JP2006174085A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor and image processing method capable of appropriately controlling image processing so as to prevent deterioration and destruction of additional information. <P>SOLUTION: The image processor is provided with an image input means for inputting an input medium to acquire an input imaged from the input medium and an image output means for executing image processing to the input image to output it. The image input means of the image processor is provided with an additional information recognition means 103 for recognizing the additional information added to the input image. The image output means is provided with: an image processing decision means for deciding image processing in accordance with extracted contents of the additional information; an image operation input means 105 for receiving an operation instruction including at least a kind of image processing among one or two or more kinds of image processing to be executed to the input image; and an image control means 107 for controlling the image processing to the input image according to the operation instruction received by the image operation input means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for performing image processing on an input image acquired from an input medium.

  In recent years, there is a technique for embedding and using digital information as watermark information on a printing surface such as a ticket. For example, there is a technique for embedding a digital watermark in a background pattern or background pattern on a card or ticket, or a technique for detecting the embedded digital watermark (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Increasing cases of copying and misusing such high-voucher printed materials, highly-copyrighted printed materials such as maps created by specific companies, and highly confidential printed documents such as in-house limited materials It has become to. It is assumed that one of the causes is that high-precision and inexpensive digital copying machines have become widespread, and anyone can easily create copies that look very similar.

  Therefore, as a countermeasure against such problems, there is a technology to prevent duplication (or copying) by embedding information that cannot be recognized by humans, such as digital watermarks that prohibit copying by unauthorized third parties. (For example, see Patent Document 2). Note that the presence or absence of authority is determined by, for example, an authentication process separately.

JP 2003-143391 A JP 2001-189842 A

  However, even authorized users often have a risk that additional information such as digital watermark information is not detected by executing image processing such as enlargement / reduction performed during copying. Here, although there is a high robustness capable of reading the additional information even when processing such as enlargement / reduction is performed at the time of copying, the amount of information of the additional information is synergistically large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is a novel and capable of appropriately controlling image processing in order to prevent deterioration and destruction of additional information. An object is to provide an improved image processing apparatus and image processing method.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an image input means for inputting an input medium and acquiring an input image from the input medium; executing image processing on the input image; An image processing apparatus including an image output means for outputting is provided. The image input means of the image processing apparatus includes additional information recognition means for recognizing additional information added to the input image, and the image output means adds the contents of the additional information extracted by the additional information recognition means. Image processing determining means for determining image processing that can be executed according to the image processing; and an image operation input means for receiving an operation instruction including at least one type of image processing of one or more types of image processing to be performed on the input image; Image control means for controlling image processing on the input image in accordance with an operation instruction received by the image operation input means.

  According to the present invention, the image processing apparatus accepts an operation instruction related to execution of image processing such as enlargement or reduction at the time of copying an input image acquired from an input medium, and the image processing operation instruction is input. If the image processing to be executed is determined according to the content of the additional information, the image processing is controlled according to the operation instruction or the determined content. The image processing control can be exemplified by determining whether or not the image processing specified by the operation instruction can be executed, reflecting the determination result in the operation instruction or the like, or actually executing the image processing.

  The image operation input means changes the operation instruction received by the image operation input means according to the result obtained by the image processing determination means, and invalidates at least a part of the image processing included in the operation instruction or You may comprise so that the operation instruction change means which corrects a process range in the tolerance | permissible_range obtained by the result may be provided. With this configuration, when additional information exists in the input image, at least a part of the additional information is invalidated even if an operation instruction is input, or the processing range is within the allowable range obtained by the above result. It can be corrected. For example, when copying an input image, if additional information exists even if an operation instruction for executing image processing such as enlargement, reduction, or image density change is received, the image processing is partially invalidated or processed. Since the range can be corrected within the allowable range obtained by the above result, execution of illegal image processing can be prevented, and the availability and completeness of additional information can be prevented from being lost by image processing.

  The image operation input means is configured to notify an image processing determination means for determining image processing that can be executed according to the description content of the additional information extracted by the additional information recognition means; You may comprise so that the image operation re-input means which receives the operation instruction of the image processing which can be performed at least with respect to an input image may be provided. With this configuration, image processing that cannot be executed due to a user's erroneous operation can be prevented, and a list of image processing that can be executed is displayed on the display screen. It is possible to increase the level of recognition and make it easy for the user to re-input the information again.

  The image operation input unit may include an operation invalidating unit that invalidates reception of an operation instruction corresponding to an image process determined to be unexecutable by the image processing determining unit. With this configuration, even if an operation instruction is mistakenly given by the user, the image processing specified by the operation instruction can be invalidated in subsequent processing, so that the image processing is erroneously executed. Can be prevented.

  The image input means and the image output means may be configured to be separate devices connected via a communication path. With this configuration, the image input unit and the image output unit can be separately provided at a remote place for image processing.

  The additional information may be configured to be information that conforms to any one of a digital watermark, a barcode, and an IC tag.

  The additional information may be configured to include importance level information indicating the importance level of the input image. The importance information according to the present invention can be exemplified by, for example, importance levels classified by level to indicate the degree of importance.

  The image processing specified by the operation instruction may be configured to be at least one of duplication, enlargement, reduction, rotation, deformation, density change, color change, or resolution change for the input image.

  The operation instruction changing means may be configured to invalidate at least a part of the image processing specified by the operation instruction. With this configuration, when additional information exists in the input image, some image processing can be invalidated and rejected even if an operation instruction is input depending on the content of the additional information. For example, for image processing that degrades additional information such as enlargement or reduction when copying an input image, if such additional information exists even when an operation instruction is received, all such image processing is invalidated. can do. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unauthorized image processing from being executed, and it is possible to prevent loss of availability and completeness of additional information due to image processing.

