JP2009033579A - Image processing apparatus, image processing system, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, a program and a recording medium which can improve safety in security of control corresponding to a marking image. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus 10 includes: a registration means 72 for registering limited image data to which a marking image indicating a security limit is imparted; an image comparing means 66 for comparing input image data input from an image reading means 62 with the registered limited image data to determine whether the limited image data matching the input image data are being registered; a detection means 64 for detecting the marking image in the input image data; and a control means 68 which stops executing requested processing in a case where the image comparing means 66 determines that the matching limited image data are being registered and further, the detection means does not detect the marking image corresponding to the one imparted to the matching limited image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing technique, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, a program, and a recording medium for improving the security safety of control according to a marking image.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the enhancement of functions of multifunction devices, multifunction devices equipped with a document storage function for storing scanned document data in a hard disk of the multifunction device in addition to basic functions such as copying, scanner, printer, and facsimile can be reused. It is popular. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-243463 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique for printing out an accumulated document.

  Also known is a technique for embedding predetermined information into printed matter as a marking image such as a barcode or two-dimensional code. In recent years, predetermined information is encoded as a marking image and embedded in the printed matter, and on the other hand, a scanner is used There is also known a multi-function machine that executes processing according to embedded information by reading and decoding a marking image embedded in a printed material.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-258898 (Patent Document 2) discloses a reading unit that reads an original document and generates original image data for the purpose of providing an image forming apparatus capable of ensuring high security. A marking detection unit that detects a specific marking given to the original document indicating that the electronic document of the document has already been generated, and determines whether or not the electronic document can be generated based on the presence or absence of the marking or the content of the detected marking An image forming apparatus including a determination unit is disclosed. In addition, JP-A-2005-332401 (Patent Document 3) can be cited as a technique for performing control using a barcode.
JP-A-11-243463 JP 2006-258898 A JP-A-2005-332401

  However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the original is read in a state where the marking image is hidden, the marking image is not detected, and thus the set security restriction is invalidated. There was a problem, and it was not enough from the viewpoint of ensuring high security safety. In other words, the conventional technology cannot deal with a malicious user who intentionally hides the marking image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can detect the absence of a desired marking image even when a marking image indicating a security restriction is read in a hidden state. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, a program, and a recording medium that can maintain high security.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, restricted image data to which a marking image indicating security restriction is added is registered in advance, and when a document reading process is requested, the document is already subjected to security restrictions. It is prepared for judging whether or not it is registered. When processing is requested, the input image data input from the image reading unit is compared with the registered restricted image data to determine whether restricted image data that matches the input image data is registered. Is done. If it is determined that matching restricted image data is registered, and if a marking image corresponding to the one assigned to the matching restricted image data is not detected, the requested processing is performed. Execution is aborted.

  Thereby, even when the marking image indicating the security restriction is read in a hidden state, it is possible to detect the absence of the predetermined marking image that should be, and to appropriately prevent unauthorized use. It is possible to control processing according to the marking image with a security restriction force. In the present invention, registering restricted image data means registering restricted image data and a marking image attached to the image data in association with each other so that they can be acquired. The image data itself is registered. It may be stored in the image processing apparatus including the means, or may be stored in an external server apparatus connected via a network or another external image processing apparatus.

That is, according to the present invention, registration means for registering restricted image data provided with a marking image indicating security restriction;
Image comparison means for comparing input image data input from the image reading means and the registered restricted image data to determine whether restricted image data that matches the input image data is registered. When,
Detecting means for detecting a marking image in the input image data;
In the case where the image comparison unit determines that the matching restricted image data is registered, the detection unit further selects a marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data. If not detected, an image processing apparatus is provided including control means for stopping execution of the requested process.

