JP2009077181A - Image forming device, display method and its display program of embedded information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which enables a user to confirm what kind of information is to be embedded before printing. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming device comprises: a print means 6 which can print image data in a recording medium in such a state that the information is invisibly embedded; and a display means 71 which displays the information to be embedded before the print means 6 prints. It is preferable that an administrator and the user can set whether or not the information is to be embedded for every item of the information. It is also preferable that the item, in which administrator's setting is prioritized and which the user set differently from the administrator, is displayed in a display mode different from another item. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi Function Periferals) that is a multi-function digital multifunction peripheral, and embedded information that displays embedded information printed on a recording medium such as paper in an invisible state before printing. The display method and the display program.

  When the original document position information, user information, etc. are embedded in hidden characters on a recording medium such as paper and printed, and the printed recording medium is reused as a manuscript for copying, etc., the function restrictions and history are determined according to the information. Management is performed to improve user convenience.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for searching for a region to be embedded based on a predetermined condition and embedding information, and describes that when there are few embeddable regions, a priority order is determined and embedded in order. Yes.
JP 2004-343780 A

  However, when the user performs printing, since the information is embedded in a state that is not visible on the recording medium after printing, conventionally, including the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, what kind of information is obtained simply by looking at the image after printing. There is a problem that information that is not intended by the user may be embedded because it is not possible to confirm whether the information is embedded.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and an image forming apparatus that allows a user to confirm what information is embedded before printing, an embedded information display method, and It is an object to provide the display program.

The above-mentioned subject is achieved by the following means.
(1) A printing unit capable of printing image data on a recording medium in a state where information is embedded invisible, and a display unit for displaying the embedded information before printing by the printing unit. An image forming apparatus.
(2) a setting unit configured to set whether to embed and print the information, and when the setting unit is set to embed and print the information, the display unit displays the embedded information The image forming apparatus according to 1 above.
(3) The image forming apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the information is displayed in a plurality of display modes according to the type.
(4) The administrator and the user can set whether to embed the information for each item of information, and the item for which the setting of the administrator is prioritized and the user is set differently from the administrator. 4. The image forming apparatus according to item 3, which is displayed in a display mode different from other items.
(5) The information includes the serial number, security code, position information of the document to be printed, document name, document revision, number of pages, author, copy prohibition, print user information, print date, output serial number. 5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein at least one of them is included.
(6) The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above items 1 to 5, further comprising a storage unit that stores the embedded information together with the history of the embedded print job.
(7) controlling the printing means so that the image data is printed on the recording medium in a state where the information is embedded invisible; and displaying the embedded information on the display means before printing on the recording medium And a step of displaying embedded information.
(8) controlling the printing means so that the image data is printed on the recording medium in a state where the information is embedded invisible; and displaying the embedded information on the display means before printing on the recording medium. And a step of causing the computer of the image forming apparatus to execute the embedded information display program.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, since the embedded information is displayed on the display means before the image data is printed on the recording medium in a state where the information is embedded invisible, the user who performs printing Can confirm in advance what kind of information is embedded, and can solve the inconvenience that information unintended by the user is embedded.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (2), since the embedded information is displayed only when the information is set to be embedded and printed, the embedded information is displayed even when there is no need for prior confirmation. Can be prevented.

  According to the invention described in item (3) above, since the embedded information is displayed in a plurality of display modes, the user can grasp the type of information by the display mode.

  According to the invention described in (4) above, the administrator and the user can set whether or not the information is embedded for each item, and the setting of the administrator is prioritized and the user is different from the administrator. Since the item that has been displayed is displayed in a display mode different from other items, the user can easily recognize that his / her setting is different from the administrator's setting for the item.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (5), the serial number of the own device, the security code, the position information of the document to be printed, the document name, the document revision, the number of pages, the author, the copy prohibition, the print user information, the print date, At least one of the output serial numbers can be embedded in the recording medium.

  According to the invention described in item (6) above, since the embedded information is stored in the storage unit together with the history of the print job that has been embedded, what information is embedded by calling the job history. Can be examined after the fact.

  According to the invention described in item (7), the user who performs printing can confirm in advance what kind of information is embedded, and the inconvenience that information unintended by the user is embedded as a hidden character can be solved.

  According to the invention described in item (8) above, before the printing on the recording medium, the process of controlling the printing means so that the image data is printed on the recording medium in a state where information is embedded invisible. The process of displaying the embedded information on the display means can be executed by a computer of the image forming apparatus.

