JP2008228116A - Image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a resolving means which is less in the problem of cost and operation as compared to a memory chip, etc., embedded in a server or a paper document on a network in the case when it is necessary to permit duplication for an original formed with a duplication preventive tint block, etc. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus comprises: an original reading section 1; an output processing section 7 which outputs a duplicate image of an original; and a multi-bit information extraction section 2 which extracts multi-bit embedded information from original image data. Furthermore, an input section 5 is provided in which a user inputs password information. Even if information representing duplication suppression is contained in the multi-bit embedded information and if information indicating temporary holding of duplication suppression processing is contained in the relevant multi-bit embedded information, a control section 9 confirms matching between the password information inputted from the input section and password information contained in the multi-bit embedded information, and permits output from the output processing section if matched. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having a copy restriction function, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus suitable for a digital multi-function peripheral or the like.

In recent years, due to improvements in image processing technology and image forming technology, when copying banknotes and securities using a digital color copying machine, it is possible to make faithful copies that cannot be easily distinguished from the original copy. It has become. For this reason, it is necessary to take measures so that special manuscripts such as banknotes and securities cannot be copied at all or cannot be copied correctly.
In addition, even in the case of general documents other than special manuscripts such as banknotes and securities, there are many confidential documents that are prohibited from being output such as copying from the viewpoint of confidentiality of the document contents. It is necessary to take measures to prevent such confidential documents from being copied at all, or from being copied correctly.

  For example, for a manuscript that is originally not allowed to be copied without permission, a special pattern in which characters, images, etc. emerge when copied by reading with a scanner and printed so that it is not easily copied There is something printed on. In general, this special pattern is called “copying suppression information” or “counterfeit prevention background pattern (or simply background pattern)”, and it has the effect of preventing the original from being copied by copying. Realized.

  For example, Patent Document 1 is an invention that detects a dot pattern embedded in a document and prevents information leakage due to duplication of a confidential document due to image change or image destruction when the dot pattern matches the copy suppression information.

  However, there may be a case where it is desired to permit copying under certain conditions even if the document itself has a forgery-preventing copy-forgery-inhibited pattern as a confidential document that originally does not permit copying without permission. For example, there is a case where it is desired to give a copy permission to a person having a specific authority, or when a confidential document is changed to a general document after a certain period. In order to cope with such a case, for example, the following method can be considered.

  For example, in Patent Document 2, a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image for suppressing duplication is formed by searching / acquiring electronic data held in a server based on specific information extracted by scanning a document on which a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is formed. It is an invention for printing the electronic data.

  However, this method requires a server that stores the original document, and it is essential that the digital multi-function peripheral that performs the copying process is connected to the server via a network, which complicates system construction and system management. There is a disadvantage that it ends up.

  Patent document 3 is an invention in which a copy check copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and a micro memory chip are embedded in a document, and copy permission control is performed using a password stored in the memory chip.

With this method, it is possible to perform copy permission processing with a single digital multifunction peripheral, but it is necessary to use expensive paper with a memory chip embedded therein, and a system for writing information into the memory chip is required. There are major cost / operational problems.
JP 2005-142918 A JP 2006-166139 A JP 2004-320080 A

  The present invention improves the inconveniences of the conventional example, and in particular, reproduces a document that is originally not allowed to be copied without permission, for example, for which a forgery-preventing copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is formed on the document itself. If there is a need to allow this, it provides a solution with fewer problems in terms of cost / operation compared to a server on a network or a memory chip embedded in a paper document.

A feature of the present invention is that copy suppression information and information for holding copy suppression processing are embedded in a document as a multi-bit information pattern, and the image processing apparatus uses this information to control related to copy suppression processing. Is to be done.
Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an original reading unit that reads an original, an output processing unit that outputs a duplicate image or duplicate image data of the original read by the original reading unit, and an original read by the original reading unit A multi-bit information extraction unit that extracts multi-bit embedding information from the image data, and the multi-bit embedding information extracted by the multi-bit information extraction unit includes information indicating copy suppression from the output processing unit. And a control unit for invalidating the output. In addition, an input unit is provided for the user to input password information. When the control unit includes information indicating copy suppression in the multi-bit embedded information and the multi-bit embedded information includes information indicating the copy suppression processing temporary suspension, Confirming the match between the password information input from the input unit and the password information included in the multi-bit embedded information, if matching, permit the output from the output processing unit without invalidating the output, The structure is adopted.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2, when the match of the password information cannot be confirmed, the control unit repeatedly accepts the input of the password information from the input unit and repeatedly checks the match of the password information. When the password information cannot be confirmed even after reaching the preset upper limit number of times, the output from the output processing unit is invalidated.

