JP2020086893A - Two-dimensional code evaluation system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

To ensure authenticity when managing with a two-dimensional code.SOLUTION: When the total number of disclosed data codes is less than the capacity that can be accommodated in a code area where a code word is to be arranged, a terminal identification code indicating the end of a code string formed by the disclosed data codes arranged in the code area is arranged at the end of this code string, a padding code that does not represent any data is arranged in a vacant part of the code area, the padding code is replaced by a private data code encoded as the code word representing the data to be concealed, and the private data code is arranged after the terminal identification code. By repeating the two-dimensional code generation processes plural times, each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes is generated. When arranging the private data code in each of the generation processes, related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other is included in the private data code.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 33

Description

The present invention relates to a two-dimensional code evaluation system and method.

Related two-dimensional codes are already well known. The related two-dimensional code is a two-dimensional code in which there is another related two-dimensional code related to the related two-dimensional code.

As a typical example of such a related two-dimensional code, there is a QR code (registered trademark) (also referred to as a structurally connected QR code) having a structurally connected relationship specified in Chapter 9 of JIS standard. And a technique using this code is also proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2010-61468, A

By the way, there is a demand for ensuring the authenticity of objects such as people and goods. In other words, it is necessary to ensure that the subject is a genuine person (or is an object created or managed by a genuine person) and that no vicious trader is intervening.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to ensure authenticity when managing an object with a two-dimensional code. It is to use it properly.

A two-dimensional code generation method according to the present invention is a two-dimensional code generation method for generating a plurality of related two-dimensional codes that are associated with each other, and a disclosed data code encoded as a code word representing data to be disclosed. When the total number is less than the capacity that can be accommodated in the code area in which the code word is to be arranged, the end identification code indicating the end of the code string formed by the disclosed data code arranged in the code area is added to the end of this code string. A padding code that does not represent data is placed in a vacant portion of the code area, and a secret data code encoded as a code word that represents secret data is replaced with part or all of the padding code. , Generating a two-dimensional code to be arranged after the terminal identification code a plurality of times to generate each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes, and disposing the private data code in each of the generating steps. In doing so, the related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are related to each other is included in the private data code.

A two-dimensional code generation system according to the present invention is a two-dimensional code generation system that generates a plurality of related two-dimensional codes that are associated with each other, and discloses a disclosed data code encoded as a code word that represents disclosed data. When the total number is less than the capacity that can be accommodated in the code area in which the code word is to be arranged, the end identification code indicating the end of the code string formed by the disclosed data code arranged in the code area is added to the end of this code string. A padding code that does not represent data is placed in a vacant portion of the code area, and a secret data code encoded as a code word that represents secret data is replaced with part or all of the padding code. , Generating a two-dimensional code to be arranged after the terminal identification code a plurality of times to generate each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes, and disposing the private data code in each of the generating steps. In doing so, the related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are related to each other is included in the private data code.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, it is possible to appropriately realize ensuring of authenticity when managing an object with a two-dimensional code by using a technique related to the related two-dimensional code.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the extended encoder 60. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the RS block of the related QR code (extended related QR code) according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the related code information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the related code information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the QR code symbol generation method. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the RS block of the related QR code. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a secret datacode word of the related QR code. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when arranged in a part of the RS block. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the extension decoder 70. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the related QR code evaluation method. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method of extracting a secret datacode word of a related QR code. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a method of extracting the information body of the related QR code. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing how various information is displayed on the display. (A) is an explanatory view showing a QR code printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a personal computer connected thereto, and (B) is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the QR code printer. is there. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of code generation processing executed by the QR code printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a format example of data and codes processed by the code generation processing shown in FIG. 2, (A) is an example of a data record of print data, and (B) is rearranged in step S115. The latter example, (C) is an example after each code is added in steps S121 to S137, (D) is the configuration example 1 of the non-public data code shown in (C), and (E) is the non-public data code shown in (C). The configuration example 2 of the public data code and (F) show the configuration example 3 of the private data code shown in (C), respectively. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a type 1 QR code. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a QR code reader according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of decoding processing executed by the control circuit of the QR code reader according to the second embodiment. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process shown in FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of code generation processing executed by the QR code printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 22A and 22B are explanatory diagrams showing format examples of data and codes processed by the code generation processing shown in FIG. 21, in which FIG. 22A is an example of a data record of print data, and FIG. The latter example, (C) is an example after each code is added in steps S121 to S137, (D) is the configuration example 1 of the non-public data code shown in (C), and (E) is the non-public data code shown in (C). The configuration example 2 of the public data code and (F) show the configuration example 3 of the private data code shown in (C), respectively. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process executed by the control circuit of the QR code reader according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process shown in FIG. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the flow of code generation processing executed by the QR code printer according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing process shown in FIG. FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a format example of a code processed by the processing shown in FIG. 26. (A) is an example of a code generated by the code generation processing of the third embodiment (corresponding to (C)). , (B) is an example of the private data code that is distributed and processed in step S500, (C) is an example of the private data code in which the bits are rearranged or the value of the bit is converted in step S500, (D) ) Is a configuration example of the private data code shown in (C), (E) is a configuration example of the private data code generated by the code generation processing of the third embodiment as a comparison with (D) ((D) Equivalent), respectively. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of decoding processing executed by the control circuit of the QR code reader according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process shown in FIG. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the flow of the extraction process shown in FIG. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the flow of decoding processing executed by the control circuit of the QR code reader according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the flow of the read flag setting process executed by the control circuit of the QR code reader according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 33 is a diagram for describing an example in which the related two-dimensional code is applied to the QR code described in the first to seventh embodiments.

Related Two-Dimensional Code FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an extended encoder 60. The extended encoder 60 is a device that converts not only disclosure information but also information including non-disclosure information into a QR code symbol 61. The extended encoder 60 includes a control unit 61, a display device 63, a printing device 64, and an input device 65.

The control unit 61 includes a calculation unit 61a and a storage unit 61b. The arithmetic unit 61a is composed of a central processing unit or the like, and executes a program and performs various arithmetic operations. The storage unit 61b stores necessary data when executing the program. In particular, the storage unit 61b stores programs for executing various processes.

The display device 63 has a display function required when data is input. The display device 63 also displays the generated QR code symbol 61 on a display device such as a display. The printing device 64 also displays the generated QR code symbol 61 on a paper medium or the like by printing. The input device 65 is also used for inputting data and operating the extended encoder 70.

In the present embodiment, a related two-dimensional code (hereinafter referred to as a related QR code because it is a related two-dimensional code of the QR code) is used as the two-dimensional code (QR code). The related QR code is a QR code in which another related QR code related to the related QR code exists. That is, a normal QR code is independent of itself and independent of other QR codes, but an associated QR code is associated with another associated QR code, and each associated QR code is linked to each other. is doing.

A typical example of such a related QR code is a QR code having a structural connection relationship (also referred to as a structural connection QR code) specified in Chapter 9 of JIS standard. The structurally concatenated QR code is a code incorporated so that it can be discriminated that its own code information is a partial code divided in association with each other based on certain code information. That is, by utilizing this, it becomes possible to divide a large code into a plurality of small codes having a relation, and the plurality of divided small codes become related QR codes.

