, a detection means which detects a plurality of mark elements from the inputted image, and a special mark discrimination means which discriminates that there is the special mark or not from relative position relation of the plurality of the mark elements detected by the mark element detection means. It is characterized to have a holding means which holds the mark element, or the relative position relation information of the mark element, and a rewrite means which rewrites stored contents of the holding means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine / printer and an image processing method.

  Conventionally, a copying machine can be operated efficiently by attaching accessories such as an automatic document feeder and an automatic collating device. Also, a digital copying machine has been devised, and advanced functions are realized by handling images as digital information.

  For example, Canon's GP55F and GP30F have a function called a reduced layout function. FIG. 12 shows an example in which this reduced layout function is combined with a duplex function, a binding margin function, and a staple function.

In FIG. 12, reference numerals 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204,..., 1208 denote a plurality of originals, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic original feeder (hereinafter referred to as DF), as shown by 1209, 1210. Four originals are laid out as a set and copied. In the figure, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”,..., “8” correspond to the order of documents, that is, the pages of the document.
JP 2000-49986 A

  However, in the above-described conventional example, only four originals are mechanically laid out in a single copy in order, which is still insufficient for a user who desires further advanced functions.

  For example, when a paragraph or chapter is switched, there is a demand for a function for performing page breaks, skipping without copying a document with high confidentiality, or a document that does not need to be copied. Therefore, it is only necessary to mark the original and determine the type of the original. However, there is a problem that there are many erroneous determinations depending on the shape of the mark.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of satisfactorily determining the type of image.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an image processing apparatus for detecting a specific mark composed of a plurality of mark elements arranged in a specific positional relationship, the image input means for inputting an image, the input Detection means for detecting a plurality of the mark elements from the captured image, and specific mark determination means for determining the presence or absence of the specific mark from the relationship between the plurality of mark elements detected by the mark element detection means. It is characterized in that the power mark feature can be changed.

  In more detail, the present invention can solve the above problems by the following configuration.

  (1) An image processing apparatus for detecting a specific mark composed of a plurality of mark elements arranged in a specific positional relationship, wherein an image input means for inputting an image, and the mark element from the input image In the image processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of detecting means; and a specific mark determining means for determining the presence or absence of the specific mark from a relative positional relationship between the plurality of mark elements detected by the mark element detecting means. An image processing apparatus comprising: a holding unit that holds a mark element or relative positional relationship information of the mark element; and a rewriting unit that rewrites the held content of the holding unit.

  (2) An image processing method for detecting a specific mark composed of a plurality of mark elements arranged in a specific positional relationship, inputting an image, detecting a plurality of the mark elements from the input image, An image processing method, wherein the presence or absence of the specific mark is determined from the relationship between the detected plurality of mark elements.

  According to the first and tenth aspects, the specific mark has a characteristic configuration, and the specific mark is determined from the relationship between a plurality of mark elements. Therefore, the determination using the specific mark with reduced possibility of erroneous determination is possible. Further, by making the mark characteristics to be determined variable, a new mark can be added or an existing mark can be deleted.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  In the following, the copying machine will be described in detail as a preferred embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[Summary of equipment]
FIG. 2 shows an external view of a copying machine as an embodiment of the present invention.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as “DF”), which can automatically feed a plurality of documents one by one and set the front and back surfaces of each document sequentially on a document table. Since the specific configuration is already known, detailed description is omitted.