  The image control means includes: additional information removing means for removing additional information from the input image; image processing executing means for executing image processing in accordance with an operation instruction on the input image from which the additional information has been removed; removal after image processing Post-processing additional information generation means for generating post-processing additional information based on the added additional information; post-processing additional information generated by the post-processing additional information generation means is added to the input image after execution by the image processing execution means You may comprise so that an additional information provision means may be provided. With this configuration, even if the image processing deteriorates the additional information and loses the completeness and availability of the additional information, the additional information is re-added to prevent the additional information from being deteriorated and to reject the image processing. Can run without.

  The post-processing additional information generation means can be configured to generate post-processing additional information according to the type of image processing specified by the operation instruction. With this configuration, for example, in the case of image processing that degrades the additional information, it is possible to prevent the additional information from being deteriorated by generating post-processing additional information and adding the post-processing additional information. Note that the post-processing additional information according to the present invention is, for example, generated again from the additional information and may be substantially the same as the additional information, or may be further processed to include additional information. For example, information may be generated.

  The image processing apparatus grants authority to execute one or more kinds of image processing for each user or a group composed of a plurality of users, and generates authority information indicating the contents of the granted authority. In order to do so, an authority input unit that receives an input of the operation authority medium may be provided, and the operation instruction change unit may be configured to change the operation instruction based on the authority information obtained by the authority input unit. By giving the user or group authority to execute image processing, unauthorized image processing can be prevented from being executed. The authority information according to the present invention includes, for example, the type of image processing authorized for each user or group, the ID of the user or group associated with the authorized image processing, and the authority of the user or group. A list table etc. can be illustrated.

  The authority information may be configured to be information in the same format as the additional information existing in the input image.

  The authority information may be configured to be recognized together with additional information added to the input image by the additional information recognition unit. With this configuration, since the authority information can be recognized only by the additional information recognition means that recognizes the additional information existing in the input image, the number of parts or space provided in the image processing apparatus can be reduced, and the weight of the image processing apparatus can be reduced. Space can be used effectively.

  The image processing apparatus may further include an image holding unit that holds an input image between the image input unit and the image output unit. With this configuration, the image input unit and the image output unit can be separately provided at a remote place for image processing.

  The image holding unit may be configured as a separate device connected to at least one of the image input unit or the image output unit via a communication path.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, an image input step of inputting an input medium and acquiring an input image from the input medium; executing image processing on the input image, and outputting An image processing method including an image output step is provided. The image input process of the image processing method includes an additional information recognition process for recognizing additional information added to the input image, and the image output process can be executed according to the content of the additional information extracted in the additional information recognition process. An image processing determining step for determining correct image processing; an image operation input step for receiving an operation instruction including at least one type of image processing among one or two or more types of image processing to be performed on the input image; And an image control process for controlling image processing on the input image in accordance with an operation instruction received in the process.

  As described above, according to the present invention, depending on the importance of the input image acquired from the input medium, the image processing execution authority given to the user, or the content of the additional information, Image processing can be appropriately controlled for an input image, such as determining executable image processing or invalidating image processing.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  First, an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment includes an input medium reading unit 102, an additional information recognition unit (additional information recognition unit) 103, an operation parameter input unit 105, and an operation content change. A unit (operation instruction changing unit, image processing determining unit) 106, an image control unit (image control unit) 107, and an image output unit 108.

  The input medium reading unit 102 reads electronic image data (digital image data) captured and converted by an input device such as a camera or a scanner. The image data is displayed on the printing surface of the input medium 101 or stored in the input medium 101, for example.

  The input medium 101 is not limited to a print medium in which an image of image data is printed on the print surface, or the print medium. For example, the input medium 101 is image data similar to the printed image and stores digital image data or the like. It may be a storage means such as a RAM or a flash memory.

  Further, the image data read from the input medium 101 is embedded with additional information corresponding to watermark information or the like, which is important information for maintaining confidentiality and integrity. In this specification, the image data is printed on a print medium such as paper and stored or distributed. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the image data is stored in the digital data format on the input medium 101 and stored or distributed. You may do it.

  In the description in this specification, the input medium 101 is described as an example of a print medium printed by an output device (not shown) corresponding to an output device such as a printer. For example, the input medium 101 can be implemented by a RAM, a flash memory, or the like that stores the image data.

  If the additional information exists in the image data, the additional information recognition unit 103 extracts predetermined additional information from the image data. Note that additional information is embedded in the image data in advance as watermark information such as a background pattern. The process by which the additional information recognition unit 103 extracts the additional information will be described in detail later. The process of extracting the additional information by the input medium recognizing unit 103 may be executed immediately after the input medium is input, or after the operation parameter input unit 105 receives the operation parameter. You may perform after the process of.

  The operation parameter input unit 105 generates the operation parameter 104 by reading the operation parameter (operation instruction) 104 or acquiring the operation instruction input by the user, and transfers the operation parameter 104 to the operation content changing unit 106. .

  The operation parameter 104 is a parameter representing image processing content. For example, the operation parameter 104 is recorded in recording means (hard disk drive or the like, not shown) provided in the image processing apparatus. Alternatively, the operation parameter 104 may be generated every time an image processing such as copying or reduction of an image acquired from the input medium 101 is instructed by the user.