  In the invention according to claim 3, the control unit has a function of setting the upper limit number of repetitions in the storage unit as variable. The storage unit is provided in a storage area of storage means such as a memory.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect, whether or not to execute the process when the multi-bit embedded information includes information indicating the temporary suspension of the copy suppression process. The selection setting is stored in the storage unit. And the said control part was equipped with the function which receives the change of the said selection setting during execution of this administrator mode while providing the administrator mode which permits utilization only to the user who has the administrator authority of an image processing apparatus, The structure is adopted.

  The storage unit is provided in a storage area of storage means such as a memory. For example, the control unit displays an administrator authority authentication screen on the display unit, authenticates the administrator authority according to the authentication information input from the input unit based on the display, and displays the authentication unit to the authenticated administrator. In another embodiment, the administrator menu is displayed, and the selection setting in the storage unit is switched when the change of the selection setting is input from the input unit based on the display of the administrator menu.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the multi-bit embedded information is embedded as a tint block pattern, and the multi-bit information extracting unit extracts the multi-bit embedded information by a method corresponding to the tint block pattern. Adopted.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the multi-bit embedding information is embedded by a method of changing a character interval, and the multi-bit information extracting unit is configured to generate a multi-bit by a method corresponding to the method of changing the character interval. The configuration is such that embedded information is extracted.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the multi-bit embedded information is embedded as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode, and the multi-bit information extraction unit supports the one-dimensional barcode or the two-dimensional barcode. The multi-bit embedded information is extracted by the above method.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when it is necessary to give a copy permission to a user having a specific authority to copy a copy-restricted document, the copy suppression process is canceled using the secret information embedded in the document. Since the configuration is such that a server or memory chip on the network is not required, a configuration that is easy to manage and operate at low cost can be provided.

  In the invention described in claim 2, when the number of erroneous input of authentication information exceeds the upper limit, a copy suppression process is implemented, and a user who does not know the authentication information or a malicious third party illegally You can prevent duplicates from being created.

  In the invention according to claim 3, since the upper limit value of the number of erroneous inputs is variable, the upper limit number can be flexibly set according to the number of characters of the authentication information and the operation policy.

  In the invention described in claim 4, since it is configured to enable / disable the copy suppression process release function from the administrator mode of the image processing apparatus, an image that can use the copy suppression process release function according to the operation policy. The installation location and number of processing devices can be set flexibly.

  According to the fifth, sixth, or seventh aspect of the invention, the information embedding method can be selected according to the multi-bit information embedding method that can be read by the image processing apparatus.

  [First Embodiment]

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 reads an image applied to a document and outputs data of the image, and multi-bit information for extracting multi-bit embedded information embedded in the image data as a background. An extraction unit 2 and a multi-bit information analysis unit 3 that analyzes the extracted multi-bit embedded information and extracts password information and duplication control information from the information are provided. Also, the temporary memory 4 that temporarily stores the password information extracted by the multi-bit information analysis unit 3, the input means 5 such as an operation panel for the user to input the password information, and the password information and the input means that the temporary memory 4 holds. And a password information comparison unit 6 that compares the password information input from 5. Further, based on the image data of the document read by the document reading unit 1, an output processing unit 7 that outputs a copy of the document or image data of the document, and an output from the output processing unit 7 is used as the password information comparison unit. 6 is provided with an output control unit 8 for controlling based on the result of the comparison of the personal identification information in 6 and a sequence control unit 9 for controlling the operation of these units. In FIG. 1, a solid arrow indicates a data flow, and a dotted arrow indicates a control signal.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, a multi-bit information pattern is embedded as multi-bit embedding information in a paper document serving as a document. Among the multi-bit embedded information, at least one bit is copy suppression information, and additionally includes at least one bit of copy suppression processing suspension information. The remaining bits are assigned to information that can be decoded into the password information.