  In FIG. 2, a plurality of documents to be read are placed on the DF 200. Documents set on the DF 200 are fed one by one by the DF 200 and placed on the document table 201. Reference numeral 202 denotes a document illumination lamp composed of, for example, a halogen lamp, which exposes a document placed on the document table glass 201. Reference numerals 203, 204, and 205 denote scanning mirrors that are accommodated in an optical scanning unit (not shown) and guide reflected light from the original to the CCD unit 206 while reciprocating. The CCD unit 206 includes an imaging lens 207 that forms an image of reflected light from an original on the CCD, an image sensor 208 composed of a CCD, a CCD driver 209 that drives the image sensor 208, and the like. An image signal output from the image sensor 208 is converted into, for example, 8-bit digital data, and then input to the controller unit 239.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a photosensitive drum, which is discharged by a pre-exposure lamp 212 in preparation for image formation. A charger 213 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 210. Reference numeral 214 denotes an exposure unit, which is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser and exposes the photosensitive drum 210 based on the image data processed by the controller unit 239 that performs image processing and overall control of the apparatus, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. . A developing unit 215 stores a black developer (toner). A pre-transfer charger 219 applies a high voltage before transferring the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 onto a sheet. Reference numerals 220, 222, and 224 denote paper feed units, which are driven by the paper feed rollers 221, 223, and 225 to feed the transfer paper into the apparatus, temporarily stop at the position where the registration rollers 226 are disposed, and the photosensitive drum 210. The timing of writing out the image formed in the above is taken and re-feeded.

  A transfer charger 227 transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 to a transfer sheet to be fed. A separation charger 228 separates the transfer sheet after the transfer operation from the photosensitive drum 210. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 210 without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 211. A conveyance belt 229 conveys the transfer sheet after the transfer process to the fixing device 230 and is fixed by heat, for example. A flapper 231 switches the transfer path of the transfer sheet after the fixing process, and controls whether the copying is finished and the sheet is discharged to the outside of the apparatus or in the arrangement direction of the intermediate tray 237.

  Reference numerals 233 to 236 denote feeding rollers which feed the transfer paper once the fixing process is completed to the intermediate tray 237 while being reversed (multiple) or non-reversed (both sides). Reference numeral 238 denotes a refeed roller, which again transfers the transfer paper placed on the intermediate tray 237 to the position where the registration roller 226 is disposed. A staple sorter 232 performs collation of the copied paper and staple binding.

  The controller unit 239 includes a microcomputer, an image processing unit, and the like, which will be described later, and performs the above-described image forming operation in accordance with instructions from the operation panel 400.

  Reference numeral 250 denotes a detachable device including a printed circuit board and an IC card, and includes mark recognition means described later.

  In addition, there is a network cable (not shown), which communicates with other devices and computers via a network (not shown) such as a LAN.

[Detailed explanation of the controller]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the controller unit 239 in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention (first embodiment).

  A CPU 301 controls the entire image processing apparatus, and sequentially reads and executes a program from a read-only memory 303 (ROM) that stores a control procedure (control program) of the apparatus main body. The CPU 301 is connected to each load via the CPU bus 302.

  Reference numeral 304 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used for storing input data, a working storage area, and the like. Reference numeral 305 denotes an I / O interface, which is operated by an operator through key inputs, and displays 400 operation panels using liquid crystal and LEDs, and motors that drive a paper feed system, a transport system, and an optical system. 307, clutches 308, solenoids 309, and paper detection sensors 310 for detecting the conveyed paper, etc. are connected to each load of the device (further, the amount of toner in the developer is included in the developer 215. 311 is a toner remaining detection sensor for detecting the output of the toner, and its output signal is input to the I / O port 305). A high-voltage unit 315 outputs a high voltage to the above-described charger, developer, pre-transfer charger, transfer charger, and separation charger in accordance with instructions from the CPU.

  An image processing unit 306 receives an image signal output from the CCD unit 206, performs image processing described later, and outputs a control signal of the laser unit 214 according to the image data. Laser light output from the laser unit 214 irradiates the photosensitive drum 210.

(Image processing unit)
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the image processing unit 306.

  The image signal converted into an electrical signal by the CCD unit 206 is first subjected to correction of variation between pixels by the shading correction circuit 101, and then subjected to second-order differentiation, for example, in a 5 × 5 window in the edge enhancement circuit 102. Emphasize the edges of the image. Further, in the scaling circuit 103, data thinning processing is performed during reduced copy, and data interpolation is performed during enlarged copy. Further, after the desired density is converted by the density correction circuit 104, it is binarized by the binarization circuit 105. The binarization method may be a simple binary method, a screen method, an error diffusion method, or another method. Further, the binarized image signal is sent to the laser unit or held in the page memory 108.