  The operation content changing unit 106 determines an executable image operation (image processing) based on the additional information detected by the additional information recognition unit 103, and changes the content of the operation parameter 104 to limit other image processing. For example, when additional information is detected, enlarged copy (enlarged copy) and reduced copy (reduced copy) are prohibited in order to prevent deterioration of the additional information. That is, the operation content changing unit 106 invalidates a part of the image operation based on the detected additional information, or changes the image operation to be within an allowable range of the detected additional information.

  The image control unit 107 performs image processing according to the operation changed by the operation content changing unit 106. In addition, when additional information is detected by the operation parameter 104, the additional information may be once removed separately from the image processing, and new additional information may be generated and combined after the image processing.

  The image output unit 108 outputs the image data processed by the image control unit 107 as an image on the printing surface of the input medium 101. Therefore, an image is printed on the printing surface of the input medium 101. Note that the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the image output unit 108 can be implemented even when image data is stored in the input medium 101 and recorded.

  The output image 109 is image data that has undergone image processing. The output image 109 is recorded on the input medium 101 by the image output unit 108.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, first, the input medium reading unit 102 acquires digitized image data by scanning the input medium 101, for example (S100).

  When the image data is acquired by the input medium reading unit 102 (S100), the additional information recognition unit 103 detects the additional information embedded in the image data (S101).

(Additional information detection process (S101))
Here, the additional information detection process (S101) will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of additional information detection processing of the additional information recognition unit 103. In the following description, a case where the additional information is embedded in the image data of the input medium 101 in advance as watermark information will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example.

  First, as described above, image data (watermarked image) in which additional information is embedded is input from the input medium 101 to the memory of the computer or the like by the input medium reading unit 102 (S301). This image data is referred to as an input image. The input image is a multi-valued image, and will be described below as a gray image with 256 gradations. A case where one unit pattern is composed of one symbol unit will be described.

  Further, the unit pattern or symbol unit will be described here with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of a watermark signal. Next, a watermark signal is assigned to each symbol of the code word. The watermark signal represents a wave having an arbitrary wavelength and direction by the arrangement of dots (black pixels).

  Let the width and height of the watermark signal be Sw and Sh, respectively. Sw and Sh may be different, but in the present embodiment, Sw = Sh is set for ease of explanation. The unit of length is the number of pixels. In the example of FIG. 4, Sw = Sh = 12. Note that the size when these signals are printed on paper depends on the resolution of the watermark image.

  Hereinafter, a rectangle having a width and a height of Sw and Sh is referred to as a “signal unit” as one signal unit. In FIG. 4 (1), the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (3) (arctan is an inverse function of tan) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (−1/3). . Hereinafter, this signal unit is referred to as unit A. In FIG. 4B, the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (−3) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (1/3). Hereinafter, this signal unit is referred to as unit B.

  In the present embodiment, symbol 0 is assigned to the watermark signal expressed by unit A, and symbol 1 is assigned to the watermark signal expressed by unit B. These are called symbol units.

  In addition to the watermark signals shown in FIGS. 4 (1) and (2), for example, dot arrangements as shown in FIGS. 5 (3) to (5) are conceivable. In FIG. 5 (3), the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (1/3) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (-3). Hereinafter, this signal unit is referred to as unit C.

  In FIG. 5 (4), the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (−1/3) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (3). Hereinafter, this signal unit is referred to as unit D. In FIG. 5 (5), the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (1) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (−1). In FIG. 5 (5), it can be considered that the distance between dots is dense in the direction of arctan (−1) with respect to the horizontal axis, and the wave propagation direction is arctan (1). Hereinafter, this signal unit is referred to as unit E.

  In this way, in addition to the combinations assigned previously, there can be a plurality of patterns of combinations of units to which symbols 0 and 1 are assigned. Therefore, it is a third party to keep secret which watermark signal is assigned to which symbol. It is also possible to make it impossible to easily decipher the embedded signal.

  In the example of the watermark signal shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, since the number of dots in one unit is all equal, the apparent density becomes uniform by arranging these units without gaps. Therefore, it appears that a gray image having a single density is embedded as a background on the printed paper.

  In order to produce such an effect, for example, the unit E is defined as a background unit (signal unit to which no symbol is assigned), and these are arranged without gaps as the background of the document image 15, and the symbol units (unit A, unit B) are defined. ) In the document image 15, the background unit (unit E) and the symbol unit (unit A, unit B) at the position to be embedded may be interchanged.

  Returning to FIG. 3, next, in step S <b> 310, a filtering process is performed on the entire input image to calculate a filter output value and compare the filter output value. For example, the filter output value is calculated by convolution between the filter and the image in all pixels of the input image using a filter called a Gabor filter. However, the present invention is not limited to this example.

  After calculating the filter output values for all the filters corresponding to each signal unit as described above, the filter output values calculated as described above are compared in each pixel, and the maximum value F (x, y) is obtained. Store as a filter output value matrix. The number of the signal unit corresponding to the filter having the maximum value is stored as a filter type matrix.

  In the present embodiment, the number of filters is two. However, when the number of filters is larger than that, the maximum value of a plurality of filter output values and the signal unit number corresponding to the filter at that time are also stored. That's fine.

  In step S320, the position of the signal unit is determined using the filter output value matrix obtained in step S310.

  In step S330, the signal unit is determined to be A or B by referring to the value of the filter type matrix at the signal unit position determined in step S320 (signal unit number corresponding to the filter).

  The determination result of the determined signal unit is stored as a symbol matrix as described above.

  In step S320, since the filtering process is performed on the entire image regardless of whether the signal unit is embedded, it is necessary to determine in which part the signal unit is embedded. Therefore, in step S340, the signal boundary is obtained by searching for a pattern determined in advance when embedding the signal unit from the symbol matrix.