  The control means, when the detection means detects the marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data, according to the security restriction indicated by the detected marking image, The execution control of the requested process can be performed. The registration means registers the restricted image data in association with the marking image assigned to the restricted image data or the security restriction indicated by the assigned marking image, and the control means is requested to The execution control of the process corresponding to the marking image associated with the matching restricted image data or the security restriction can be resumed. Further, in the comparison, it is possible to calculate the degree of coincidence indicating the degree of coincidence between the image feature and / or the text information between the registered restricted image data and the input image data.

  The image processing apparatus includes: a creating unit that creates print image data for print output; and an image of the created print image data when the setting of a security restriction for the print image data is required, and the security restriction An image composition unit for synthesizing a marking image indicating information for applying the image, and a print output unit for printing out the image synthesized image, wherein the registration unit is configured to output the print image that is synthesized and output. Data can be registered as the restricted image data. For the image data to which the marking image is assigned, the use permission, the remaining number that can be used, the use prohibition, the user identification value that is permitted to use, the group identification value that is permitted to use, the role identification value that is permitted to use, At least one security restriction selected from the group consisting of a usage period and usage conditions can be indicated.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, registration means for registering restricted image data to which a marking image indicating security restriction is attached;
Storage means for storing the restricted image data;
Image comparison means for comparing input image data input from the image reading means and the registered restricted image data to determine whether restricted image data that matches the input image data is registered. When,
Detecting means for detecting a marking image in the input image data;
In the case where the image comparison unit determines that the matching restricted image data is registered, the detection unit further selects a marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data. If not detected, an image processing system is provided that includes control means for stopping execution of the requested processing.

  The image processing system includes: a creating unit that creates print image data for print output; and an image of the created print image data when the setting of a security restriction for the print image data is required, and the security restriction An image composition unit for synthesizing a marking image indicating information for applying the image, and a print output unit for printing out the image synthesized image, wherein the registration unit is configured to output the print image data that is synthesized and output. Can be registered as the restricted image data and stored in the storage means.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus-executable program for causing an image processing apparatus to function as each unit described above. According to the present invention, there is provided a device-readable recording medium that records a device-executable program for causing the image processing device to function as each means described above.

  Hereinafter, although embodiment of this invention is described, embodiment of this invention is not limited to the following embodiment. In this embodiment, as an example of an image processing apparatus, an example in which a multifunction machine 10 having a complex function for handling images such as a copy, a facsimile, a scanner, and a print will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 10. The multifunction machine 10 includes a controller 12, an operation panel 42, an FCU (facsimile control unit) 44, and an engine 46. The controller 12 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14, an NB (North Bridge) 18, an ASIC 20 connected to the CPU 14 via the NB 18, and a system memory 16. The ASIC 20 executes various types of image processing and is connected to the NB 18 via an AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port) 48. The system memory 16 is used as a drawing memory or the like.

  The ASIC 20 is connected to a local memory 22, a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 24, and a nonvolatile memory 26 (hereinafter referred to as NV-RAM) such as a flash memory. The HDD 24 is a storage device that stores image data. The NV-RAM 26 stores various system information and various setting information of the multifunction machine 10, and further stores a marking image such as a two-dimensional code in the present embodiment. The storage device that stores the image data and the marking image is not particularly limited.

  The controller 12 further includes an SB (South Bridge) 28, a NIC (Network Interface Card) 30, an SD card slot 32, a USB interface 34, an IEEE 1394 interface 36, and a Centronics interface 38. These are connected to the NB 18 via the PCI bus 50. The SD card slot 32 is configured so that an SD memory card can be attached to and detached from the SD card slot 32, and data can be read from and written to the installed SD memory card. The NIC 30 is an interface device that connects the multifunction machine 10 to the Internet or a local area network (LAN) such as 100BASE-T. The USB interface 34, the IEEE 1394 interface 36, and the Centronics interface 38 are interfaces conforming to the respective standards, and can accept various jobs from an external device.