  Reference numeral 109 denotes an image data compression / decompression circuit, and reference numeral 110 denotes a large-capacity memory using a hard disk. The image data held in the page memory 108 is sequentially stored in the hard disk 110 after the amount of information is compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 109. The original set on the DF 200 is sequentially sent to the original table and read, and sent to the compression / decompression circuit 109 via the binarization circuit 105 and the page memory 108 described above. The compression / decompression circuit 109 compresses the image signal and sends it to the hard disk 110. The hard disk 110 sequentially holds a plurality of compressed image signals sent thereto.

  Further, the compressed image signals held in the hard disk 110 are sequentially read out from the hard disk, decompressed by a compression / expansion circuit, once sent to the page memory, and then sent to the laser unit 214 to receive the image. Formation takes place.

  The method of data compression and expansion in the compression / decompression circuit 109 is not particularly limited, and any method may be used. Here, the advantages of performing image compression include reducing the amount of information per image signal per page, holding a larger number of pages on the hard disk, reducing the time required to access the hard disk, There are two purposes to improve productivity.

  The control such as the reduced layout described above is temporarily stored in the page memory 108, then edited on the memory, and then output to the laser unit. Editing operations on the memory are performed by controlling an address signal and an enable signal given to the page memory 108 by the memory control circuit 107.

  On the other hand, 106 is a mark recognizing means for recognizing a special mark printed in the document and holding the recognition result in the TAG memory 111. For example, the device 250 formed of a printed circuit board or an IC card is a detachable unit and includes a mark recognition unit 106.

  On the other hand, the CPU 301 reads the recognition result held in the TAG memory 111 and gives an instruction to the memory controller based on the read result. The memory controller edits the image on the page memory 108 based on the instruction from the CPU 301.

  The mark recognition unit 106 determines the presence or absence of a mark by comparing an image signal input from the CCD and a feature amount held in a memory (not shown) that holds a feature amount to be referred to. The memory is connected to a network cable via a network I / F (not shown) and can be rewritten as needed from the outside.

[First category specific mark]
In the present embodiment, the recognized specific marks are roughly classified into two categories.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the specific mark of the first category. The specific mark of the first category is composed of a plurality of mark elements having a specific shape, and the meaning of the mark can be changed by changing the arrangement of the mark elements. Reference numeral 501 denotes an example of a mark element, and reference numerals 502 and 503 denote examples of a first category mark. That is, when the mark element having the shape indicated by 501 is arranged in the arrangement as shown by 502, it is recognized as Mark1, and when the mark element is arranged as in 503, it is recognized as Mark2. Mark1 502 and Mark2 503 have different meanings.

[Specific mark of the second category]
FIG. 6 shows an example of the specific mark of the first category. For example, as shown in 601 and 602, the second category specific mark is drawn with a specific texture (in this embodiment, a diagonal line with a specific pitch), has a specific shape, and is marked as Mark3 and Mark4, respectively. Be recognized. Here, Mark3 601 and Mark4 602 have different meanings.

[Specific mark recognition means]
FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the mark recognition means. The mark recognizing means includes a first category mark detection circuit 401 and a second category mark detection circuit 402, and outputs thereof are output together.

  In the first category mark detection circuit 401, first, the presence / absence of a plurality of mark elements 501 is detected by the element recognition circuit. Since the mark element 501 itself has a relatively simple shape, the detection circuit can be realized by, for example, a known pattern matching method. Reference numeral 404 denotes a buffer memory necessary for determination.

  Whether the element detected by the first category mark detection circuit 401 is a first specific mark by verifying the relative position, the distance between elements, etc. (combination of detection positions of a plurality of elements) at 405. Is determined. Reference numeral 406 denotes a buffer memory necessary for determination.