  The information embedding method includes an information embedding method using a glyph code (information embedding code based on a directional line pattern) described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-346032, a method of changing a character interval (`` using a layout structure `` Digital watermark embedding method in page descriptions '' (September 17, 1998), Tomio Amano, Yuki Hirayama, published by the Information Processing Society of Japan, pages 45-50), and (`` Using character shapes Digital watermarking method for lettering ”(November 25, 1999), Shuichi Tsujii, Masayoshi Kamijo, published by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, pages 2175-2177) There is also a method of embedding information. Many methods of embedding in frequency (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-079496) have been devised. In addition, information embedding using a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode (Japanese Patent No. 2938338) is widely used. Although the number of bits that can be embedded differs depending on the method, it is possible to embed from several tens of bits to a maximum of 1K bits. For example, if you can embed 50 bits, you can embed 6-digit alphanumeric password information by allocating 1 bit for copy suppression information, 1 bit for copy suppression processing hold information, and 48 bits for the remaining password information. .

  In order to embed a multi-bit information pattern in a manuscript, for example, printing can be performed from a client PC (Personal Computer) using a printer or a digital multifunction peripheral that supports the printer function. A paper document in which a multi-bit copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is embedded can be output by selecting a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and setting password information from a setting menu of a printer driver installed on the client PC.

  In the present embodiment, the document reading unit 1 that reads such a document includes an optical scanner. The multi-bit information extraction unit 2 extracts a tint block pattern from image data by a conventional general tint block pattern extraction method. The multi-bit information analysis unit 3 decodes the multi-bit embedding information included in the tint block pattern extracted by the multi-bit information extraction unit 2 in accordance with a predetermined specific information embedding method among the information embedding methods described above, The password information and the copy control information included in the information are acquired. Among these, the temporary memory 4 for storing the password information is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). Various contents of the password information can be considered. For example, it is possible to use only a password, a combination of a user ID and a password, information input from an IC card, or biometric information such as a fingerprint, an iris, or a face. The operation panel 5 which is an input means for the user to input the password information only needs to have a man-machine interface suitable for inputting the password information. In the present embodiment, the operation panel 5 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel that displays information to the user. The password information comparison unit 6 has a function of comparing the password information stored in the temporary memory 4 with the password information input from the operation panel 5 and notifying the sequence control unit 9 of the matching result.

  The sequence control unit 9 has a function of instructing the output control unit 8 to suppress the output from the output processing unit 7 when the multi-bit information analysis unit 3 detects the copy suppression information as the copy control information. ing. In addition, the sequence control unit 9 has a function of instructing the output control unit 8 to temporarily hold the copy suppression in the output processing unit 7 when the multi-bit information analysis unit 3 detects the copy suppression processing hold information. ing.

  The output processing unit 7 includes a printing device that prints and outputs a duplicate document, a FAX device that outputs image data to an external device, and a NIC (Network Interface Card). The output control unit 8 drives and controls the output from the output processing unit 7 in accordance with an instruction from the sequence control unit 9.

  Information processing in the multi-bit information extraction unit 2, the multi-bit information analysis unit 3, the personal identification information comparison unit 6, and the sequence control unit 9 is realized by a processor executing a program.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the following description of the operation, the password information is embedded in the document in advance, and only the user who has set the password information on the document using the printer driver, or the user who has received the password information from the user by some means, is prevented from copying. Assume that processing can be canceled and a copy of the original can be output. In the following description of the operation, the multi-bit information embedding pattern is a 50-bit (bit [49: 0]) copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, with 1 bit (bit 49) for the copy suppression information and 1 bit (bit 48) for the copy suppression processing suspension information. It is assumed that 48 bits (bit [47: 0]) are assigned to the remaining password information.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing sequence when such an original is read by an image processing apparatus having the above function.

  First, the document reading unit 1 scans a document in which a multi-bit information embedding pattern is embedded (S1). The multi-bit information extraction unit 2 separates the scanned document image data from the ground pattern and extracts 50-bit multi-bit embedded information (bit [49: 0]) from the ground pattern (S2). The multi-bit information analysis unit 3 decodes the password information of bits 0 to 47 from the multi-bit embedded information and stores it in the temporary memory 4. In addition, the multi-bit information analysis unit 3 extracts bit 49 and bit 48 data from the multi-bit embedded information and passes it to the sequence control unit 9.