  The operation panel 42 is connected to the ASIC 20 of the controller 12 and provides a user interface for receiving input of various instructions from the operator and displaying a screen. The FCU 44 and the engine 46 are connected to the ASIC 20 via the PCI bus 52. The FCU 44 performs facsimile transmission / reception in accordance with facsimile standards such as G3 and G4. The engine 46 includes a plotter engine and a scanner engine, and receives a print command and a scan command, and performs an image forming operation and an image reading operation.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction machine 10 according to the present embodiment. The MFP 10 according to the present embodiment includes a marking determination unit 60 for executing processing according to security restrictions indicated by a marking image attached to an original, and a marking attaching unit that prints out an output original to which the marking image is attached. 70. Hereinafter, first, the functional configuration of the marking imparting unit 70 will be described.

  The marking imparting unit 70 includes an image data creation unit 78 that creates image data to be printed out, a marking image composition unit 74 that composes an image of the created image data and a marking image, and an image data after the image composition. A print output unit 76 that prints out the output document R to which the marking image r is attached, an image data storage unit 80 that controls the storage of the created image data, and a marking information registration unit 72 are included.

  The marking information registration unit 72 registers the image data and the marking image that has been combined with each other in association with each other. Here, in order to place a security restriction on the use, image data to which a marking image indicating information for defining the security restriction is attached is referred to as restricted image data. The marking information registration unit 72 registers restricted image data and constitutes a registration unit. In the present embodiment, the marking image is created by adopting a two-dimensional code and encoding information for defining security restrictions by a predetermined method.

  The image data creation unit 78 is a functional unit that creates image data to which a marking image is to be applied when an output document with a marking image is printed out. The image data creation unit 78 scans an input document and creates image data. The reading unit 62 may be used. However, the image data creation unit 78 is not particularly limited, and in other embodiments, for example, print control data received via an interface such as the NIC 30, the USB interface 34, the IEEE 1394 interface 36, and the Centronics interface 38. Can be used as a print processing means for creating image data, a facsimile processing means for receiving image data in accordance with a facsimile communication protocol, or the like.

  In this embodiment, the image data storage unit 80 stores image data in a storage area of the HDD 24 provided in the multifunction machine 10 and assigns and manages an image identification value to each image data. Note that access to restricted image data stored in the storage area is preferably granted only to an operator having a predetermined authority, such as an administrator, from the viewpoint of security safety.

  The details of the print output process for the original document with the marking image will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a printout process for a document with a marking image executed by the multifunction machine 10 according to the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 3 is started from step S100. In step S101, a process start instruction is awaited, and a process loop is performed in step S101 until the process start instruction is received (during NO). If it is determined in step S101 that a process start instruction has been received (YES), the process branches to step S102, and security restriction setting information is acquired.

  This security restriction setting is acquired by reading the setting information stored in the NV-RAM 26 or the system memory 16 in advance through the operation panel 42 before the processing start instruction. be able to. Also, the security restriction setting can be obtained by receiving a print setting, which is set in the print dialog on the client PC and transmitted together with the print control data.

  In step S <b> 103, the image data creation unit 78 creates image data for printing and stores the created image data in the image data storage unit 80. In step S104, it is determined whether a marking image should be added. If it is determined in step S104 that no security restrictions have been set and it is not necessary to add a marking image (NO), the process branches to step S108, and printing is performed according to the created image data. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that security restrictions have been set and a marking image needs to be added (YES), the process branches to step S105. In step S105, the security restriction setting information is encoded to create a marking image. In step S106, the marking image combining unit 74 combines the created image data image and the marking image. In step S107, the marking information registration unit 72 stores the accumulated image data, the assigned marking image, and the marking image. Are registered in association with each other. In step S108, the print output unit 76 prints out the output document with the marking image in accordance with the image data after the image composition in step S106, and ends the process in step S109.

  FIG. 4 shows a registration table of restricted image data registered by the marking information registration unit 72 in step S107 of the process shown in FIG. The registration table 200 includes a field 200a in which an image identification value of image data is input, a field 200b in which an identification value of a marking image given to image data corresponding to the image identification value is input, and the image identification And a field 200c in which a security restriction set for image data corresponding to the value is input, and restricted image data is registered.