However, the related two-dimensional code dealt with in the present specification is not such a JIS standard standard structurally connected QR code. In the following, the JIS standard structurally connected QR code is also referred to as a standard related QR code, and the related two-dimensional code handled in this document is also referred to as an extended related QR code.

Although the details will be described later, the difference between the standard-related QR code and the extended QR code is as follows. That is, in the standard related QR code, related code information for defining that a plurality of related QR codes are related to each other (defined in Chapter 8.3.7 of JIS standard and described in Chapter 9.1). The structural connection header is not hidden. Therefore, when the standard decoder reads the related QR code, the standard decoder recognizes that the relevant QR code is the related QR code (structural connection QR code). It becomes possible to do.

On the other hand, in the extended related QR code, since the related code information is included in the secret datacode word (that is, the related code information is hidden), when the related QR code is read by the standard decoder. , The standard decoder cannot recognize that the QR code is a related QR code (in other words, recognize it as a normal QR code) and an extension that can handle a private datacode word (private information) Only when the QR code is read by the decoder 70, it becomes possible to recognize that the QR code is a related QR code.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the RS block of the related QR code (extended related QR code) according to the present embodiment. First, with reference to FIG. 2, an outline of a data format of an extended related QR code and a method of embedding a secret datacode word (secret information and related code information) will be described. FIG. 2 shows an RS (Reed Solomon) block as an error correction processing unit. The QR code symbol 1 includes one or more RS blocks. The RS block is used as one error correction processing unit.

In the embodiment described here, an error correction method using a Reed-Solomon (RS) code is adopted. Therefore, “RS block” is described as an example of a processing unit block of the error detection/correction calculation.

The pre-placement RS block before the placement of the private data code (corresponding to the pre-placement code block. Since the post-placement RS block appears later, it is distinguished from the post-placement RS block as the pre-placement RS block below), It includes a disclosure data code word having an information body (corresponding to disclosure information) that is a display target, a terminal code that is a non-display portion, and a padding code word that is a non-display portion. The RS code before arrangement is an error correction word corresponding to the standard padding area. The information body is information that can be decoded when the QR code symbol 1 is read even by a standard decoder. The terminal code is a code indicating the end of the information body. The padding code word is a temporary code word used for filling an empty code word portion when the total number of code words in the information body is less than the capacity of the QR code symbol 1. An RS (Reed Solomon) code as an error correction code word is a code added for error correction in RS block units.

With the QR code, four error correction levels of “L”, “M”, “Q”, and “H” can be selected. The error correction level “L” has an error correction capability of about 7% with respect to the total number of words. For example, when the number of words in the RS block is 100%, about 7% of them have an error correction capability. The error correction level “M” has a correction ability of about 15% with respect to the total number of words. The error correction level “Q” has a correction capability of about 25% with respect to the total number of words. The error correction level “H” has an error correction capability of about 30% with respect to the total number of words. In the present embodiment, for example, “H”, which is the highest class error correction capability, is used to hide a secret datacode word (secret information and related code information) in a QR code. However, the error correction level may be changed according to the degree of risk of damage to the medium on which the code symbol is formed, or depending on the number of hidden datacode words hidden depending on the method.

The concept of the method of hiding information in the QR code, that is, storing private information is as follows. Here, "concealment" of information is different from normal information that can be read and acquired by a standard method (device, software, etc.; a specific example is a decoder), and is different from the standard method (device, software, etc. It means that it cannot be read and acquired by a decoder). In FIG. 2, private datacode words are shown. In the example of FIG. 2, data obtained by coding a secret datacode word is a secret identification code (secret identifier) indicating that the subsequent data code is the secret data code, and the data length of the secret data code. It is composed of long information (also simply referred to as “data length”) and a secret data code. Here, this private data code word is arranged in place of at least a part of the padding code word after the end identification code indicating the end of the normal disclosed data code word. After that, an RS code as an error correction code word is generated based on the RS block after arrangement and is added to a prescribed position. In this way, even with the arrangement, in the standard decoder, the information main body portion after the arrangement can be taken out as before the termination code word, and can be corrected using the RS code as necessary. Then, the corrected information body portion can be read and displayed. On the other hand, since the secret datacode word is arranged in the part of the termination identification code where the padding code word is originally placed, it is discarded by the standard decoder and is not displayed. Since the private datacode word can be error-corrected by the RS code generated after the arrangement, the decoder (extended decoder 70 shown in FIG. 9) that can process the private datacode word is corrected as necessary. Private datacode words can be retrieved.

On the other hand, in the extended decoder 70, as will be described later, after performing error correction processing as necessary, the private datacode word can be extracted from the post-arrangement RS block together with the information body part. According to the above principle, the private information and the related code information can be hidden in the QR code symbol 1. The details of the method of arranging the RS blocks by the secret datacode word will be described later.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the related code information is included in the private datacode word together with the private information. In the example of FIG. 2, this related code information is included between the data length and the private data code. However, the private data code that includes this related code information is only the private data code word at the beginning (that is, the private data code word that is the placement target of the RS block before placement at the beginning) (however, it is limited to the beginning (For example, it may be only the second secret datacode word.) The related code information according to the present embodiment is, as shown in FIG. 3, identification information, chain number information, and order. It has number information and index information. Note that FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the related code information.

The identification information is information indicating whether the QR code is a related QR code. This identification information is common to all related QR codes (the same value is used for related QR codes instead of normal QR codes), and in the present embodiment (example of FIG. 3), The identification information is “010 10000 (binary number)”. Then, the extended decoder 70 can understand that the QR code is the related QR code (instead of the normal related QR code) by reading this numerical value “01010000 (binary number)”. There is.

The chain number information is information indicating the chain number of a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other. That is, the chain number information can also be said to be the number of elements of a QR code group (aggregate) formed of a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other. In the example of FIG. 3, the chain number information is “3 (decimal number)”, which means that three related QR codes (QR code A, QR code B, QR code C) are associated with each other. ..

The order number information is information indicating the number of the related QR code of the related QR code including the related code information, among the related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains. In the example of FIG. 3, the sequence number information of the QR code A is “1 (decimal number)”, and therefore the QR code A is the first related QR code among the three. Similarly, the sequence number information of the QR code B and the QR code C is "2 (decimal number)" and "3 (decimal number)". Therefore, the QR code B and the QR code C are the second of the three, It is the third related QR code.

The index information is information for determining whether or not the related QR code including the related code and the information is related to another related QR code having a different order number from the related QR code. In this embodiment, a password common to a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other is used as the index information. In the example of FIG. 3, this password is AF (hexadecimal number), and therefore, the index information of each of QR code A, QR code B, and QR code C is AF (hexadecimal number). Then, the extended decoder 70 reads this password “AF (hexadecimal number)” from each of the QR code A, the QR code B, and the QR code C, and confirms that the passwords match with each other. Whether the code B, QR code C) is associated with another related QR code having a different order number from the QR code A (QR code B, QR code C) (that is, QR code A, QR code B, It is possible to judge that the QR code C is associated.

In the example of FIG. 3, the QR code with the order number 3 associated with the QR code A with the order number 1 and the QR code B with the order number 2 is only the QR code C. Needless to say, there may be a plurality of QR codes whose order number is 3.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, there may be a case where a QR code C′ in addition to the QR code C exists as the QR code having the order number 3. The related code information of the QR code C'is the same as the QR code C. Since the QR code C and the QR code C'are not associated with each other, the QR code A, the QR code B, and the QR code C (or the QR code A, the QR code B, the QR code C, and the QR code C') are , The related QR codes associated with each other, but the QR code A, the QR code B, the QR code C, and the QR code C′ cannot be said to be the associated QR codes associated with each other.