  For example, if the signal unit A is necessarily embedded in the boundary where the signal unit is embedded, the number of the signal units A is counted in the horizontal direction of the symbol matrix determined in step S330, and the signal unit A is respectively measured vertically from the center. The position with the largest number of A is defined as the upper end / lower end of the signal boundary.

  In order to obtain the signal boundary, not only the above method but also a pattern that can be searched from the symbol matrix may be determined in advance on the embedding side and the detecting side.

  Next, step S305 will be described. In step S305, the original information is restored from the portion corresponding to the inside of the signal boundary in the symbol matrix. In the present embodiment, since one unit pattern is composed of one symbol unit, the unit pattern matrix is equivalent to the symbol matrix. As described above, the additional information recognition unit 103 can extract additional information as watermark information from the input image (image data).

  Next, the additional information recognition unit 103 determines whether or not the additional information has been extracted from the image data by the additional information detection process (S101) (S102). Note that whether to reject or invalidate image processing such as copying or copying of subsequent image data is determined according to the determination result of whether or not the additional information has been extracted.

  When additional information is present as a result of the determination by the additional information recognition unit 103 (S102), the operation content changing unit 106, for example, enlarges / reduces the image data read from the input medium 101 or changes the image density. In order to prevent deterioration of the additional information embedded in the parameter value, the parameter value indicating the operation authority included in the operation parameter is changed so as to reject or invalidate the image processing (S103).

  As described above, the operation parameter is composed of one or two or more parameter values indicating the authority of whether or not image processing can be executed. The operation content changing unit 106 can change the execution authority of the image processing by changing the parameter value included in the operation parameter.

  With this configuration, in the first embodiment, when image processing such as copying is performed on the input medium 101, if the additional information is embedded in the input medium 101, the embedded additional information is stored in the input medium 101. Image processing such as enlargement / reduction copy to be deteriorated can be rejected and invalidated, and the additional information can be held in a normal state.

(About the second embodiment)
Next, an image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. However, since the configuration is substantially the same as the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment described above, detailed description thereof is omitted. To do.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment in that the uniform operation parameter 104 is changed and image processing is performed. The difference is that image processing in which additional information cannot be normally maintained before and after image processing is controlled. Hereinafter, particularly different points will be described in detail.

  First, the input medium reading unit 102 included in the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment obtains digitized image data (input image) by scanning the input medium 101, for example, and then the additional information recognition unit. When 103 detects additional information embedded in the input image, as shown in FIG. 6, the operation content changing unit 106 acquires the operation parameter 104 to grasp the image processing content such as an enlarged copy, and the input medium. It is determined whether the image processing is such that 101 is deformed (S200). Note that the deformation of the input medium 101 can be exemplified by image processing in which the size of the image fluctuates, such as reduced copy or enlarged copy.

  Next, when it is determined by the operation content changing unit 106 that the image data read from the input medium 101 is deformed (S200), the image control unit (additional information removing unit) 107 converts the input image into an input image. The embedded additional information is removed (S201).

  For example, when the additional information is embedded in a part of the image area of the input image, the additional information removal process (S201) described above deletes the additional information at the position corresponding to the part of the image area. Or when the additional information is embedded in the entire image area of the input image, the additional information is deleted by executing a separation process of the additional information.

  For example, the image control unit 107 acquires information about additional information (for example, position information in which the additional information is embedded) from the additional information recognition unit 103 via the operation content change unit 106, and uses the information as the position information. Based on this, the additional information may be deleted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the additional information is embedded in a part of the image area of the input image 101a, the additional information existing in the part area is deleted to add the additional information like the input image 101b. Information can be removed. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an outline of the removal process of additional information embedded in the input image, the image operation process, and the addition process.

  The additional information segmentation process is a process that uses a moving average filter and deletes pixels whose filter result is equal to or less than a predetermined value when the additional information is embedded in the document image by a dot pattern. It is not limited to. The document image is image data obtained by imaging document data created by document creation software such as word processing software.

  Next, when it is determined that the image processing does not correspond to the image processing for transforming the input image (S200) or when the additional information removal processing (S201) is completed, the image control unit (image processing execution means) 107 Image processing is controlled in accordance with the parameter value of the operation parameter changed by the operation content changing unit 106 (S202). Examples of control targets for image processing include filter processing such as copying (copying), transmission, enlargement / reduction, deformation, image density change, and sharpness.

  When it is a control target, when additional information is extracted, the image control unit 107 (image processing execution means) executes the corresponding image processing on the input image (S202), and when the image processing ends, the image control unit 107 (post-processing additional information generating unit) generates post-processing additional information based on the once removed additional information, and the image control unit 107 (additional information adding unit) embeds it again in the input image (S203). The post-processing additional information according to the present embodiment will be described by taking an example in which the post-processing additional information is substantially the same information as the additional information. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. The information etc. which added etc. may be sufficient.

  As shown in FIG. 7, since the operation for image processing from the input image 101b to the input image 101c is “reduction” of the input image, as described above, the image processing is a control target. Therefore, the image control unit 107 reduces the input image 101b to the input image 101c (S202), and embeds additional information in the input image 101c when the reduction process ends (S203). The result of embedding becomes an input image 101d.

  Note that the additional information embedding process (S203) shown in FIG. 7 has been described by taking as an example the case where the additional information is arranged in a part of the image area of the input image 101c, but is not limited thereto. In the case where the additional information is embedded in the entire image area of the input image 101c, for example, the additional information is regenerated according to the size of the input image 101c and the regenerated additional information is embedded in the input image 101c. It is.