  In the registration table 200 shown in FIG. 4, a marking image with the marking image identification value “MK001” is assigned to the image data to which the image identification value “IMG001” is assigned, and “unusable” is set again as the security restriction. Has been. In the registration table 200, the image data to which the image identification value “IMG004” is assigned is assigned a marking image with the marking image identification value “MK004”. It has been shown that The registration table 200 is stored as setting information in the NV-RAM 26, for example.

  The security restriction is not particularly limited, and can include a use range restriction, a restriction condition at the time of use, and the like. For example, as security restrictions, for image data, use permission, remaining usable number, use prohibition, use permitted user identification value, use permitted group identification value, use permitted role identification value, use time limit, use Conditions can be mentioned, and combinations thereof can also be adopted. In addition, examples of usage conditions include forcing image log accumulation, forcing stamps and watermarks, and forcing tint block processing. A combination of these can also be adopted.

  Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the marking determination unit 60 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 again. The marking determination unit 60 performs image reading of the input originals P and Q to create input image data, and detects a marking image included in the input image data and extracts information indicated by the marking image. A marking image detection unit 64, an image comparison unit 66, and a processing control unit 68 are included. The image comparison unit 66 compares the input image data and the stored image data to determine the degree of coincidence between the image data, and determines whether or not the input document has already been read and stored. judge. The processing control unit 68 is started by reading the input document when a desired marking image is not detected from the input image data even though restricted image data that matches the input image data is accumulated. Control to stop execution of the process.

  In the multifunction machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the operator can request job processing such as copying or scanning of the document by reading the document with the marking image. In the multi function device 10, for example, when the input document P with the marking image p is read, the marking image detection unit 64 analyzes the marking image p and extracts the security restriction indicated by the marking image. Then, the multifunction machine 10 controls the execution of processing according to the extracted information.

  On the other hand, when the input document Q in which the marking image is hidden is read, the marking image detection unit 64 fails to detect the marking image. However, in the multifunction machine 10 of the present embodiment, the image comparison unit 66 compares the input image data with at least each restricted image data, and whether or not a match with the input image data has already been accumulated. And whether or not a predetermined marking image should be given to the input document is determined. If detection of the marking image fails even though there is matching restricted image data, the processing control unit 68 stops the requested processing.

  Further, when the correct marking image is hidden by the false marking image, the marking image detection unit 64 extracts the false information indicated by the false marking image. However, in the MFP 10 of the present embodiment, the information extracted by the marking image detection unit 64 is attached to the restricted image data even though restricted image data that matches the input image data has already been accumulated. If the marking image is different from the information indicated by the marking image, the process control unit 68 stops the requested process.

  The details of the input document reading process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of input document reading processing executed by the multifunction machine 10 of the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 5 is started from step S200. In step S201, a process start instruction is awaited, and a process loop is performed in step S201 until the instruction is received (during NO). If it is determined in step S201 that a processing start instruction has been received (YES), the process branches to step S202, for example, a document set in an ADF (automatic document feeder) is read, and input image data is created. To do.

  In step S203, the image comparison unit 66 compares the created input image data with each of the accumulated image data. In step S204, image data that matches the input image data is included in the accumulated image data. Determine if it exists. Details of the process of searching for image data that matches the input image data will be described later.

  If it is determined in step S204 that there is no match with the input image data (NO), since the input document is new, the process branches to step S211 and the process control unit 68 determines that the user The execution of the process according to the request is continued, and the process is terminated in step S209.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S204 that there is a match with the input image data (YES), the process branches to step S205. In this case, it indicates that the image data corresponding to the document has already been accumulated. In subsequent step S205, the marking information registration unit 72 determines whether or not the matching image data has been given a marking image indicating a security restriction. If it is determined that the marking data has not been given ( NO), the process is branched to step S211, and the process control unit 68 continues the process according to the user's request, and ends the process in step S209.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S205 that the matching image data is provided with the marking image and is the restricted image data (YES), the process branches to step S206. In this case, the image data corresponding to the document has already been given a marking image indicating a security restriction, indicating that the document should contain a predetermined marking image.