  As described above, the determinations in 403 and 405 may be configured by hardware or software.

  Similarly, in the second category mark detection circuit 402, first, the texture detection circuit detects a specific texture (in the present embodiment, a diagonal line with a constant pitch), and a pattern composed of the detected texture is specified. The pattern matching circuit 409 determines whether or not the pattern is present. 408 is a buffer memory associated with 407, and 410 is a buffer memory associated with 409. Similarly, the determinations at 407 and 409 may be configured by hardware or software.

〔flowchart〕
FIG. 7 shows an example of a control flow in the present embodiment.

  First, if the copy start key is pressed by the operator in 701, the first original is scanned in 702. Next, the copy operation is controlled depending on whether or not a specific mark is detected in the document. If Mark 1 is detected in 703, the copy is stopped (skipped) in 704.

  If Mark 2 is detected in 705, the page is changed and copied in 706.

  If Mark 3 is detected at 707, the copy is stopped (skipped) at 704.

  If Mark 4 is detected in 708, the page is changed and copied in 706.

  If no mark is detected, a normal copy operation is performed at 709.

  Next, at 710, if there is a next original, the process returns to 702 and a series of operations are repeated.

[Control example]
An actual control example is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

  In FIG. 8A, reference numerals 801, 802, 803, 804,... 810 are originals, and 811 and 812 are copy output results. Mark 1 is printed in 802, 805, and 809. As a result of the recognition of the marks, these are skipped without being copied. In addition, Mark2 is printed in 806, and as a result of the recognition of the mark, a new page is copied from this page and copied.

  Similarly, in FIG. 8B, 801 ′, 802 ′, 803 ′, 804 ′,..., 810 ′ are originals, and 811 ′ and 812 ′ are copy output results. Mark 3 is printed on 802 ', 805', and 809 '. As a result of the recognition of the marks, these are skipped without being copied. In addition, Mark4 is printed on 806 ', and the page is copied from this page and copied as a result of the mark recognition. In the above example, 4in1 is taken as an example, but it goes without saying that it can be expanded to Nin1, such as 2in1.

[About hard disk and TAG memory]
The hard disk 110 and the TAG memory 111 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14, reference numeral 1400 denotes an address map in the effective use area of the hard disk, and it is assumed that an image of an n-page document is stored in the hard disk. That is, 1401 is the image signal for the first page, 1402 is the image signal for the second page, 1403 is the image signal for the third page, 1404 is the image signal for the fourth page, and 1405 is the fifth page. 1406 is the image signal of the 6th page, 1407 is the image signal of the 7th page, and is omitted halfway, but 1408 is the image signal of the (n-1) th page, and 1409 is n This is an image signal of the page.

  On the other hand, 1410 is an address map of an effective area of the TAG memory 111. The TAG memory 111 holds specific mark detection results corresponding to a plurality of documents.

  That is, 1411 is the detection result of the specific mark on the first page, 1412 is the detection result of the specific mark on the second page, 1413 is the detection result of the specific mark on the third page, and 1414 is the detection result of the fourth page. 1415 is the detection result of the specific mark on the fifth page, 1416 is the detection result of the specific mark on the sixth page, 1417 is the detection result of the specific mark on the seventh page, Although omitted in the middle, 1418 is the detection result of the specific mark on the (n-1) th page, and 1419 is the detection result of the specific mark on the nth page.

  What is characteristic here is that the image signal held in the hard disk 110 and the detection result of the specific mark held in the TAG memory 111 are stored in the same order in a one-to-one correspondence. .

  Hereinafter, a full color copying machine will be described in detail as a second embodiment.

[Summary of equipment]
FIG. 9 shows an overview of the color copying machine.

  Reference numeral 900 denotes an automatic document feeder (DF), which can automatically feed a plurality of documents one by one and set the front and back surfaces of each document sequentially on a document table. Since the specific configuration is already known, detailed description is omitted.