  This is the end of the description of the series of operations of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. With this configuration, since the additional information is embedded in the input image after the image processing without performing the image processing such as the reduction / enlargement processing on the input image in which the additional information is embedded, the additional information is deteriorated before and after the image processing. The availability or completeness of additional information can be maintained.

(About the third embodiment)
Next, an image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. However, since the configuration is substantially the same as the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment described above, detailed description thereof is omitted. To do.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment is compared with the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The difference is that S103) is determined. Hereinafter, particularly different points will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 8, first, the input medium reading unit 102 obtains digitized image data by scanning the input medium 101, for example, and then the additional information recognition unit 103 adds additional data embedded in the image data. Information is detected (S101).

  Next, the additional information recognition unit 103 determines whether or not the additional information has been extracted from the image data by the additional information detection process (S101) (S102). As a result of the determination by the additional information recognizing unit 103, when additional information exists (S102), the operation content changing unit 106 represents information indicating the importance of the input image that is all or part of the description content described in the additional information. Based on (importance information, importance level), an operable image process is determined (S302).

  Here, the importance level determination process (S302) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of the importance level determination process (S302) according to the third embodiment.

  The importance level table for determining the importance level shown in FIG. 9 is stored in a storage unit such as a RAM or an HDD (hard disk drive) provided in the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. Note that the importance level table is not limited to this example, and may be a case where the importance level table is included in a superimposed manner.

  The importance level table shown in FIG. 9 includes the importance level of the additional information, the importance level indicating the positioning, the importance level, the image operation availability indicating whether the image processing can be executed, and the copying availability indicating whether the copying can be executed. It is composed of Although the case where the importance level is “1” to “4” has been described as an example, the importance level is not limited to this example. For example, the importance level may be set to any level such as “1” to “10”. Is possible.

  The operation content changing unit 106 acquires the importance level included in the additional information embedded in the input image, and refers to the importance table, so that the authority status of whether or not the image operation corresponding to the importance level is possible, and copying It is possible to grasp the status of the presence or absence of authority.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the importance level is “2”, the image manipulation availability is “partially acceptable”, and a partial execution authority is given for image processing such as enlargement / reduction. You can see that there is nothing. Similarly, it can be seen that copying is possible because copying is permitted.

  When the importance level is determined by the operation content changing unit 106 referring to the importance level table (S302), the operation content changing unit 106 then refers to the operation restriction table and starts the actual level from the importance level. The operation parameter 104 for instructing the image processing to be executed is checked, and the operation parameter 104 (operation instruction) is changed so as to correspond to the importance level (S103).

  Here, an operation restriction table according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an operation restriction table according to the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the operation restriction table includes items for image operations (image processing) (image processing items) and status items indicating whether image processing is possible for each importance level. Note that the operation restriction table shown in FIG. 10 can be exemplified as a case where it is stored in a storage means such as a RAM or HDD provided in the image processing apparatus, or a case where it is included in the additional information in a superimposed manner.

  As shown in FIG. 10, for example, when the importance level is “3”, only “image rotation” can be performed on the image, and other image operations cannot be executed because “impossible”. .

  If the operation parameter 104 corresponds to the determined importance level, the operation content changing unit 106 executes the corresponding image processing as it is, and if the operation parameter 104 is inappropriate for the importance level, the operation parameter 104 104 is changed and execution of image processing is restricted (S103).

  Above, description of a series of operation | movement of the image processing apparatus concerning 3rd Embodiment is complete | finished. With this configuration, in the third embodiment, by limiting the objects that can be image-processed according to the importance level included in the additional information, only image operations suitable for the importance such as the content of the additional information are performed. Can be executed.

  The importance level table and the operation restriction table according to the third embodiment have been described by way of example in which they are managed as separate tables. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. The present invention can be implemented even when the tables are managed by one table.

(About the fourth embodiment)
Next, an image processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

  Compared with the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is a medium in which the user has authority to execute image processing on the input medium 101. It is different in that a means for inputting is provided. Hereinafter, the difference will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment includes the units (input medium reading unit 102 to image output unit 108) included in the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, an operation medium reading unit (authority input means) 402 and an operation medium information recognition unit 403 are further provided.

  The operation medium reading unit 402 reads the converted electronic authority image data (digital authority image data) from the operation authority medium 401 by taking an image with an input device such as a camera or a scanner.

  The operation authority medium 401 holds authority information (additional information) indicating the authority to perform image operations (image processing) given to the user. The additional information is detected and extracted by an operation medium information recognition unit 403 described later. The additional information is embedded in the authority image data of the operation authority medium 401 in a format recognizable by the operation medium information recognition unit 403, for example, in the same manner as the additional information embedded in the image data of the input medium 101 described above. It is.

  The operation authority medium 401 may be, for example, a print medium such as a sticker on which the authority image data is displayed on the printing surface, and is not limited to the print medium. For example, the operation authority medium 401 is the authority image data itself. It is also possible to implement with RAM, flash memory, etc.

  Moreover, although the case where the additional information held by the operation authority medium 401 according to the fourth embodiment is authority information indicating the authority given to the user has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the additional information can be implemented even when it is user identification information (such as a user ID) linked so as to have a one-to-one correspondence with authority information indicating authority to execute image processing.

  The operation medium information recognition unit 403 extracts additional information from the authority image data when the additional information exists in the authority image data. Prior to extracting additional information from the authority image data, the operation medium information recognition unit 403 may request user authentication information (user ID, password, etc.) for authenticating the user.