The same applies to the QR code A and the QR code B. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the QR code A′, the QR code A″, and the QR code B′ may further exist. Of course.

Next, a specific method of generating the related QR code will be described based on the example of FIG. 3 (that is, a method of generating the QR code A, the QR code B, and the QR code C will be described as an example).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the QR code symbol generation method. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the RS block of the related QR code. FIG. 7 is a diagram of a secret datacode word of the related QR code. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, a method based on JIS is adopted as the encoding method for the QR code symbol 1. In most cases, the QR code symbol 1 has a plurality of RS blocks, but one RS block will be exemplified and described here for ease of description. Further, since the contents shown below are examples for easy description, it goes without saying that each code word length may differ from the actual length.

As a premise, in the storage unit 61b, information about the start position arranged as a secret datacode word and the length (word number) of the secret datacode word that can be determined by a predetermined method, start position information, and length information Is stored. Similarly, it is assumed that information related to the start position (in this embodiment, the beginning of the secret datacode word) and the length of the related code information in the secret datacode word is described. It should be noted that how much part is allocated as a private datacode word and how much part of the private datacode word is occupied by the related code information. Needless to say, it is not limited to the method of the present embodiment.

First, the information body and non-public information embedded in the QR code symbol 1 related to the QR code A are captured (S1302). Here, it is assumed that the information body is “TOKYO<cr>MINATO<cr>JPN” (FIG. 6) and the private information is “1234567890” (FIG. 7).

Next, the secret datacode word of the QR code symbol 1 is obtained by adding the related code information to the captured secret information (S1303). As a result, a private datacode word including private information and related code information is created. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the related code information (“01010000 (binary number)” is converted to hexadecimal number “50 h”, “3 (10 decimal number)”, and “1 (decimal number)”. ”Is converted to hexadecimal number “31h”, password “AFh”) and private information (“123567890”) are included in the private datacode word, and the private datacode word is required. ..

Next, the model number of the QR code symbol 1 is determined based on the captured information body (disclosure data code word) and the private data code word (S1304). The total number of code words of the QR code symbol 1 is determined according to the model number. The total number of code words is composed of the sum of the information body (the number of data code words including the number of disclosed information words and the number of correction code words. In addition, according to the model number of the QR code symbol 1, the data code word and the correction code word The size and number of RS blocks made up of words are defined, and error correction is performed in units of RS blocks.

For example, when the error correction level is “M” and the model number is “4”, the total number of code words is set to “100”. Then, it is defined to include two RS blocks. The number of data code words in one RS block is “32”, and the number of corrected code words is “18”.

The sum of the number of data code words "32" and the number of correction code words "18" is "50". Since there are two such RS blocks, the QR code symbol with the model number "4" has a total of 50x2=100. Will have code words.

The number of error corrections at this time is “9” for each RS block. This indicates that it has the ability to correct “9” of the data code word number “32”. Since there are two RS blocks, it has a total correction capability of 9×2=18 words. Since it is possible to correct 18 words out of 100 words, it has a correction ability of 18% from the whole.

The arrangement of the secret data code word is such that, for each RS block, the number of code words of the information body that is the disclosure information, that is, the disclosure information word, is less than the number of data code words of the selected RS block (S1306), and after that. The end identification code word is placed, and normally, the secret data and the private data code word are arranged at the place where the padding code word is arranged, following the code word indicating the data length of the private data code word. After that, prescribed padding code words are placed up to the number of data code words of the selected RS block (the number of padding code words may be zero) (S1308).
In the above case, the arrangement of the information body that sums the number of data code words "32" for each RS block, the termination identification code word, the secret identifier, the code word indicating the data length, and the private data code word is allowed. Based on this type of calculation, the total number of words in the information body (disclosure data code words) and the number of private data code words exceeds the total number of allowed placement words. The model number of the QR code symbol 1 having the smallest size, which is composed of such RS blocks, is selected.

Next, based on the code word of the information body, an RS block (pre-arrangement RS block) including the disclosed data code word and the correction code word is generated (S1306). Since the RS block is generated depending on the model number of the selected QR code symbol 1, the code word of the information body may be divided into a plurality of blocks. Then, an error correction codeword is generated for each block, and the generated correction codeword is added after the corresponding codeword. Then, the RS block is generated. The method of generating the correction code word can be based on the JIS standard.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the information body, the terminal code, and the correction code word (note that the padding code word and the error correction code word are schematic diagrams for explanation, and the number of words and the code content are not always the actual values. There is no accuracy as things). Here, plain text information is shown as a code word of the information body. As the terminal code, for example, a bit string of “0000” can be adopted. Then, the RS code generated based on the code word including the information body is added to create the RS block.

The secret datacode word as shown in FIG. 7 is arranged in a part of the RS block generated in this way (S1308). That is, a post-arrangement RS block in which a secret datacode word is hidden is obtained by arranging a secret datacode word in place of at least a part of the padding codeword that is a part of the prearrangement RS block.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when a private datacode word is arranged in a part of the RS block. FIG. 8 shows the above-mentioned RS block and a secret datacode word. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, instead of at least a part of the padding code word that originally follows the termination identification code word, the secret identifier and the code word indicating the data length are added from the beginning to Public data code words will be placed.

In this way, when the private datacode word is placed in a part of the RS block, that is, the position where the padding codeword is originally placed, the standard decoder processes the information main body portion, which is the disclosure information, up to the termination identification codeword. Therefore, the information main body portion before arrangement can be appropriately extracted and displayed.

Since the portion where the secret data code word is arranged is the portion where the padding code word that is the padding is arranged, it becomes information that is ignored and discarded, and therefore cannot be displayed by the standard decoder. On the other hand, the extended decoder 70 extracts a secret datacode word from the arranged RS block, as described later. In this way, the extracted non-public data code word (non-public information) and the information body part (disclosure information) are displayed.

Next, a QR code symbol 1 is created based on the arranged RS block (S1310). As a method for generating the QR code symbol 1 based on the RS block, the same method as the standard QR code generation method in the JIS standard can be adopted. By doing so, it becomes possible to generate the QR code symbol 1 related to the QR code A.

Next, in order to generate another related QR code, the procedure of steps S1302 to S1310 is repeated (S1312). That is, in the present embodiment, subsequent to the generation of QR code symbol 1 related to QR code A, the same method is used to generate QR code symbol 1 related to QR code B and QR code symbol 1 related to QR code C. .. As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of related QR codes are generated by executing the generation process including the steps S1302 to S1310 a plurality of times.

Next, a decoding method of the QR code symbol 1 thus generated will be described. The decoding is performed by the extension decoder 70 described above. The extended decoder 70 reads the plurality of related QR codes and evaluates and confirms that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other. Then, by confirming that these related QR codes are related to each other, the management target by the related QR code (the person who owns the related QR code or the object to which the related QR code is attached It is possible to secure (authenticate) the authenticity (validity) of (etc.).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the extension decoder 70. The extended denier 70 reads a plurality of related QR codes, expands disclosure information and non-public information that are display targets included in the QR code symbol 1, and further associates the plurality of related QR codes with each other. It is a device that evaluates (confirms) things. The extended decoder 70 includes a control unit 71, an image pickup device 72, a display device 73, a printing device 74, and an input device 75.