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

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals), which is a multi-function digital multi-function peripheral that integrates functions such as copying, network printing, scanner, FAX, or document server. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus may be referred to as an MFP.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU 1, a program ROM 2, a work RAM 3, a scanner 4, an image storage memory 5, a printer unit 6, an operation panel 7, a network controller 8, and a FAX controller 9.

  The CPU 1 executes a program stored in the program ROM 2 or a program loaded on the work RAM 3 to control the entire image forming apparatus.

  The program ROM 2 stores an operation program for operating the CPU 1 and other data. The work RAM 3 provides a work area when the CPU 1 operates according to the operation program.

  The scanner 4 acquires image data by photoelectrically reading image information such as photographs, characters, and pictures from a document. The acquired image data (density data) is converted into digital data by an image processing unit (not shown), subjected to various kinds of known image processing, and then sent to the printer unit 6 and the network controller 8 for image printing and data. Or stored in the image storage memory 5 for later use.

  The image storage memory 5 is configured by a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk, and stores image data and other data. In this embodiment, a job history is also stored, and when information is embedded with hidden characters in a print job, the contents of the embedded information are also stored together with the job history.

  The printer unit 6 stores image data acquired by the scanner 4, image data received from an external device by the network controller 8, or image data stored in the image storage memory 5, on a recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as paper or film). Print on recording paper).

  The operation panel 7 includes a plurality of keys for inputting numbers, characters, symbols, and the like, a sensor for recognizing a pressed key, and a transmission circuit for transmitting a signal indicating the recognized key to the CPU 1. . Further, the operation panel 7 displays a screen for giving a message or an instruction to the user, a screen for the user to input setting contents and processing contents, an image formed by the image forming apparatus 2, and a processing result. A display unit 71 (shown in FIG. 6) including a liquid crystal touch panel or the like for displaying a screen shown in FIG.

  The network controller 8 includes a transmission unit, a reception unit, and the like, and is a device for exchanging data with an external device such as a personal computer. For example, a NIC, a modem, or a TA is used.

  The FAX controller 9 is for performing transmission / reception of image data by FAX with an external FAX apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of information embedding. In the following description, information to be embedded is also simply referred to as “hidden characters”.

  When the image data is printed on the recording paper by executing the copy function and the printer function, the designated hidden character is printed (embedded) on the recording paper in an invisible state. Therefore, the user cannot see the embedded hidden characters from the printed recording paper.

  As the types (items) of hidden characters, as shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the serial number of the image forming apparatus, which is unique information of the image forming apparatus 10, the security code as the original information, the document position information, the document Examples include name, document revision, number of pages, author, strict copy prohibition as output information after printing, print user information as user information, print date as output information, print time, and output serial number. . However, the present invention is not limited to these, and the information to be embedded may be at least one item.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a hidden character embedding mechanism in the image forming apparatus 10.

  The printer unit 6 embeds hidden characters in a recording sheet. The CPU 1 sets information to be embedded with hidden characters in the hidden character information memory 11 before starting printing. The hidden character information memory 11 may be composed of the work RAM 3 described above or the image storage memory 5.

  The set information is embedded in the print image data selected by the user from the print image data stored in the image storage memory 5 by the hidden character embedding unit 12 as a hidden character that cannot be visually recognized, thereby generating output image data. After that, printing is performed by the printer unit 6. The embedding in the print image data by the hidden character embedding unit 12 is configured by hardware because high-speed real-time processing is required. There are various methods of embedding, and any method may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram when extracting information embedded in a recording sheet as a hidden character.

  Information embedded with hidden characters on the recording paper is read by the scanner 4 of the image forming apparatus 10 and detected and extracted.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a hidden character extraction mechanism in the image forming apparatus.

  When information on hidden characters is embedded but the original is read by the scanner 4, the hidden character extraction unit 13 extracts the hidden characters from the read input image. The extracted hidden character is temporarily stored in the hidden character information memory 11 and read by the CPU 1 after the reading is completed.

  On the other hand, when image data other than hidden characters is necessary, the hidden character deletion / restoration unit 14 deletes the hidden character portion from the read image data, repairs the deleted portion, and then stores the image storage memory 5. Saved in.

  The hidden character extraction by the hidden character extraction unit 13 and the deletion / repair of the hidden character by the hidden character deletion / repair unit 14 are configured by hardware because high-speed real-time processing is required. There are various methods for extracting, deleting, and repairing hidden characters, and any method may be used.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view of the operation panel 7. As described above, the operation panel 7 includes the display unit 71 including a liquid crystal touch panel, and further includes a mode selection key 72, a numeric keypad 73, a job start key 74, and the like.