  The operation medium reading unit 402 and the operation medium information recognizing unit 403 according to the fourth embodiment are described as an example in which the input medium reading unit 102 and the additional information recognizing unit 103 are separate. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example when the additional information in the input medium 101 or the operation authority medium 401 has a common format. For example, the operation medium reading unit 402 and the operation medium information recognizing unit 403 include an input medium reading unit. The present invention can be implemented even when the information processing unit 102 and the operation medium reading unit 402 are integrally configured and / or when the additional information recognition unit 103 and the operation medium information recognition unit 403 are configured integrally.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is compared with the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and additional information extracted from the operation authority medium 401. The difference is that the operation restriction process (S103) is determined based on the above. Hereinafter, particularly different points will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 12, first, the input medium reading unit 102 acquires digitized image data by scanning the input medium 101, for example, and then the additional information recognizing unit 103 adds additional data embedded in the image data. Information is extracted (S101).

  Next, the additional information recognition unit 103 determines whether or not the additional information has been extracted from the image data by the additional information detection process (S101) (S102).

  As a result of the determination by the additional information recognition unit 103, if additional information exists in the image data (S102), then the operation medium reading unit 402 acquires the authority image data from the operation authority medium 401, and further operates the operation medium information. The recognition unit 403 detects additional information embedded in the authority image data. The additional information detection and extraction processing by the operation medium information recognition unit 403 is substantially the same as the additional information detection and extraction processing by the additional information recognition unit 103 described above, but is not limited to this example.

  Further, although the operation medium information recognition unit 403 according to the fourth embodiment has been described by way of an example of detecting additional information that is a digital watermark embedded in authority image data, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, when the operation authority medium 401 is provided with authority image data conforming to at least one of an ID composed of characters or the like, a one-dimensional barcode, or a two-dimensional barcode, the operation medium information is recognized. The unit 403 can be implemented even when the authority image data is scanned and the additional information is detected and extracted.

  When additional information exists in the authority image data by the operation medium information recognizing unit 403, the additional information is referred to, and the operation medium information recognizing unit 403 determines the image processing authority given to the user (S401).

  More specifically, the operation medium information recognition unit 403 refers to the user authority table, determines the authority of image processing given to the user based on the user level described in the additional information, and Authority information indicating the contents of the determined authority is generated (S401).

  Here, a user authority table according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a user authority table according to the fourth embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the user authority table includes at least a user level that distinguishes the authority of image processing to be given to the user for each stage, importance, image operation availability, and copying availability. Yes.

  In addition, although the user level in the user authority table concerning this Embodiment was demonstrated taking the case of "1"-"4" as an example, it is not limited to this example, For example, a user level is The present invention can be implemented from any level such as “1” to “100”.

  As shown in FIG. 13, for example, when the user level “1” is described in the additional information, the importance is “administrator”, the image manipulation availability is “all possible”, and the copy availability is “possible”. Therefore, the operation medium information recognition unit 403 determines that the image processing authority including copying for the user is all authority capable of image processing (S401).

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the user authority table according to the present embodiment, a plurality of users are grouped (administrator, general user, etc.), and authority such as image processing is given to each group. The case has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the present invention can be implemented even when authority such as image processing is given to each user.

  In addition, although the case where the user level is included in the additional information of the authority image data has been described as an example, it is not limited to such an example. For example, the additional information can be implemented even when the image manipulation availability and / or copying availability, which are the authority information, are included as they are. Furthermore, even when the additional information includes a user ID for identifying the user, the present invention can be implemented. In the above case, the operation medium information recognizing unit 403 refers to an authority table (not shown) stored in storage means such as an HDD provided in the image processing apparatus, and prompts the user based on the user ID. This can be implemented even when the granted authority is determined and the authority information is generated. For example, when the operation medium information recognition unit 403 acquires the user ID, the operation medium information recognition unit 403 refers to the authority table and acquires a user level corresponding to the user ID on a one-to-one basis. Further, the operation medium information recognizing unit 403 determines the authority of the image operation given to the user corresponding to the user level by referring to the user authority table shown in FIG. 13 described above, for example. (S401).

  The user authority table according to the present embodiment has been described by taking as an example a case where the user authority table is stored in a storage unit such as a RAM or an HDD provided in the image processing apparatus, but is not limited to such an example. The authority table can be implemented even when it is included in the grant information related to the authority image data.

  Finally, if the content of the image processing indicated by the operation parameter 104 is appropriate for the determined image processing authority (authority information), the operation content changing unit 106 executes the corresponding image processing as it is, and conversely, the authority is If the image processing is not given, the execution of the image processing is rejected or invalidated (S103). Therefore, execution of image processing can be restricted according to the authority given to the user.

  This is the end of the description of the series of operations of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. With this configuration, it is possible to authenticate the image processing executed by the user by including additional information representing the authority of image operation given to the user in the operation authority medium 401, and image processing for each user. The right to execute can be granted. Further, since the operation authority medium 401 is a print medium or the like in which the user ID or the like is printed using a technique such as watermark information, the work load on the user is reduced to the maximum, and image processing by the image processing apparatus is performed. Can perform authority authentication.

(About the fifth embodiment)
Next, an image processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

  Compared with the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment temporarily stores image data from the input medium 101 and stores the image data in subsequent processing. The difference is that the extracted image data is extracted. Hereinafter, the difference will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment includes each unit (input medium reading unit 102 to image output unit 108) included in the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, an image conversion unit 501, an image storage unit (image holding unit) 502, and an image extraction unit 504 are further provided.