The control unit 71 has a calculation unit 71a and a storage unit 71b. The arithmetic unit 71a is composed of a central processing unit or the like, and is responsible for executing programs and performing various arithmetic operations. The storage unit 71b is responsible for storing necessary data when executing the program. In particular, the storage unit 71b stores programs for executing various processes.

The image pickup device 72 is a device for picking up an image of the QR code symbol 1, and is composed of, for example, a CCD camera.

The display device 73 has a display function required for data input and the like. Further, the display device 73 displays the information developed from the QR code via a display means such as a display. The printing device 74 also displays the expanded information on a paper medium or the like by printing. The input device 75 is also used for inputting data and operating the extension decoder 70.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the related QR code evaluation method. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the method of decoding the QR code symbol 1 is based on the JIS standard.

In addition, as a premise, the storage unit 71b of the extension decoder 70 has information (starting position where a secret datacode word that can be determined by a predetermined method is arranged) and information (length) of the secret datacode word (word number). It is assumed that the information for specifying the start position and the format information regarding the length information) are stored. Similarly, it is assumed that the format information related to the start position and the length of the related code information in the disclosed data code word is stored. In addition, how and how long the private datacode word is placed in which part, and how long and what length of the padding code word placement part is occupied by the related code information, The method of determining is arbitrary and is not limited to the method of this embodiment.

First, the QR code symbol 1 is read (S1402). Here, it is assumed that the QR code symbol 1 related to the QR code A is read first. Then, a plurality of RS blocks are expanded based on the read QR Code symbol 1 (S1404). The expansion to these plural RS blocks can be based on the JIS standard. As a result, for example, the post-placement RS block shown in FIG. 8 is acquired. That is, the post-placement data block is obtained from the associated QR code.

Next, the code word (disclosure data code word) and the private data code word of the information body are extracted from the acquired post-placement RS block by a predetermined method (S1406).

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method of extracting a secret datacode word of a related QR code. FIG. 11 shows an RS block after arrangement and a secret datacode word.

As described above, the RS block after arrangement can be obtained by reading the QR code symbol and expanding it according to the JIS standard. In the present embodiment, the extended decoder 70 uses the private data code word stored in the storage unit 71b, based on the start position information and the length information of the private data code word, to make the private data code word in the post-placement RS block. Identify the position of. And a secret datacode word is extracted from the specified position.

FIG. 12 shows a method of extracting the information body of the related QR code. The extended decoder 70 performs error correction processing as necessary, then extracts information from the head of the RS block after arrangement to the terminal code, and uses the extracted data as the information body. In other words, the information main body, which is the disclosure information, is extracted from the disclosure data code word of the post-placement RS block by the same process as the process of extracting the information from the standard QR code.

Next, the extended decoder 70 extracts private information and related code information from the private datacode word. That is, the extension decoder 70 starts the private data code from the portion after the end identification code where the padding code word is originally arranged, based on the start position information and the length information of the related code information stored in the storage unit 71b. Identify the location of related code information in the word. Then, the related code information is extracted from the specified position, and the remaining information of the private datacode word is made private information.

The extended decoder 70 grasps (confirms) related code information (that is, identification information, chain number information, order number information, and index information) (step S1410). That is, it is possible to grasp (confirm) that this QR code is a related QR code from the identification information, and in the present embodiment, the related QR code is one of the three related QR codes from other three information. It is the second related QR code, and it is confirmed and confirmed that the password is AF (hexadecimal number).

In the present embodiment, the related code information extraction process described above is executed for each of the plurality of read related QR codes, and based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related QR codes, Evaluate that a plurality of related QR Codes are related to each other. Specifically, it is confirmed that each QR code is a related QR code based on the identification information, and based on the chain number information and the sequence number information acquired from each of the plurality of related QR codes, the chain It has been confirmed that several different order numbers are arranged, and related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains having different order numbers are associated based on the index information (here, related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains). It is evaluated that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other (when the evaluation condition is satisfied when it is confirmed that the index information (password) of (1) is matched).

Here, since only one related QR code is read, the evaluation step is not executed yet. Then, the display by the display device 73 is not performed at all.

Next, when the QR code B is read, the same procedure as the steps S1402 to S1410 (steps S1412 to S1420) is executed, and the disclosure information, the non-public information, and the related QR code information are extracted (step S1418).

The extended decoder 70 grasps and confirms related code information (that is, identification information, chain number information, sequence number information, and index information) (step S1420). That is, the identification information identifies (confirms) that this QR code is a related QR code, and in the present embodiment, the related QR code is 2 out of 3 related QR codes from other 3 information. It is the second related QR code, and it is confirmed and confirmed that the password is AF (hexadecimal number).

Then, by comparing the related code information with the related code information of the QR code A, the above-described evaluation process is performed (step S1421). Here, since the order numbers that are different from each other for the number of chains are not available (that is, there are only 1 or 2 of the 3), the evaluation condition is not satisfied, so that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other. Is not evaluated. Then, in such a combination, no display is performed on the display device 73.

Further, when the QR code C is read, the same procedure as steps S1402 to S1410 (steps S1422 to S1430) is executed, and the disclosure information, the non-public information, and the related QR code information are extracted (step S1428).

The extension decoder 70 grasps and confirms related code information (that is, identification information, chain number information, sequence number information, and index information) (step S1430). That is, it is possible to grasp and confirm that this QR code is the related QR code from the identification information, and in the present embodiment, the relevant QR code is the third of the three related QR codes from the other three information. It is a related QR code of and grasps and confirms that the password is AF (hexadecimal number).

Then, the above-mentioned evaluation process is executed by comparing the related code information with the information using the related codes of the QR code A and the QR code B (step S1431). Here, each QR code is confirmed to be a related QR code, and it is confirmed that different sequence numbers corresponding to the number of chains are prepared (that is, 1, 2, 3 of 3 are prepared), It is confirmed that the related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains having different order numbers are associated (the index information (password) of the related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains is matched by AF), and the evaluation condition is satisfied. Therefore, it is evaluated that a plurality of related QR codes (QR code A to QR code C) are associated with each other.

Then, in the present embodiment, when the extended decoder 70 makes such an evaluation, it is indicated via the display device 73 that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other (for example, the character “authenticated”). Is displayed (step S1432). Instead of the display or in addition to the display, such a notification may be given by voice.

Further, at this time, the display device 73 also displays the disclosure information and the non-disclosure information of each of the QR codes A to QR codes C extracted in step S1408, step S1418, and step S1428 (step S1432). Note that, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, each disclosure information is displayed in the order of the order number, not in the reading order of the associated QR code, and similarly, each nonpublic information is also described above. Display in order of order number. In addition, the disclosure information group and the non-public information group are displayed so as to be one lump, and the non-public information group is displayed following the disclosure information group. Note that FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how various information is displayed on the display.