  Subsequently, in step S206, the marking image detection unit 64 tries to detect the marking image from the input image data. When the marking image is detected, the marking image is converted into the marking image added to the matching image data. In step S207, it is determined whether or not a corresponding marking image has been detected. Note that the correspondence between the marking image included in the input image data and the marking image added to the restricted image data can be confirmed by, for example, comparing information indicated by both marking images.

  If a corresponding marking image is detected in step S207 (YES), the process branches to step S208, and the processing control unit 68 is requested in accordance with information for defining security restrictions obtained from the detected marking image. The execution of the process is controlled, and the process is terminated in step S209. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S207 that the corresponding marking image is not included (NO), in step S210, the processing control unit 68 uses the display device of the operation panel 42 for illegal use. Is notified, the requested process is stopped, and the process ends in step S209.

  Hereinafter, the search processing for restricted image data that matches the input image data will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration related to search processing for image data that matches input image data created from an input document. FIG. 6 shows an image comparison unit 66 and an image data storage unit 80. The image comparison unit 66 compares the input image data 100 and the accumulated image data 102 to calculate the degree of coincidence between the two image data, and the image data having the highest degree of coincidence that is equal to or higher than a specified value. Are determined as matching image data.

  In this embodiment, the degree of coincidence between image data is calculated by first performing character recognition processing on both image data of input image data and accumulated image data, extracting text information, The degree of coincidence is calculated. Further, for an area recognized as an image area in the character recognition processing, the area is subdivided into cell units, and the image feature quantity based on the degree of coincidence of image feature quantities calculated for each cell. For example, an average value of the text-based matching degree and the image feature-based matching degree is calculated as the matching degree of the image data.

  As the image feature amount, a grayscale average value obtained by calculating a grayscale average for pixels in each cell, an average color for pixels in each cell in the RGB color space, HSV color space, or CMYK color space, The most frequent color having the most frequent frequency can be adopted, but is not particularly limited. A combination of a plurality of types of image feature amounts can also be employed. The size of the unit cell when subdividing is also preferably set to a smaller unit from the viewpoint of accuracy, but is not particularly limited, and is set according to the processing performance of the multifunction machine 10 and the required accuracy. be able to.

  In addition, in the calculation of the degree of coincidence based on the image feature amount, the degree of coincidence can be calculated using the mean square error of the image feature amount of each cell as an index, but there is no particular limitation, and the image feature amount of each cell is calculated. The degree of coincidence can be determined from the distance measure between the feature vectors of each image in the feature space spanned by the feature vector, and is not particularly limited.

  Regarding the stored image data, text data and image feature amounts may be obtained in advance and registered together with the image data as metadata for comparison. Prior to image comparison, in order to facilitate comparison, appropriate preprocessing such as high-frequency noise removal, multilevel conversion, angle correction, and distortion correction may be performed.

  Note that the calculation of the degree of coincidence between image data is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and any method employed in the technical field of image search in consideration of an allowable calculation cost and an accumulated amount of image data. The method can be adopted. From the viewpoint of calculation cost, it is preferable to include a text-based matching degree, but an image feature-based matching degree can also be calculated for all areas of image data.

  The image comparison unit 66 shown in FIG. 6 compares each image data in order, such as the image data 102a and then the image data 102b, and obtains the image data having the highest degree of coincidence with the specified value. , It is determined as matching image data. When matching image data is determined, whether or not the image data is restricted image data is associated with the registered content of the marking information registration unit 72.