  The image conversion unit 501 compresses the image data read by the input medium reading unit 102 according to the determination result of the presence or absence of additional information by the additional information recognition unit 103. Therefore, the storage capacity of the image storage unit 502 provided in the image processing apparatus can be improved.

  For example, the image conversion unit 501 determines that image data having no additional information is less important image data, compresses the image data, and stores the compressed image data in the image storage unit 502. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid the case where all the image data is stored in the image storage unit 502 without being compressed, so that the data amount of the image storage unit 502 can be reduced. On the other hand, if additional information exists in the image data, the image conversion unit 501 determines that the importance is high, for example, does not execute the compression process, and encrypts the image data to maintain confidentiality. You may give to.

  The image storage unit 502 is a unit that stores image data, extracted additional information, and the like, and examples thereof include storage units such as an HDD, a RAM, and a flash memory.

  The image extraction unit 504 acquires image data corresponding to the image designated by the image designation parameter 503 from the image storage unit 502. If the acquired image data is compressed, the compressed image data is decompressed (decoded). If the image data is encrypted, the encrypted image data is decrypted. To do.

  The image designation parameter 503 is a parameter for extracting image data to be manipulated by the user from the storage area of the image storage unit 502. Note that the image designation parameter 503 according to the fifth embodiment has been described as an example of a parameter different from the operation parameter 104, but is not limited to this example. For example, the image designation parameter 503 includes: , Even when integrated with the operation parameter 104.

  The operation of the image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment is substantially the same as the operation of the image processing apparatus shown in the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the fifth embodiment, since the image storage unit 502 is provided, the additional information recognition unit 103 that extracts additional information from the image data and the image output unit 108 that outputs the output image are separated. It can be implemented as a processing device.

(About the sixth embodiment)
Next, an image processing apparatus according to a sixth embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment.

  Compared with the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment has an operation parameter 104 for the operation limited according to the additional information embedded in the image data. It is different in that it is canceled before is generated. Hereinafter, the difference will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment includes units (input medium reading unit 102 to image output unit 108) included in the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. And an operation interface changing unit (corresponding to at least one of image operation input means, image operation re-input means, or operation invalidation means) 601 and an operation interface (image operation input means, image operation re-input means) 602. Is further provided.

  The operation interface changing unit 601 specifies an image process that can be executed based on the additional information extracted from the image data by the operation content changing unit 106, and performs other image processing (image operation) that cannot be executed. Is invalidated by changing the display content of the operation interface 602 so as not to be selected.

  The operation interface 602 is an input interface that receives the input from the user and generates an operation parameter 104 indicating the content of the selected image processing. Examples of the operation interface 602 include a display device including a driver and a touch panel.

(About the operation of the operation interface changing unit 601)
Here, the operation of the operation interface changing unit 601 according to the sixth embodiment will be described. The operation of the image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment is substantially the same as the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment except for the contents described below. .

  The operation interface changing unit 601 acquires a determination result indicating whether or not image processing can be executed by the operation content changing unit 106, and among the determination results, a determination result that is determined to be unexecutable for image processing is included in the image processing. Invalidate by changing the corresponding display item. The display items are items displayed on the display screen of the operation interface 602.

  More specifically, the operation interface changing unit (operation invalidating unit) 601 generates display screen data in which the result determined by the operation content changing unit 106 is reflected. The display screen data is data to be displayed on the screen of the operation interface 602.

  When the generated display screen data is displayed on the screen of the operation interface 602, display items for which the image operation cannot be executed are invalidated and not displayed. That is, since the user cannot select the image processing corresponding to the display item not displayed on the operation interface 602, the user can easily grasp the image processing that can be performed by viewing the operation interface 602. be able to.

  Here, before and after the display screen change processing of the operation interface 602 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a display screen of the operation interface according to the sixth embodiment.

  First, as shown in FIG. 16A, before the display screen of the operation interface 602 is changed by the operation content changing unit 106, display items of all image processing are displayed on the screen of the operation interface 602a. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 16A, the operation interface 602a includes “enlargement”, “reduction”, “sharpness”, “background pattern removal”, “paper”, “contrast”, and “resolution”. "Image rotation", "Color adjustment", "+" and "-" for setting the increase / decrease of the number of copies, and "Copy start" for copying are displayed.

  For example, when the importance level is “2”, image processing that cannot be executed among all image processing is “background pattern removal”, “enlargement / reduction”, and “resolution change” from the operation restriction table shown in FIG. It becomes a kind.

  Therefore, the operation content changing unit 106 outputs to the operation interface changing unit 601 a determination result indicating that the three types of image processing of “background pattern removal”, “enlargement / reduction”, and “resolution change” have been invalidated. Note that copying, which is one of the image processes, can be executed when the importance level is “2” as shown in FIG. 9 and is therefore not invalidated by the operation content changing unit 106.

  The operation interface changing unit 601 displays among the display items displayed on the operation interface 602 in order to prohibit or reject the execution of the three types of image processing of “background pattern removal”, “enlargement / reduction”, and “resolution change”. When display screen data in which display items corresponding to the three types of image processing are not displayed is generated and the display screen data is displayed on the screen of the operation interface 602, the result is as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16B, on the screen of the operation interface 602, the above-mentioned “background pattern removal”, “enlargement / reduction”, and “resolution change” prohibited from being executed by the operation content changing unit 106 are displayed. You can see that the item is not displayed.

  Therefore, if the user visually recognizes the display item displayed on the operation interface 602, the user can recognize that the above three types of image processing cannot be executed, and the user can execute other executable images. Processing can be selected.