  The mode selection key 72 includes a “history” key for confirming a job history, a “user setting” key for setting an operation mode of an administrator or each user, and a “fax” key for selecting a fax function. , A “scan” key for selecting a scan function, a “copy” key for selecting a copy function, a “box” key for selecting a box function, and the like. When one of the mode selection keys 72 is pressed, a selection mode display section 75 made up of a light emitting diode (LED) provided on each mode selection key 72 is lit up and the mode selection key 72 is selected. You can understand that.

  The setting for each mode after the mode selection key 72 is pressed is performed by operating the touch panel of the liquid crystal display unit 71 or the numeric keypad 73. In this embodiment, for example, an administrator or the like can operate the “user setting” key to display a user setting screen, thereby setting whether to embed hidden characters in a recording sheet. Furthermore, the administrator and the user can set whether to embed the hidden character in the recording paper for each item of the hidden character.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a setting screen displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 71 when the administrator makes a setting as to whether to embed hidden characters in the recording paper.

  On this screen, the type of hidden character to be embedded is displayed for each item at the left end, and for each item, “ON”, “OFF”, “Selected”, or “Fixed” can be set. ing. “ON” means that the item is embedded as a hidden character in the printing paper, and “OFF” means that the item is not embedded. In FIG. 7, it is shown that a hatched item is selected, and is highlighted on the screen.

  “Select” / “Fix” switches each time the button is pressed, “Select” is an item for which settings of users other than the administrator are prioritized, and “Fix” is an administrator setting regardless of individual user settings. Means that this is a priority item.

  The set contents are stored in the image storage memory 5.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a setting screen displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 71 when a user who is not an administrator (for example, user A) performs settings.

  In this screen, as in FIG. 7, the type of hidden character is displayed for each item at the left end, and for each item, “ON” or “OFF”, “Warning”, “Default” or “Ignore”. It can be set.

  “ON” means that the item is embedded in the printing paper, and “OFF” means that the item is not embedded. In FIG. 8, what is indicated by hatching indicates that the user's intention has been selected, and is highlighted on the screen.

  “Warning” / “Default” / “Ignore” switches each time the button is pressed, and “Warning” is set against the user's intention, that is, “Fixed” with administrator priority is set on the administrator setting screen. This means that if the “ON” / “OFF” setting of the administrator is different from the “ON” / “OFF” setting of the user, the process is interrupted and a warning is displayed.

  “Ignore” means an item that continues processing without warning even if it is against the user's setting.

  “Default” means that the item is not set by the user.

  The set contents are stored in the image storage memory 5.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a warning screen displayed when the item for which the user has set “warning” is set against the user's intention.

  This warning screen shows a screen displayed when the administrator setting is as shown in the screen of FIG. 7 and the user setting is as shown in the screen of FIG. In the user settings of FIG. 10, “author”, “print date”, and “print time” are set to “default”, and these items are set according to the settings of the administrator. For each item other than “author”, “print date”, and “print time”, “warning” is set.

  In the warning screen of FIG. 9, “ON” / “OFF” settings and specific contents of hidden characters are displayed for each item.

  Since the serial number and output serial number of the image forming apparatus 10 are essential information, they are not displayed on the warning screen.

  The display of “ON” / “OFF” compares the setting contents of the administrator with the setting contents of the user and matches the setting on the priority side. For example, the security code, document position information, document name, document revision, and number of pages are “OFF” in the administrator setting of FIG. 7, but since they are “selection” items, the user setting has priority and “ON” " Also not subject to warning.

  Since “user”, “print date”, and “print time” have user settings of “default”, the administrator setting of “OFF” or “ON” is given priority and is not subject to warning.

  “Copy strictly prohibited” is “OFF” because both the administrator setting and the user setting are “OFF”.

  As for “print user information”, “OFF” and “warning” are selected in the user setting of FIG. 10, but “ON” and “fixed” are set in the administrator setting, and “ON” in the administrator setting is set. have priority. For this reason, the setting is contrary to the user's intention, and a warning is given by highlight display (hatched display in FIG. 9).

  The determination criteria for whether each item of information to be embedded is a warning target are summarized as a determination table in FIG. As is apparent from the table of FIG. 11, when the administrator setting is “ON” “fixed” and the user setting is “OFF” “warning”, the administrator setting is “OFF” “fixed” and the user setting is “ON”. "" Warning ", the item is determined to be a warning target.

  The user views the warning screen shown in FIG. 9 and recognizes that a setting different from the user's setting is made, and presses a “start” button to perform printing. Then, after the screen of the display unit 71 transitions to the preview screen shown in FIG. 12, printing is executed. On the other hand, in order to cancel printing, a “cancel” button may be pressed.