  In FIG. 9, a plurality of documents 902 to be read are placed on the DF 900. Documents are fed one by one by the DF 900 and placed on the document table 901. A document 902 on the document table 901 is irradiated with illumination 903, passes through mirrors 904, 905, 906, and an image is formed on the CCD 908 by the optical system 907. Further, the first mirror unit 910 including the mirror 904 and the illumination 903 is mechanically driven by the motor 909 at the speed V, and the second mirror unit 911 including the mirrors 905 and 906 is driven at the speed 1 / 2V. The entire surface of the document 902 is scanned.

  Reference numeral 912 denotes an image processing circuit unit which processes the read image information as an electrical signal, holds it on the image memory, and outputs it as a print signal.

  The print signal output from the image processing circuit unit 912 is sent to a laser driver (not shown) and drives four semiconductor lasers (not shown).

  Reference numeral 913 denotes a polygon mirror, which receives four laser beams emitted from four semiconductor lasers (not shown).

  One of them scans the photosensitive drum 917 through mirrors 914, 915 and 916, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 921 through mirrors 918, 919 and 920, and the next one scans the mirrors 922 and 923. 924, the photosensitive drum 925 is scanned, and the next one scans the photosensitive drum 929 via mirrors 926, 927, 928.

  On the other hand, 930 is a developing device that supplies yellow (Y) toner, forms a yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 917 in accordance with the laser beam, and 931 is a developing device that supplies magenta (M) toner. , A magenta toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 921 in accordance with the laser light, and a developing device 932 supplies cyan (C) toner. A cyan toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 925 in accordance with the laser light. , 933 is a developing device for supplying black (Bk) toner, and forms a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 929 in accordance with the laser beam.

  The toner images of the four colors (Y, M, C, Bk) are transferred onto the paper, and a full color output image can be obtained.

  The paper fed from any of the paper cassettes 934 and 935 and the manual feed tray 936 is attracted onto the transfer belt 938 through the registration roller 937 and is conveyed. In synchronism with the timing of paper feeding, toner of each color is developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929, and the toner is transferred onto the paper as the paper is transported.

  The sheet on which the toner of each color is transferred is separated and conveyed by a conveying belt 939, and the toner is fixed on the sheet by a fixing device 940. In the case of single-sided copying, the sheet is discharged to a sorter / stapler 941 to In this case, the paper is discharged to the duplex path 942.

  In the case of duplex copying, the sheet discharged from the fixing device 940 to the duplex path 942 is reversed by the reversing path 943, and is held on the duplex tray 945 through the transport unit 944. The paper held on the double-sided tray 945 is fed again, and is attracted onto the transfer belt 938 through a registration roller 937 for image formation on the back side, and conveyed. Similar to the front surface, the toner of each color is developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 in synchronization with the paper feeding timing, and after the toner is transferred to the paper as the paper is transported. The toner is fixed on the paper by the fixing device 940 and discharged to the sorter / stapler 941 as in the case of single-sided copying.

  The sorter / stapler 241 can perform collation of the ejected copy and stapling. The specific configuration is omitted because it is already known.

  Reference numeral 946 denotes an operation unit, which is equivalent to the operation unit 400 of the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

  Reference numeral 950 denotes a detachable unit including a printed circuit board and an IC card, which is a unit including a mark recognition circuit (to be described later) and a memory device.

  In addition, there is a network cable (not shown), which communicates with other devices and computers via a network (not shown) such as a LAN.

[Flow of image signal]
FIG. 10 shows the flow of the image signal.
A CCD sensor 908 outputs the read image as a digital signal for each of the three color components of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

A masking circuit 1012 converts an input (R0, G0, B0) signal into a standard (R, G, B) signal by an operation according to the following equation.

  However, cij (i = 1, 2, 3 j = 1, 2, 3) is a constant unique to the apparatus in consideration of various characteristics such as sensitivity characteristics of the CCD sensor / spectrum characteristics of the illumination lamp.

Reference numeral 1004 denotes a luminance / density conversion unit, which is constituted by a RAM or ROM look-up table, and performs calculations as in the following equation.