  The sequence control unit 9 branches the processing sequence according to the combination of bit 49 and bit 48. First, in the case of bit 49 = 0 (representing copying permission), the sequence control unit 9 instructs the output control unit 8 to copy the document, assuming that copying of the document is permitted. Upon receiving this instruction, the output control unit 8 drives and controls the output processing unit 7, and the output processing unit 7 outputs a duplicate document or image data to the outside (S3, S4).

  On the other hand, if bit49 = 1 (represents copy suppression) and bit48 = 0 (represents no copy suppression pending), the sequence control unit 9 assumes that document copy output should be suppressed, and outputs copy suppression of the document. 8 is instructed. Upon receiving this instruction, the output control unit 8 invalidates the output of the duplicate document or image data from the output processing unit 7. Specifically, the copy original medium is not output, or output with image destruction is performed (S3, S5, S6).

  If bit49 = 1 (duplication inhibition) and bit48 = 1 (duplication inhibition suspension), the sequence controller 9 temporarily suspends the replication inhibition processing (S3, S5, S7). At this time, the sequence control unit 9 displays a password information input menu on the display unit of the operation panel 5. For example, a message such as “A manuscript for which copying is prohibited. Enter the password if you want to execute copying” may be displayed on the operation panel.

  The user operates the operation panel 5 and inputs password information (S8). In this embodiment, the password information is 48 bits and is composed of up to 6 alphanumeric characters. When the password information is input from the operation panel 5, the password information comparison unit 6 compares the password information input from the operation panel 5 with the password information stored in the temporary memory 4 (S9). The comparison result is notified to the sequence control unit 9, and the sequence control unit 9 branches the processing sequence according to the comparison result.

  If the comparison results match, the sequence control unit 9 cancels the copy suppression in the output processing unit 7 and instructs the output control unit 8 to copy the document. In response to this instruction, the output control unit 8 drives and controls the output processing unit 7, and the output processing unit 7 outputs a duplicate document or image data to the outside (S11).

  On the other hand, if the comparison results do not match, the sequence control unit 9 continues to temporarily hold the copy suppression process and causes the operation panel 5 to display the password information input menu again. At this time, a message “The entered password is incorrect. Please enter the correct password” may be displayed on the operation panel 5 (repeat S7 to S10).

  According to the present embodiment described above, the password information is embedded in the original document in advance, and only the user who has set the password information using the printer driver or who has received the password information from the user by some means is copied. It is possible to cancel the suppression process and output a copy of the document. Further, since the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern pattern embedded in the manuscript remains as it is in the duplicated paper document, a user who does not know the password information about the duplicated paper document cannot cancel the duplication suppression process. In this way, it is possible to prevent information leakage due to an illegal copy creation of a paper document in which copy suppression information is embedded.

  Further, since all the information for canceling the copy suppression process is embedded in the document, no server on the network is required.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the configuration of the image processing apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment lies in the processing (S12, S13) when the password information input by the user does not match, but the other processing is the same as in the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, if the password information does not match in the process of S10, the sequence control unit 9 counts the number N of incorrect input of the password information (S12), and the number N of incorrect input of the password information is preset. When the upper limit value is reached, the output control unit 8 is instructed to suppress the copy of the document, assuming that the copy output of the document should be suppressed. Upon receiving this instruction, the output control unit 8 suppresses the output of the duplicate document or image data from the output processing unit 7. Specifically, the copy original medium is not output, or output with image destruction is performed (S13, S6). Until the number of erroneous input of the personal identification information reaches the upper limit, the processes from S7 to S13 are repeated.

  According to this, when the password information input by the user does not repeatedly match, the sequence control unit 9 comes out of the temporary hold of the copy suppression process and performs the copy suppression process. A user who knows the personal identification information may mistakenly operate the panel, so a certain number of erroneous inputs are permitted, but when the certain number of erroneous inputs is made, the copy suppression process is temporarily suspended. Transition to suppression processing. It is desirable that the allowable number of erroneous inputs is variable and can be set by the administrator of the image processing apparatus.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a user who does not know the password information or a malicious third party from illegally creating a copy by guessing the password information or performing brute force.