  The preview screen shown in FIG. 12 displayed on the display unit 71 is for informing the user of the type and contents of hidden characters before printing. If the warning screen shown in FIG. 9 is not displayed to the user, in other words, a warning target. This preview screen is displayed even when no item exists.

  In this preview screen, the contents of hidden characters (embedded information) are displayed for each item and displayed side by side with the print image. The warning target item is underlined and displayed in a display mode different from other items that are not the warning target, and a message to that effect is displayed. In addition, instead of underlining, the color may be changed and displayed.

  As described above, since the hidden character is displayed on the display unit 71 before printing, the user who performs printing can confirm in advance what information is embedded, and information that is not intended by the user. The problem of embedding can be solved.

  In addition, for items that are prioritized by the administrator's settings and the user has set differently from the administrator, the user is underlined and displayed in a different display mode from the other items. It can be easily recognized that the setting of the item is different from the setting of the administrator.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This operation is performed by the CPU 1 of the image forming apparatus executing a program stored in a storage medium such as the program ROM 2.

  In step S01, it is determined whether or not information is set to be embedded. If it is not set (NO in step S01), the process ends. If it is set (YES in step S01), the administrator setting shown in FIG. 7 is acquired in step S02, and the user setting shown in FIG. 10 is acquired in step S03.

  Next, in step S04, the acquired setting contents are compared, "ON" and "OFF" are determined for each item, and whether or not the item to be warned is included is determined in the determination table of FIG. Based on.

  In step S05, it is determined whether there is an item to be warned, in other words, whether it is necessary to display the warning screen of FIG. If there is no warning target item (YES in step S05), the process proceeds to step S09. If there is an item to be warned (NO in step S05), a warning screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display unit 71 in step S06, and then whether or not the user presses the “start” button in step S07. to decide. If pressed (YES in step S07), the process proceeds to step S09. If not pressed (NO in step S07), it is determined in step S08 whether or not the user has pressed the “Cancel” button. If the “Cancel” button has been pressed (YES in step S08), this process ends. If the “Cancel” button is not pressed (NO in step S08), the process returns to step S07 and waits for the button to be pressed.

  In step S09, the hidden character preview display as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the display unit 71, and in step S10, the contents of the embedded hidden character are stored in the image storage memory 5 together with the job history. Accordingly, by calling up the job history, the user or the like can later check what information is embedded.

  Next, after setting hidden characters in the printer unit 6 in step S11, printing is executed in step S12.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram of information embedding. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the hidden character embedding mechanism in an image forming apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram at the time of extracting the information embedded in the recording paper as a hidden character. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the hidden character extraction mechanism in an image forming apparatus. It is a top view of an operation panel. It is an example of a setting screen when an administrator makes a setting as to whether to embed information in a recording sheet with hidden characters. It is an example of the setting screen when the user who is not an administrator performs a setting. It is a figure which shows an example of the warning screen displayed when the item which the user set "warning" is a setting contrary to a user's intention. It is a screen figure which shows the setting by the side of a user when the warning screen of FIG. 9 is displayed. It is a table for determining whether each item of information to be embedded is a warning target. It is a preview display screen of information to be embedded. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU
2 ROM
3 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Scanner 5 Image storage memory 6 Printer part 7 Operation panel 8 Network controller 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Hidden character information memory 12 Hidden character embedding part 13 Hidden character extraction part 14 Hidden character deletion restoration part 71 Display part

Claims (8)

Printing means capable of printing image data on a recording medium in a state where information is embedded invisible;
Display means for displaying the embedded information before printing by the printing means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: Setting means for setting whether to embed and print the information;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the setting unit is set to print information embedded, the display unit displays the embedded information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is displayed in a plurality of display modes according to the type.   Whether the information is embedded or not can be set by the administrator and the user for each information item, and the item for which the setting of the administrator is prioritized and the user is set differently from the administrator is another item. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is displayed in a different display mode.   The information includes at least one of its own serial number, security code, position information of the document to be printed, document name, document revision, number of pages, author, copy prohibition, print user information, print date, output serial number. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the embedded information together with a history of the print job in which the embedded information is performed. Controlling the printing means so that the image data is printed on a recording medium in a state where the information is embedded invisible;
Displaying the embedded information on a display means before printing on the recording medium;
A method for displaying embedded information, comprising: Controlling the printing means so that the image data is printed on a recording medium in a state where the information is embedded invisible;
Displaying the embedded information on a display means before printing on the recording medium;
Embedded information display program for causing the computer of the image forming apparatus to execute.

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