Reference numeral 1006 denotes an output masking / UCR circuit unit for converting the M1, C1, Y1 signals into Y, M, C, Bk signals that are toner colors of the image forming apparatus, and the following equation is calculated.

However, aij (i = 1, 2, 3, 4 j = 1, 2, 3, 4) is a constant unique to the apparatus in consideration of various color characteristics of the toner.

  As described above, the C1, M1, Y1, and Bk1 signals based on the R, G, and B signals read by the CCD sensor are based on the spectral distribution characteristics of the toner based on the equations (2), (3), and (4). Corrected to C, M, Y, Bk signals and output.

  A character / line drawing detection circuit 1005 is a character / line drawing detection circuit that determines whether each pixel in a document image is a part of a character or line drawing and generates a determination signal TEXT.

  Reference numeral 1007 denotes a compression / decompression circuit, which compresses the image signal (R, G, B) and the character / line drawing determination signal TEXT, stores the data in the memory 1008 after reducing the amount of information, and reads the data read from the memory 1008 Thus, the image signal (R, G, B) and the character / line drawing determination signal TEXT are expanded. The image compression / decompression circuit is well known, for example, as described in JP-A-4-314183.

  The image signal read by the CCD 908 is written into the memory 1008 after being compressed by the compression / expansion circuit via the masking circuit 1006 and the luminance / density conversion unit 1004. The character / line drawing determination signal TEXT determined by the character / line drawing determination circuit 1005 is also written into the memory 1008 after being compressed by the compression / decompression circuit. In the memory 1008, a series of image signals of a plurality of pages is written.

  Reference numeral 1009 denotes mark recognition means equivalent to 106, which recognizes a specific mark in the read original and writes the result in the TAG memory 1011 similar to 111. Similar to the first embodiment, the image signal held in the memory 1008 and the mark detection result held in the TAG memory 1011 have a one-to-one correspondence for each page.

  Reference numeral 1010 denotes a memory controller which, as in the first embodiment, reads the detection result detected by the mark recognition unit from the TAG memory 1011 or stores it in the image memory according to the orientation and character arrangement of the document designated by the operation unit 946. When the image signal is written, the layout of the image is controlled. That is, by controlling the initial value and up / down of the address counter at the time of image writing, the writing position is controlled and the transposition is controlled.

  Reference numeral 950 denotes a unit that can be attached and detached by the operator, and is a unit including the mark recognition means 1009. For this attachment / detachment, it is necessary to input a personal identification code from the operation unit 946. By such attachment / detachment, the recognized mark can be updated. Furthermore, this update is possible only for the first category mark detection circuit and only for the second category mark detection circuit. Furthermore, the attachment / detachment can be controlled only by a specific operator by the above-mentioned personal identification code.

  The mark recognizing unit 1009 determines the presence / absence of a mark by comparing an image signal input from the CCD with a feature quantity held in a memory (not shown) holding a feature quantity to be referred to. The memory is connected to a network cable via a network I / F (not shown) and can be rewritten as needed from the outside.

  Further, the data read from the memory 1008 is decompressed by the compression / expansion circuit 1007, sent according to the image forming timing of the copying machine, and sent to the laser driver through a PWM circuit (not shown). The timing chart is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 11, the image read by the CCD 908 is written in the memory 1008 at the timing indicated by 1101. Further, the image data written on the memory 1008 is read at the timings indicated by 1102, 1103, 1104 and 1105. The timing relationships shown at 1102, 1103, 1104 and 1105 are read at time d / v intervals as shown in the figure. Here, as already described, d is an interval between four drums arranged at equal intervals, and v is a speed of a sheet conveyed by the conveyance belt.

[Specific mark detection means]
FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the mark recognition unit 1009 for a specific mark. The RGB signal, which is an image signal based on the read document, is ND (monochrome), thinned, and binarized by the thinning circuit 1301, and is stored in the memory 1302 after a sufficient amount of information is obtained. Next, the CPU 1303 accesses the image information held in the memory 1302 to detect a specific mark. A specific determination method is the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Further, the specific mark may be detected using the color information.