  [Third Embodiment]

  Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the configuration of the image processing apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that when the copy suppression information (bit 49) extracted from the multi-bit embedded information is bit 49 = 1 (copy suppression), the subsequent processing is the processing after S3 in FIG. In addition, the processing after S3 in FIG. 4 can be selected by setting in advance. When the processing of FIG. 1 is selected by setting, the description is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the duplicate description is omitted.

  In the processing shown in FIG. 4, the sequence control unit 9 does not determine bit 48 (duplication suppression hold information) when bit 49 = 1 (duplication suppression), and immediately determines that the copy output of the original should be suppressed. Instructs the output control unit 8 to inhibit replication. Upon receiving this instruction, the output control unit 8 suppresses the output of the duplicate document or image data from the output processing unit 7. Specifically, the output of the copy original medium is not output or the image is destroyed (S6).

  The administrator of the image processing apparatus can select whether to execute the process of FIG. 2 or the process of FIG. 4 in advance when bit 49 = 1. The image processing apparatus stores the sequence setting in the storage unit in advance. When the sequence control unit 9 detects bit49 = 1 (duplication suppression) in S3, the sequence control unit 9 confirms the sequence setting stored in the storage unit, and selects and executes the process of FIG. 2 or the process of FIG. 4 according to the setting. .

  When the processing of FIG. 4 is selected, the processing sequence is determined only by the copy suppression information, and thus functions in the same way as an image processing apparatus having a conventional copy suppression function. The sequence setting can be changed by a configuration in which an administrator of the image processing apparatus can be set from an administrator-dedicated menu displayed on the operation panel 5.

  As a result, when a plurality of digital multifunction peripherals are installed in a company office or the like, it is possible to limit the image processing apparatuses that can cancel the copy suppression process, and thus it is possible to perform a preferable operation in terms of security.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the process of FIGS. 2 and 4 can be selected. However, the process of FIG. 3 described in the second embodiment and the process of FIG. 4 may be selected.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the multi-bit information embedding method has been described as a tint block pattern. However, the multi-bit information embedding method is not limited to the tint block pattern, and the above-described method (character spacing / barcode Etc.) can also be realized.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document reading part 2 Multi-bit information extraction part 3 Multi-bit information analysis part 4 Temporary memory 5 Operation panel 6 Password information comparison part 7 Output processing part 8 Output control part 9 Sequence control part

Claims (7)

A document reading unit that reads a document, an output processing unit that outputs a copy image or copy image data of a document read by the document reading unit, and multi-bit embedded information is extracted from image data of the document read by the document reading unit. A multi-bit information extraction unit; and a control unit that invalidates the output from the output processing unit when the multi-bit embedded information extracted by the multi-bit information extraction unit includes information indicating copy suppression. In the image processing apparatus,
A user has an input unit for entering password information,
If the multi-bit embedded information includes information indicating copy suppression and the multi-bit embedded information includes information indicating duplication suppression processing temporary suspension, the control unit And confirming the match between the password information input from the password information and the password information included in the multi-bit embedded information, and if the password matches, the output from the output processing unit is permitted without invalidating the output. An image processing apparatus.   If the match of the password information cannot be confirmed, the control unit repeatedly accepts the input of the password information from the input unit and repeatedly confirms the match of the password information, and this repetition reaches a preset upper limit number of times. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the match of the password information cannot be confirmed, the output from the output processing unit is invalidated.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit has a function of setting the upper limit number of repetitions as a variable in a storage unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
When the multi-bit embedded information includes information indicating the temporary hold of the copy suppression process, the selection setting whether or not to execute the process is stored in the storage unit,
The control unit includes an administrator mode that permits use only by a user having an administrator authority of the image processing apparatus, and a function of receiving a change in the selection setting during execution of the administrator mode. An image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the multi-bit embedded information is embedded as a tint block pattern, and the multi-bit information extracting unit extracts the multi-bit embedded information by a method corresponding to the tint block pattern.   The multi-bit embedded information is embedded by a method for changing a character interval, and the multi-bit information extraction unit extracts the multi-bit embedded information by a method corresponding to a method for changing the character interval. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The multi-bit embedded information is embedded as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode, and the multi-bit information extraction unit extracts the multi-bit embedded information by a method corresponding to the one-dimensional barcode or the two-dimensional barcode. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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