=== Effectiveness of QR code generation method and the like according to the present embodiment ===
As described above, the QR code generation method according to the present embodiment is a QR code generation method that generates a plurality of related QR codes that are associated with each other. By determining a pre-placement code block having a code word and an error correction code word, and arranging the private data code word in at least a part of padding code words in the pre-placement code block, the private data code word becomes Each of the plurality of related QR codes is obtained by performing a generation step of obtaining a concealed post-arrangement code block and generating a correction QR code based on the post-arrangement data block and generating a related QR code a plurality of times. And the related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related QR codes are related to each other when generating the private data code word in each of the generating steps. It is supposed to be included in the code word.

Further, the extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system) according to the present embodiment is an extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system) that generates a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other, and uses a secret datacode word as a secret datacode word. Obtaining a pre-placement code block having a disclosed data code word, a padding code word, and an error correction code word, and placing the private data code word in at least a part of the padding code word in the pre-placement code block. By performing a generation step of obtaining a post-placement code block in which the private datacode word is hidden by the above and generating a related QR code with a correction codeword generated and added based on the post-placement data block, by performing a plurality of times. A relation for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other when generating each of the plurality of related QR codes and obtaining the private datacode word in each of the generating steps. Code information is included in the private data code word.

A QR code evaluation method according to the present embodiment reads a plurality of related QR codes generated by the above QR code generation method and evaluates that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other. An evaluation method, wherein the post-placement data block is obtained from the related QR code, the private datacode word is extracted from the post-placement data block, and the related code information is extracted from the private datacode word. Based on the extraction step of performing an information extraction process on each of the read plurality of related QR codes, and the plurality of related QR codes based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related QR codes. And an evaluation step of evaluating that are associated with each other.

Further, the extended decoder 70 (QR code evaluation system) according to the present embodiment reads a plurality of related QR codes generated by the extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system), and determines that the plurality of related QR codes are An extended decoder 70 (QR code evaluation system) for evaluating that they are associated with each other, wherein the post-placement data block is obtained from the related QR code, and the private datacode word is extracted from the post-placement data block. , The related code information extracting process for extracting the related code information from the private data code word is executed for each of the read related QR codes, and the related code information is acquired from each of the related QR codes. Based on the related code information, it is evaluated that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other.

Further, the extended management system (QR code management system) according to the present embodiment is an extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system) that generates a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other, and uses a secret datacode word as a secret datacode word. Obtaining a pre-placement code block having a disclosed data code word, a padding code word, and an error correction code word, and placing the private data code word in at least a part of the padding code word in the pre-placement code block. By performing a generation step of obtaining a post-placement code block in which the private datacode word is hidden by the above and generating a related QR code with a correction codeword generated and added based on the post-placement data block, by performing a plurality of times. A relation for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other when generating each of the plurality of related QR codes and obtaining the private datacode word in each of the generating steps. The extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system) including the code information in the secret datacode word, and the plurality of related QR codes generated by the extended encoder 60 (QR code generation system) are read, and the plurality of QR codes are read. An extended decoder 70 (QR code evaluation system) for evaluating that related QR codes are associated with each other, wherein the post-placement data block is obtained from the related QR code, and the private data code is obtained from the post-placement data block. A related code information extraction process of extracting a word and extracting the related code information from the secret data code word is executed for each of the read related QR codes, and the related code information is extracted from each of the read related QR codes. An extended decoder 70 (QR code evaluation system) for evaluating that the plurality of related QR codes are related to each other based on the acquired related code information.

Therefore, ensuring the authenticity when managing the target with the QR code can be appropriately realized by using the technique related to the related QR code.

Related QR codes such as the structurally connected QR code defined in Chapter 9 of the JIS standard are already well known, and a technology using this code has also been proposed. However, conventionally, by evaluating (confirming or judging) that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, the management target (the person who owns the related QR code or the related QR code is managed by the related QR code. Nothing is done to guarantee (certify) the authenticity of the items with the code attached.

Further, if it is attempted to carry out such a matter using a standard related QR code such as a structurally connected QR code, the following problems may occur.

That is, when one of the structurally connected QR codes (related QR code) is read by the standard decoder, the standard decoder can understand that this QR code is a structurally connected QR code (related QR code). Yes, that is the case (for example, a message such as "Please read the next QR code") is displayed. Therefore, an operator who operates the standard decoder can easily recognize that this QR code is not a normal QR code but a structurally connected QR code (related QR code).

Then, such a recognition act can be an opportunity for the operator or the like to enter if the operator is a vicious operator or the like. For example, the trader analyzes the read structurally connected QR code (related QR code), and other structurally connected QR code (related QR code) associated with this structurally connected QR code (related QR code). ) Can be forged. Then, using this forged other structurally connected QR code (related QR code), there is a possibility that a wrong thing will be done.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned matter is performed using the unique related QR code instead of the standard related QR code, and in the unique related QR code, the related code information is the private data code. It is supposed to be included in the word. Since the standard decoder cannot extract the related code information from the secret data code word, even if the standard decoder reads the QR code according to the present embodiment, the standard decoder only understands that the QR code is a normal QR code. It is impossible to understand something in the first place. Therefore, the operator who operates the standard decoder cannot recognize that this QR code is the related QR code rather than the normal QR code. Therefore, even if the operator is a vicious trader or the like, the trader or the like cannot reach the idea of performing the above-mentioned forgery.

As described above, the QR code generation method, the extended encoder 70 (QR code generation system), the QR code evaluation method, the extended decoder 70 (QR code evaluation system), and the extended management system (QR code management system) according to the present embodiment are used. According to this, when managing the target by the QR code, the authenticity can be more surely ensured by using the technique related to the related QR code.

Further, in the present embodiment, the related code information is identification information indicating whether or not a QR code is a related QR code, and chain number information indicating a chain number of a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other, The related QR code including the related code information is a sequence number information indicating the number of the related QR code among the related QR codes for the number of chains, and the related QR code including the related code information is The related QR code and index information for determining whether or not the related QR code is associated with another related QR code having a different order number.

In the evaluation step, it is confirmed that each of the QR codes is a related QR code based on the identification information, and the chain number information and the order are acquired from each of the plurality of related QR codes. Based on the number information, it is confirmed that the different order numbers corresponding to the number of chains are aligned, and based on the index information, the related QR codes corresponding to the number of chains having the different order numbers are associated with each other. When it is confirmed that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, it is evaluated that they are associated with each other.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the identification information, the chain number information, the sequence number information, and the index information are included in the private datacode word. In other words, the information that is indispensable for the forgery is concealed, and it becomes even more difficult for the forgery to be made unless a third party knows the concealed information. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the authenticity can be more surely guaranteed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, when it is evaluated that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, a display step of displaying that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other is provided. ..

For this reason, it is evaluated (confirmed) that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, and the operator of the extension decoder 70 or the like confirms that the authenticity of the management target by the related QR codes is secured (authenticated). Can be clearly notified.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the extracting step, after performing error correction processing as necessary, information from the beginning to the termination code of the post-arrangement RS block is extracted, and the extracted data is used as an information body. To do. In other words, the information body, which is the disclosure information, is extracted from the disclosure data code word of the post-placement RS block by exactly the same process as the process of extracting the information from the standard QR code. This disclosure information extraction processing is executed for each of the plurality of read related QR codes, and when it is evaluated that the plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, a display for displaying each of the disclosure information. It has a process.