  Even if the user selects an icon (for example, a button) as a display item that cannot be executed, the operation interface 602 or the operation parameter input unit 105 does not respond. In addition to the non-display, the icon of the display item corresponding to the image processing that cannot be executed is, for example, an item that displays / hides the button shadow, lightens the button shadow, or is displayed on the button. Even when the color of the name is lightened, it can be implemented.

  This is the end of the description of the series of operations of the image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. With this configuration, in the sixth embodiment, for image operations that cannot be executed, display items corresponding to image operations that cannot be executed in advance are selected before the user instructs to select image processing through the display screen. By making it non-displayed, it is possible to allow the user to accurately recognize executable image processing. In addition, the user can recognize how important the input image is based on the number of display items displayed on the screen of the operation interface 602, for example, by just viewing the operation interface 602 by the user. .

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, this invention is not limited to this example. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be envisaged within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the additional information is watermark information embedded in the input image has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the additional information can be implemented even in the case of information applicable to a one-dimensional barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, or an IC tag.

  The present invention can be applied to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of executing image processing such as copying.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the additional information detection process of an additional information recognition part. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a watermark signal, (1) has shown the unit A, (2) has shown the unit B. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a watermark signal, (3) shows the unit C, (4) shows the unit D, (5) shows the unit E. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of operation | movement of the image processing apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the outline of the removal process of the additional information embedded in the input image, an image operation process, and a provision process. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation of an image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the importance level determination process (S302) concerning 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a schematic structure of the operation restriction table concerning 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the image processing apparatus concerning 4th Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation of an image processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a schematic structure of the user authority table concerning 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image processing apparatus concerning 5th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the image processing apparatus concerning 6th Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of schematic structure of the display screen of the operation interface concerning 6th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input medium 102 Input medium reading part 103 Additional information recognition part 104 Operation parameter 105 Operation parameter 106 Operation content change part 107 Image control part 108 Image output part 109 Output image 401 Operation authority medium 402 Operation medium reading part 403 Operation medium information recognition part 501 Image conversion unit 502 Image storage unit 503 Image designation parameter 504 Image extraction unit 601 Operation interface change unit 602 Operation interface

Claims (16)

An image processing apparatus comprising: an image input unit that inputs an input medium and acquires an input image from the input medium; and an image output unit that performs image processing on the input image and outputs the image.
The image input means includes
Comprising additional information recognition means for recognizing additional information added to the input image;
The image output means includes
Image processing determining means for determining image processing that can be executed according to the content of the additional information extracted by the additional information recognizing means;
Image operation input means for receiving an operation instruction including at least one type of image processing among one or more types of image processing to be performed on the input image;
Image control means for controlling image processing on the input image in accordance with an operation instruction received by the image operation input means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The image operation input means includes:
The operation instruction received by the image operation input means is changed according to the result obtained by the image processing determination means, and at least a part of the image processing included in the operation instruction is invalidated or the processing range is determined by the result. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation instruction changing unit configured to correct the obtained allowable range. The image operation input means includes:
The image operation re-input means for notifying a user of a determination result by the image processing determination means and receiving at least an operation instruction for image processing that can be executed with respect to the input image. Image processing apparatus. The image operation input means includes:
The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an operation invalidating unit that invalidates reception of an operation instruction corresponding to an image process determined to be unexecutable by the image processing determining unit. 5. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the image input unit and the image output unit are separate devices connected by a communication path. apparatus. 6. The additional information according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, wherein the additional information is information conforming to any one of a digital watermark, a barcode, and an IC tag. The image processing apparatus according to item 1. The image processing according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, wherein the additional information includes importance information indicating importance of the input image. apparatus. 2. The image processing specified by the operation instruction is at least one of copy, enlargement, reduction, rotation, deformation, density change, color change, and resolution change for the input image. , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. The image control means includes
Additional information removing means for removing the additional information from the input image;
Image processing execution means for executing image processing in accordance with the operation instruction on the input image from which the additional information has been removed;
Post-processing additional information generating means for generating post-processing additional information based on the removed additional information after the image processing;
Additional information adding means for adding the post-processing additional information generated by the post-processing additional information generating means to an input image after execution by the image processing execution means;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the post-processing additional information generation unit generates the post-processing additional information according to a type of image processing designated by the operation instruction. The image processing apparatus grants authority to execute one or more kinds of image processing for each user or a group composed of a plurality of users, and generates authority information indicating the contents of the granted authority. An authority input means for accepting an operation authority medium input to
The operation instruction changing means changes the operation instruction based on authority information obtained by the authority input means. The image processing apparatus according to any one of items 9 and 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the authority information is information in the same format as the additional information existing in the input image. 13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the authority information is recognized together with additional information added to the input image by the additional information recognition unit. The image processing apparatus further comprises image holding means for holding an input image between the image input means and the image output means. The image processing device according to any one of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the image holding unit is a separate device connected to at least one of the image input unit or the image output unit via a communication path. An image processing method including an image input step of inputting an input medium and acquiring an input image from the input medium, and an image output step of executing image processing on the input image and outputting the input image:
The image input step includes
Including an additional information recognition step of recognizing additional information added to the input image,
The image output process includes:
An image processing determination step for determining image processing that can be executed according to the content of the additional information extracted in the additional information recognition step;
An image operation input step of receiving an operation instruction including at least one type of image processing among one or more types of image processing to be performed on the input image;
An image control step of controlling image processing on the input image in accordance with the operation instruction received in the image operation input step;
An image processing method comprising:

Images