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of processing for determining image data matching the input image data executed by the multifunction machine 10 of the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 7 is called by the process of step S203 of FIG. 5, and starts from step S300. In step S301, the input image data is temporarily read into the working storage area of the system memory 16. In step S302, the first image data 102 stored in the image data storage unit 80 is similarly read to the work storage area. In step S303, the degree of coincidence between the input image data 100 and the image data 102 is calculated. In step S304, it is determined whether or not the degree of coincidence with the input image data has been calculated for all the image data. If it is determined that all the image data has not yet been calculated (NO), The process branches to S305, the next image data is targeted, the process is branched to step S303, and the process is repeated until the degree of coincidence is calculated for all the image data.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S304 that the calculation has been completed for all image data (YES), for example, sorting is performed in descending order of coincidence in step S306. It is determined whether or not exceeds a predetermined specified value. Here, the specified value is set in order to exclude the determination of the image data having the highest degree of coincidence even though they do not coincide. If it is determined in step S307 that the highest matching degree is less than the specified value (NO), the process branches to step S310, it is determined that there is no matching, and the process ends in step S309. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S307 that the highest matching degree is greater than or equal to the specified value (YES), the process branches to step S308, and the image data having the highest matching degree is set as matching image data. It determines with existence, and complete | finishes a process by step S309.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a display screen 400 displayed on the operation panel 42 in order to notify the operator that the current process is an unauthorized use in the process of step S210 of FIG. The display screen 400 shown in FIG. 8 includes a message 402 that a currently set document has security restrictions set by a two-dimensional code, and a confirmation button 404 that waits for confirmation from the operator. .

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the control for sequentially calculating the degree of coincidence for all the accumulated image data has been described. However, the control is performed to classify the image data in advance according to keywords included therein and limit the target range. It can also be. In addition, the determination does not have to target all accumulated image data, and from the viewpoint of processing cost, it is more preferable to target only those registered as restricted image data.

  By the output processing described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the image data to which the marking image indicating the security restriction is added is registered as restricted image data in order to detect the absence of the desired marking image. . Then, even if the marking image included in the document is hidden by the document reading process described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5 to 7, the absence of a predetermined marking image to be detected is detected. Therefore, an attempt to avoid the security restriction set by the marking image can be suitably inhibited, and thus processing control according to the marking image accompanied by the security restriction force can be performed.

  Hereinafter, another embodiment of the input document reading process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of another embodiment of the input document reading process. The process shown in FIG. 9 is started from step S400. In step S401, a process start instruction is awaited, and a process loop is performed in step S401 until the instruction is received (during NO). If it is determined in step S401 that a processing start instruction has been received (YES), the process branches to step S402, the set original is read, and input image data is created.

  In step S403, the image comparison unit 66 compares the created input image data with each of the stored image data. In step S404, there is image data that matches the input image data in the restricted image data. It is determined whether or not to do. For the process of searching for image data that matches the input image data, according to the registered content of the marking information registration unit 72, the determination target is other than restricted image data to which a marking image indicating security restriction is added. The same processing as that shown in FIG. 7 can be performed.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the restricted image data does not match the input image data (NO), the input manuscript is not restricted by security, and the process branches to step S412. The process control unit 68 continues to execute the process according to the user's request, and ends the process in step S408.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S404 that there is a piece of restricted image data that matches the input image data (YES), the process branches to step S405. In this case, it is indicated that the image data corresponding to the document has already been stored as restricted image data, and the document should include a predetermined marking image. In step S405, the marking image detection unit 64 tries to detect the marking image from the input image data. When the marking image is detected, the marking image corresponds to the marking image given to the matching image data. In step S406, it is determined whether or not a corresponding marking image has been detected.

  If a corresponding marking image is detected in step S406 (YES), the process branches to step S407, and the processing control unit 68 responds to information for defining security restrictions obtained from the detected marking image. The execution of the requested process is controlled, and the process ends in step S408. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S406 that the corresponding marking image is not included (NO), in step S409, the processing control unit 68 illegally uses the display device of the operation panel 42. The user is notified that the request has been made, and the requested process is cancelled.