Therefore, the operator of the extended decoder 70 is evaluated (confirmed) that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, and the authenticity of the management target by the related QR codes is secured (authenticated). It is possible to know this by displaying the disclosure information, and further, additional information embedded in each of the plurality of related QR codes (for example, in the first application example described above, the medical treatment subject, the patient name, and the age). , Sex, blood type, drug name) can be collectively presented to the operator of the extended decoder 70 and the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the extracting step, a secret information extracting process for extracting secret information from the secret datacode word is executed for each of the plurality of read related QR codes, and In the displaying step, each of the non-public information is displayed.

Therefore, the operator of the extended decoder 70 is evaluated (confirmed) that a plurality of related QR codes are associated with each other, and the authenticity of the management target by the related QR codes is secured (authenticated). It is possible to know this by displaying non-public information, and further expand additional information embedded in each of a plurality of related QR codes (for example, the disease name and administration department in the first application example described above). It is possible to collectively present the information to the operator of the decoder 70 or the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the displaying step, the disclosure information items are displayed in the order of the order numbers, and the private information items are displayed in the order of the order numbers.

Therefore, the disclosure information and the non-public information can be displayed in a desired order without being affected by the reading order of the related QR code.

=== Other Embodiments ===
The above-described embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not for limiting the interpretation of the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof and that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, it goes without saying that the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the QR code has been described as an example of the two-dimensional code, but the present invention is not limited to this and other two-dimensional codes may be used. Examples of the other two-dimensional code include DataMatrix (ISO/IEC16022:2006, JIS X-0512:2015) and PDF 417 (ISO/IEC15438:2006, JIS X-0508:2010).

Further, in the above embodiment, the information (disclosure information and non-public information) is described as plain text, but it is needless to say that it may be encrypted (cipher text).

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the common password is used as the index information for a plurality of related QR codes associated with each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, data such as parity data specified in Chapter 9.3 of the JIS standard may be used.

Further, when the index information is the password, and further, at least one of the disclosure information and the non-public information is a ciphertext (hereinafter, the case where the disclosure information is a ciphertext will be described as an example), You may make it demonstrated below. That is, the password may be index (header) information for identifying the encryption key of the ciphertext. For example, for each of a plurality of types of passwords, a set of keys corresponding to the password (in the case of the public key cryptosystem, the public key used when the extended encoder 60 encrypts the disclosure information and the extended decoder 70 disclose the disclosure information). The secret key for decrypting the information) is decided in advance. Then, when using a certain password (for example, AF of 4), the extended encoder 60 encrypts the disclosure information with the public key corresponding to the password (AF). Further, the extended decoder 70 extracts the related code information (password (AF) which is the index information) from the secret data code word, selects (specifies) the secret cancer key corresponding to the password (AF), and selects the secret key. The disclosed information is decrypted by.

In the above embodiment, only confirmation is made as to whether or not the index information (password) of the related QR code for the number of chains is correct. Although such confirmation alone is sufficient, security can be further enhanced by adopting such a form that the password and the key are associated with each other. In other words, if the index information of the related QR code for the number of chains matches with a password (assumed to be BG) other than AF (accidentally due to falsification), the private key corresponding to the BG will be selected Since it becomes impossible to decrypt, it is known that the situation is not normal. Therefore, in this form, it is required that not only the index information (password) related to the related QR code for the number of chains matches, but also the index information (password) related to the related QR codes for the number of chains match in AF. Will be done. Therefore, security can be further enhanced.

Further, as a method similar to this, a method of adding a digital signature may be adopted. In other words, the password is used as index (header) information for identifying the encryption key of the ciphertext, and for each of a plurality of types of passwords, a set of keys corresponding to this password (the extended encoder 60 uses information (for example, 6 TOKYO<cr>MINATO<cr>JPN) encrypted secret value when encrypting the hash value and the public key when the extended decoder 70 decrypts the digital signature and creates the hash value) Decide in advance. Then, when a certain password (for example, AF in FIG. 3) is used, the extended encoder 60 creates an electronic signature with the private key corresponding to the password (AF). The created electronic signature is included in, for example, the disclosure information or the non-public information in FIG. 2 (in the example of the disclosure information, TOKYO<cr>MINATO<cr>JPN and the electronic signature are the disclosure information). The extended decoder 70 extracts related code information (password (AF) which is index information) from the secret datacode word, selects (specifies) the public key corresponding to the password (AF), and uses this public key to electronically Create a hash value from the signature. Also, a hash value is created from information (for example, TOKYO<cr>MINATO<cr>JPN in FIG. 6), and both hash values are compared. In other words, check that the hash values match.

If the index information of the related QR code for the number of chains matches with a password other than AF (BG) accidentally due to tampering, etc., the public key corresponding to BG will be selected, and the publication will be made from the electronic signature. The hash value created using the key does not match the hash value created from the information (for example, TOKYO<cr>MINATO<cr>JPN in Fig. 6), and you can see that the situation is not normal. ing. Therefore, in this form, it is requested not only that the index information (password) related to the related QR code for the number of chains matches, but also that the index information (password) related to the related QR code for the number of chains matches in AF. Will be done. Therefore, security can be further enhanced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the extended encoder 60 such as a handy terminal including the control unit 61, the display device 63, the printing device 64, and the input device 65 has been described as an example of the two-dimensional code generation system. It is not limited to. For example, it may be composed of a server provided in a remote place for executing the generation step and a terminal provided with a display device 63, a printing device 64, and an input device 65 for exchanging data with the server.

Further, in the above embodiment, the extended decoder 70 such as a handy terminal including the control unit 71, the imaging device 72, the display device 73, the printing device 74, and the input device 75 is described as an example of the two-dimensional code evaluation system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a server provided in a remote place for executing the evaluation step may exchange data with the server and may be composed of a terminal including an imaging device 72, a display device 73, a printing device 74, and an input device 75. Good. Further, it does not matter if the printing device 74 does not exist.

The two-dimensional code generation system (two-dimensional code evaluation system) may be a dedicated terminal, or a general-purpose terminal such as a PC, smartphone, or mobile phone, which is software (application) for executing the generation (evaluation) process. ) May be incorporated.

Further, the code block (RS block) may be protected and encoded by using the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-91039. By performing such protection coding, the secret datacode word including the related code information is more concealed.

QR Code Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a QR code is used as a two-dimensional code in a two-dimensional code generating method and a reading apparatus thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment described below, a QR code is given as an example of a two-dimensional code, but the two-dimensional code according to the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a data matrix, a maxi code, a CP code, All codes that are displayed two-dimensionally, such as PDF417 and RSS composite, are also included in the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
First, the configuration of the printer 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 14(A) is an explanatory diagram showing the printer 10 according to the first embodiment and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 1 connected thereto, and FIG. ), a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the printer 10 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 14A, when the printer 10 is connected to the PC 1 via the cable 5, the character data such as alphanumeric characters, kanji and symbols output from the PC 1 and input to the printer 10 ( Hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as “print data”), and have a function of generating a QR code and printing it on the label P or the like. The "QR code" referred to here complies with the two-dimensional code symbol of the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS)-QR code-basic specification (JIS X 0510:2004).