[Character / Line Drawing Judgment Circuit]
Since this type of circuit is known, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-098031, description thereof is omitted.

[Example of reduced layout control]
The control example is also the same as that shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[Other Embodiments of the Present Invention]
The embodiment may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or an apparatus constituted by one device.

  Further, the processing method for executing the present embodiment according to the program stored in the storage medium and storing the program for operating the configuration of the above-described embodiment so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment is also described above. The above-mentioned embodiment includes a storage medium in which the above-described program is stored.

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

  Further, the processing is not limited to a single program stored in the above-described storage medium, and operates on the OS in cooperation with other software and expansion board functions to execute the operations of the above-described embodiments. Those are also included in the category of the above-described embodiments.

  Further, the image processing characterized by the presence or absence of a mark is not limited to the above-described one.

  For example, copying is prohibited when a specific mark is detected.

It is a figure which shows an image process part. 1 is an overview of an image forming apparatus. 4 is a block diagram of a controller unit 239. FIG. It is a block diagram of a mark recognition means. It is a figure which shows the specific mark of a 1st category. It is a figure which shows the specific mark of a 2nd category. It is a figure which shows a control flow. It is a figure which shows the example of control. 1 is an overview of a color copying machine. It is a figure which shows the flow of an image signal. It is a figure which shows the timing of an image signal. It is a figure which shows a prior art example. It is a figure which shows the mark recognition means of a specific mark. 2 is a diagram showing a hard disk 110 and a TAG memory 111. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Shading correction circuit 102 Edge emphasis circuit 103 Scaling circuit 104 Density correction circuit 105 Binarization circuit 106 Mark recognition means 107 Memory control circuit 108 Page memory 109 Compression / decompression circuit 110 Hard disk 111 TAG memory

Claims (18)

An image processing apparatus for detecting a specific mark composed of a plurality of mark elements arranged in a specific positional relationship,
An image input means for inputting an image;
Detecting means for detecting a plurality of the mark elements from the input image;
In the image processing apparatus, comprising: a specific mark determination unit that determines the presence or absence of the specific mark from a relative positional relationship of a plurality of mark elements detected by the mark element detection unit,
Holding means for holding the mark element or the relative positional information of the mark element;
An image processing apparatus comprising rewriting means for rewriting the content held by the holding means.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rewriting unit rewrites data based on data transferred from outside of the apparatus by wire or wirelessly.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processing unit that includes an image output unit and performs image processing according to the determination of the presence or absence of the specific mark. A second mark determining means for determining a second mark different from the specific mark;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein processing is performed according to the determination of the second mark.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image processing is skip processing in Nin1 processing.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image processing is a page break process in the Nin1 process.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the specific mark determination unit and the second mark determination unit is detachable.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein only the specific operator can attach and detach the image.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image processing is control of output processing of an image for which the specific mark is determined. An image processing method for detecting a specific mark composed of a plurality of mark elements arranged in a specific positional relationship,
Enter an image,
Detecting a plurality of mark elements from the input image;
An image processing method, wherein the presence or absence of the specific mark is determined from the relationship between the detected plurality of mark elements.   The image processing method according to claim 10, wherein the relationship is a relative positional relationship between the plurality of mark elements.   The image processing method according to claim 10, further comprising an image output step, wherein image processing is performed in accordance with determination of the presence or absence of the specific mark.   The image processing method according to claim 10, wherein the relationship is a distance relationship between the plurality of mark elements.   The image processing method according to claim 12, further comprising: processing a second mark different from the specific mark according to the determination.   The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the image processing is skip processing in Nin1 processing.   The image processing method according to claim 15, wherein the image processing is a page break process in the Nin1 process.   The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the image processing is control of output processing of an image for which the specific mark is determined.   The image processing method according to claim 17, wherein the image processing is output prohibition control of an image for which the specific mark is determined.

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