  In the subsequent step S410, even if a desired marking image is not detected, the processing is continued according to the content of the security restriction on the matching image data registered in the marking information registration unit 72. Determine whether or not to allow. This continuation permission or non-permission setting can be performed in advance by an administrator or the like according to an operation policy or the like. If continuation is not permitted in step 410 (NO), the process branches to step S408 and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if continuation is permitted in step S410 (YES), the process branches to step S411, and the process control unit 68 follows the information indicated by the marking image added to the matched restricted image data. The process is resumed, and the process is terminated in step S408.

  Even if the marking image included in the document is hidden by the document reading process described with reference to FIG. 9, the absence of the desired marking image is detected, and the desired marking image indicates It is possible to acquire information for defining a security restriction, and it is possible to continue processing according to the security restriction. Therefore, it is possible to perform processing control according to the marking image accompanied by the security restriction force.

  The MFP 10 described above reads out a program (not shown) stored in a storage device such as a ROM (not shown), HDD 24, NV-RAM 26, SD card (not shown), etc. By expanding the memory area of the memory (including the system memory 16 and the local memory 22) that provides the working memory area, the above-described functional units including the operating system (OS) are realized. As the OS, for example, UNIX (registered trademark) can be adopted, but WINDOWS (registered trademark) or any other OS can be adopted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when a marking image indicating a security restriction is read in a hidden state, it is possible to detect the absence of a marking image that should be, and high security can be achieved. An image processing apparatus, an image processing system, a program, and a recording medium that can be maintained can be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the two-dimensional code is described as an example of the marking image. However, in another embodiment, the marking image is embedded in the output document. A three-dimensional code including a concept, a stamp image, and the like can be adopted, and functional means for encoding and decoding a marking image can be implemented by software or hardware depending on the form. Further, instead of a marking image formed as a toner image on a document, marking by punching can be employed.

  The information indicated by the marking image includes, in addition to information on the security restrictions, an image identification value for identifying image data, a document identification value for identifying a document assigned to a series of image data, printing conditions, bibliographic information, and processing. Other information such as an execution command can be included and is not particularly limited.

In the above-described embodiment, the HDD 24 provided in the multifunction machine 10 is described as an example of the storage area for storing image data. However, the storage area for storing image data is not particularly limited. In another embodiment, instead of the HDD 24, it can be stored in a storage area provided in a remotely connected server device. In that case, the image data storage unit 80 specifies a URL (Uniform Resource) for specifying the storage location of the image data on the network.
It is possible to manage a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) such as a Locator) or URN (Uniform Resource Name) and acquire desired image data via a network. In another embodiment, instead of the HDD 24, it can be stored in a storage area included in another remotely connected multi-function peripheral. In this case, the image data storage unit 80 stores the device identification value of the multi-function peripheral, Information for specifying a storage destination device such as an IP address and an image identification value for specifying image data can be managed to obtain desired image data via a network.

  The image processing apparatus is not limited to the multifunction machine of the above-described embodiment, and may be configured as an apparatus having an image reading function such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and an image reading apparatus according to a specific application. it can. Further, the image processing apparatus can be configured as an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer connected to an external image reading apparatus. In addition, an image processing system including a plurality of devices can be configured by distributing the functional units to a plurality of devices. For example, the configuration of the marking applying unit 70 and the marking determining unit 60 can be realized by being distributed to different image processing apparatuses.

  The above function can be realized by a device executable program described in a legacy programming language such as assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language, or the like. ROM, EEPROM, EPROM, It can be stored in a device-readable recording medium such as flash memory, flexible disk, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, SD memory, MO, and distributed.

  Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art will conceive other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, and the like. It can be changed within the range that can be achieved, and any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of print output processing of a document with a marking image executed by the multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. The figure which shows the registration table of restricted image data as an example. 6 is a flowchart of input document reading processing executed by the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment. The block diagram which shows the function structure regarding the search process of the image data which matches the input image data of an input original. 6 is a flowchart of processing for determining image data that matches input image data, which is executed by the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the display screen 400 displayed on an operation panel as an example. 10 is a flowchart of another embodiment of input document reading processing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... MFP, 12 ... Controller, 14 ... CPU, 16 ... System memory, 18 ... NB, 20 ... ASIC, 22 ... Local memory, 24 ... HDD, 26 ... NV-RAM, 28 ... SB, 30 ... NIC, 32 ... SD card slot, 34 ... USB I / F, 36 ... IEEE 1394 I / F, 38 ... Centronics I / F, 42 ... Operation panel, 44 ... FCU, 46 ... Engine, 48 ... AGP, 50, 52 ... PCI bus, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 60 ... Marking determination part 62 ... Image reading part 64 ... Marking image detection part 66 ... Image comparison part 68 ... Processing control part 70 ... Marking provision part 72 ... Marking information registration part 74 ... Marking image composition part , 76 ... print output unit, 78 ... image data creation unit, 80 ... image data storage unit, 100 ... input image data, 102 Image data, 200 ... registration table, 400 ... display screen, P, Q ... input document, R ... output document, p, r ... marking image, q ... hidden marking image

Claims (10)

Registration means for registering restricted image data to which a marking image indicating security restriction is attached;
Image comparison means for comparing input image data input from the image reading means and the registered restricted image data to determine whether restricted image data that matches the input image data is registered. When,
Detecting means for detecting a marking image in the input image data;
In the case where the image comparison unit determines that the matching restricted image data is registered, the detection unit further selects a marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data. An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for canceling execution of the requested processing if not detected.   The control means, when the detection means detects the marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data, according to the security restriction indicated by the detected marking image, The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein execution control of requested processing is performed. The registration unit registers the restricted image data and the marking image attached to the restricted image data or the security restriction indicated by the attached marking image in association with each other,
The control means restarts execution control of processing according to the marking image or the security restriction associated with the matching restricted image data after stopping execution of the requested processing. 2. The image processing apparatus according to 2.   In the comparison, the degree of coincidence indicating the degree of coincidence between the image feature and / or text information or any one of the registered restricted image data and the input image data is calculated. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The image processing apparatus includes:
Creating means for creating print image data for print output;
An image compositing means for compositing an image of the created print image data and a marking image indicating information for applying the security restriction when a security restriction setting is required for the print image data;
Print output means for printing out the combined image, and
5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit registers the print image data that is synthesized and output as the restricted image data. 6.   For the image data to which the marking image is assigned, the use permission, the remaining number that can be used, the use prohibition, the user identification value that is permitted to use, the group identification value that is permitted to use, the role identification value that is permitted to use, The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus shows at least one security restriction selected from the group consisting of a usage period and usage conditions. Registration means for registering restricted image data to which a marking image indicating security restriction is attached;
Storage means for storing the restricted image data;
Image comparison means for comparing input image data input from the image reading means and the registered restricted image data to determine whether restricted image data that matches the input image data is registered. When,
Detecting means for detecting a marking image in the input image data;
In the case where the image comparison unit determines that the matching restricted image data is registered, the detection unit further selects a marking image corresponding to the one given to the matching restricted image data. And an image processing system including control means for canceling execution of the requested processing if no detection is detected. The image processing system includes:
Creating means for creating print image data for print output;
An image compositing means for compositing an image of the created print image data and a marking image indicating information for applying the security restriction when a security restriction setting is required for the print image data;
Print output means for printing out the combined image,
The image processing system according to claim 7, wherein the registration unit registers the print image data that is synthesized and output as the restricted image data and stores the data in the storage unit.   An apparatus-executable program for causing an image processing apparatus to function as each unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   A device-readable recording medium on which a device-executable program for causing an image processing device to function is recorded as each means according to claim 1.

Images