The PC 1 is composed of a PC main body 2 and a display 3, and the PC main body 2 includes an MPU, a main memory (main storage device), a hard disk (auxiliary storage device), an input/output interface, a communication interface, a keyboard, which are not shown. The display 3 is an information processing device including a pointing device and the like, and the display 3 is an information display device capable of displaying information output from the PC body 2 on the screen by being connected to the PC body 2.

A device driver for the printer 10 is installed (built in) in the PC body 2, and the user of the PC 1 prints print data including characters or the like to be printed on the label P as a QR code on the PC. The main body 2 can arbitrarily output to the printer 10.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14B, the printer 10 mainly includes an MPU 11, a memory 12, an interface 13, a roller control unit 14, a head control unit 15, a roller 17, a head 18, and the like. .. These are mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown) or internally provided in a housing (not shown).

The MPU 11 is a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as “microcomputer”) capable of controlling the entire printer 10, and can configure an information processing device together with the memory 12 connected via a memory bus, and has an information processing function. In addition to the memory 12, the MPU 11 is also connected to the interface 13, the roller control unit 14, and the head control unit 15. The code generation process described below is executed by the MPU 11 and the memory 12.

The memory 12 is a semiconductor memory device, and corresponds to, for example, a RAM (DRAM, SRAM, etc.) or a ROM (EPROM, EEPROM, etc.). In the RAM of the memory 12, in addition to the buffer area for accumulating the character data sent from the PC 1 described above, a work area or the like used by the MPU 11 for each processing such as arithmetic operation or logical operation can be secured. Has been done. Further, the ROM stores in advance a predetermined program capable of executing code generation processing, which will be described later, and a system program capable of controlling each hardware such as the roller control unit 14 and the head control unit 15.

The interface 13 is an input interface that enables reception of print data and the like sent from the PC body 2 of the PC 1 described above, and is connected to the MPU 11 via a serial bus or the like. The print data input to the MPU 11 via the interface 13 is information-processed and coded as described later by the code generation process.

The roller control unit 14 is a control device that can control a drive mechanism (not shown) of the roller 17, and is connected to the MPU 11 via a serial bus or the like. As a result, according to the control signal received from the MPU 11, the start and stop of the rotation of the roller 17 or the rotation direction is controlled.

The head controller 15 is, for example, a thermal head capable of printing an arbitrary pattern on a label made of thermal paper, and is connected to the MPU 11 via a serial bus or the like. In the present embodiment, the QR code generated by the code generation process described later can be printed on the thermal label, and the QR code is configured in synchronization with the paper feed timing of the thermal label by the roller control unit 14 described above. A position detection pattern, a timing pattern, a data code, etc. are printed on the label.

The head controller 15 will be described below by exemplifying the case of a thermal head. However, as long as a QR code can be printed, for example, an inkjet head or a dot impact head may be used, or a printing mechanism may be used. It may be a laser printer, an LED printer, or the like.

By configuring the printer 10 as described above, the print data output from the PC 1 and input to the printer 10 is temporarily stored in the buffer area of the memory 12 via the interface 13, and then the code generation described below is performed. Passed to processing. Here, the code generation process will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG. 15 shows a flowchart showing the flow of the code generation processing. Further, FIG. 16 illustrates a format example of data and codes processed by the code generation processing illustrated in FIG. Further, FIG. 17 shows a configuration example of a type 1 QR code.

As shown in FIG. 15, the code generation process is started by the MPU 11 and the memory 12 which are activated when the power of the printer 10 is turned on, and first, the initial setting process is performed in step S101. In this process, the work area of the memory 12 and the buffer area for storing print data are cleared, or predetermined flags, counters, etc. are cleared.

In step S103, it is a process of determining whether or not the print data is received, and this step is repeated until the print data is received (S103; No). When it is determined that the print data has been received (S103; Yes), a process of clearing the count value of the timer is performed in the subsequent step S105. The timer whose counter value is cleared in step S105 measures the elapse of a predetermined time in the next step S107.

In step S107, a process of determining whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed is performed by the previous timer. That is, it is necessary to judge in the next step S111 whether or not the print data sent from the PC 1 includes data relating to encryption and the like. For example, it is judged whether or not one second has passed as the predetermined time. However, if the data related to the encryption is not sent from the PC 1 by the time when this time elapses, the process proceeds to step S109 with the elapse of a predetermined time (S107; Yes).

On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not elapsed (S107; No), the data record of the data that needs to be concealed (hereinafter referred to as "private data") as the data related to the encryption in the next step S111. A process of determining whether or not the private data position information indicating the internal positional relationship and the encryption key (encryption key) used for encryption are received. When it is determined that these are received (S111; Yes), the process proceeds to the subsequent step S113, and when it is not determined that these are received (S111; No), the above-mentioned steps are performed. The process is returned to S107, and the elapse of time is determined again.

When it is determined in step S107 that the predetermined time has elapsed (S107; Yes), "0" is set in the predetermined flag in step S109. This flag indicates whether or not the print data includes non-public data. When "0" is set, it means that non-public data is not included, and "1" is set. If set, it means that private data is included. Therefore, if it is determined in step S111 that the data related to encryption or the like is received (S111; Yes), the process of setting "1" to this flag is performed in the following step S113.

When "1" is set to the predetermined flag in step S113, the process of rearranging the disclosure data and the non-public data is performed in the following step 115. That is, the print data includes data to be disclosed to a third party (disclosure data) and data that the third party wants to keep secret (hidden data), and these are included in the data record. , The data order is changed based on the “position information indicating the positional relationship in the data record of the private data” received in step S111, and the collection of the disclosure data and the collection of the private data are performed. Performs a process of classifying into and.

For example, as shown in FIG. 16A, for example, a record of print data sent from the PC 1 includes data in which disclosure data A, private data α, disclosure data B, and private data β are arranged in this order. If so, the order of these data is changed in step S115, and as shown in FIG. 16B, processing of rearranging disclosure data A, disclosure data B, non-public data α, and non-public data β is performed. .. As a result, the disclosed data and the non-public data are grouped together, so that the end identification code addition processing in step 121 and the confidential identification code addition processing in step S125, which will be performed later, are facilitated.

In the next step S117, a process of encoding each data such as disclosed data and non-public data according to the JIS basic specifications (JIS X 0510:2004) is performed. As a result, the disclosed data code encoded as the code word representing the disclosed data is generated, and the private data code encoded as the code word representing the confidential data is generated.

In subsequent step S119, an error correction code for each piece of disclosed data is generated in accordance with JIS basic specifications (JIS X 0510:2004), and is further coded to generate an error correction code. For private data, for example, like the disclosed data, an error correction code is generated using the error correction code generation algorithm described in the JIS basic specification (JIS X 0510:2004), and the code is generated. Processing to generate the error correction code.

Then, in a succeeding step S121, a process of adding the termination identification code after the disclosed data code is performed. The termination identification code is, for example, “0000” in a 4-bit pattern, and is located immediately after the disclosure data code B that follows the disclosure data code A, as shown in FIG. Note that in FIG. 16C, for convenience, the disclosure data code is expressed as “disclosure code”, and the termination identification code is expressed as “terminator”.

In the next step S123, processing is performed to determine whether or not the above-mentioned predetermined flag is set to "1", that is, whether or not private data is included. If the non-public data is included (when the flag is set to “1”: S123; Yes), the process proceeds to step S125, and when the non-public data is not included. (When the flag is set to “0”: S123; No), the series of concealment processes (S125 to S133) are skipped and the process proceeds to step S135.

Steps S125 to S133 are a series of confidential processing performed when the print data includes private data. First, in step S125, a process of adding the confidential identification code immediately after the termination identification code is performed.

In the processing in step S125, the confidential identification code is arranged immediately after the terminal identification code, so that the data code arranged after the terminal identification code is coded as "code word representing confidential data". "There is something". As a result, when the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by a QR code reader or the like, it can be recognized that the QR code Q includes a private data code. It is possible to prevent data that is not read, garbled data, and the like from being mistakenly recognized as a private data code and to be read, and it is also possible to prevent malfunction due to this.

In the next step S127, the data length of the secret data code is calculated and obtained, and a coded version of this data length is added immediately after the secret identification code. By this, the area and range where the private data code is arranged can be known. When the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by the QR code reader, etc., how much is the private data code. , Or whether it is an encrypted data code.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 16C, the sum of the data length of the private data code α and the data length of the private data code β is calculated as the data length and added immediately after the confidentiality identification code. Note that, in FIG. 16C, the secret identification code is expressed as “secret identifier” for convenience.

In a succeeding step S129, it is determined whether or not the private data code needs to be encrypted by determining whether or not there is an encryption key. That is, when the encryption key is received from the PC 1 in step S111, there is the encryption key (S129; Yes), and the process proceeds to step S131 to perform the encryption process. On the other hand, if the encryption key is not received from the PC 1 in step S111, there is no encryption key (S129; No), so the encryption process in step S131 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S133.

Even if the encryption key is not received in step S111, since the encryption key is present when the PC 1 holds the encryption key in the information storage medium such as the memory 12 or the hard disk in advance (S129; Yes), In step S131, encryption processing is performed.

In step S131, a process of encrypting the private data code is performed. In this processing, for example, the secret data code is encrypted by using a known visual decryption encryption technology (visual decryption secret sharing method). As a result, the strength of security can be increased as compared with the case where the plaintext data that is not encrypted is added.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 16(D), the "encrypted data" portion of the private data code α is encrypted, and the "start digit", "character number", and "decryption key check data" are also Is generated. The "start digit" located first corresponds to an address value that can be expressed when the head of the print data is the zero address as the position information of the encrypted secret data. The next "character number" is the number of characters of the private data that has been encrypted. As a result, even when the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word is mixed before and after, the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by a QR code reader or the like. It is possible to arrange the decoded data in the positional relationship before encoding based on this positional information.

The "decryption key check data" added at the end is key identification information that can identify the decryption key used to decrypt the encryption, and the common key cryptosystem ("" In the case of “private key encryption method”), the decryption key inspection data can also specify the encryption key. Thus, when the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by a QR code reader or the like, it is possible to easily specify the decryption key (decryptable key) of the private data code, and whether it is the decryption key. It is possible to judge whether or not.

The private data code β is configured in the same manner as the private data code α, and the same information as the decryption key for decoding the private data code α may be added as “decryption key check data”. If the private data of private data code β is encrypted with another encryption key different from the private key of private data code α, add “decryption key check data” to identify the other decryption key. May be. Thus, when the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by a QR code reader or the like, a key that can be decrypted for each private data code can be easily specified, and whether or not the key can be decrypted. You can judge.

In step S133, a process of adding a secret data code immediately after the data length is performed. In the example shown in FIG. 16D, the secret data code α and the secret data code β are added after the data length. At this time, related code information is placed in this private data code. As a result, in the general-purpose two-dimensional code reading device, the padding code or the like placed after the end identification code is not a target for reading in the decoding process of the two-dimensional code. The private data code provided cannot be read. Therefore, even if a two-dimensional code including such non-public data code is read by a general-purpose reading device, the existence of the non-public data code cannot be known. Can be prevented from being recognized.

In the following step S135, for example, in accordance with the processing algorithm described in the JIS basic specification (JIS X 0510:2004), a process of adding a padding code after the private data code is performed, and in step S137. A process of adding an RS code that is an error correction code word is performed. As a result, it becomes possible to generate the data code in the format shown in FIG.

Further, in step S139, a process of generating each cell based on the data code generated in step S137 and arranging the cells in the data block shown in FIG. 17 is performed. That is, since the type 1 QR code shown in FIG. 17 is formed in a square shape with 21 cells (modules) on one side, position detection patterns and format information provided at the three corners (shaded areas shown in FIG. 17). ) Further, 26 blocks (A0 to A25) of data blocks configured by arranging 8 cells in 4 rows and 2 columns are arranged in the code area excluding the timing pattern.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 16C, the disclosure data code A is arranged in A0 to A2, the disclosure data code B is arranged in A3 to A6, and the termination identification code is arranged in A7. Then, behind the end identification code, a secret identification code, a data length, a secret data code, and the like are arranged in A8 to A17, which usually correspond to the positions where the padding code is arranged.

That is, the confidential identification code is placed in A8, the data length is placed in A9 after that, and the private data code α is placed in A10 to A13 and the private data code β is placed in A14 to A17. Then, like the normal QR code, the RS code which is the error correction code word is arranged in the last A20 to A25, and the padding code is arranged in the empty portion A18 to A19. Since A15 and A18 are located with the timing pattern in between, A15 is divided into A15 and A15', and A18 is divided into A18 and A18'.

In step S131, the decryption key itself may be added instead of the "decryption key check data" as shown in FIG. As a result, when the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by the QR code reader or the like, even if the QR code reader or the like does not have the decryption key of the private data code α, The public data code α can be decrypted and returned to the original plaintext.

Similarly, for the private data code β, the decryption key itself may be added instead of the “decryption key check data”. The decryption key to be added may be the same as the decryption key for decrypting the private data code α, or may be another cryptographic key different from the cryptographic key of the private data code α. When the non-public data is encrypted, another decryption key corresponding to this other encryption key may be added. As a result, when the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by the QR code reader or the like, the QR code reader or the like does not have a decryption key corresponding to each private data code. However, each private data code can be decrypted and returned to the original plaintext.

Further, even when it is determined in step S123 that the private data is not included (when the flag is set to “0”: S123; No), as shown in FIG. A processing step of adding the “start digit” and the “number of characters” added in step S131 may be provided before the unencrypted plaintext data between step S123 and step S135. As a result, the QR code Q generated by this code generation processing is decoded by the QR code reader or the like even when the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word is mixed before and after. At this time, it becomes possible to arrange the decoded data in the positional relationship before encoding based on this positional information. Further, after step S139, the process proceeds to step S139', and it is determined whether or not the generation of all the two-dimensional codes associated with each other has been completed. As a result, the processing operation ends when the generation of all the two-dimensional codes associated with each other ends. On the other hand, when the generation of all the two-dimensional codes associated with each other has not been completed, the process returns to step S101 again and the above-described processing operation is repeated.

As described above, according to the printer 10 according to the first embodiment, in the QR code Q generated by the code generation process executed by the MPU 11, the private data code is a part of the padding code or the padding code in step S133. Instead of all, it is placed after the end identification code. As a result, the non-public data code placed after the end identification code cannot be read by the general-specification reading device, so a two-dimensional code including such non-public data code can be read by the general-specification reading device. Even if it is read, the existence of the data to be concealed by the private data code is unknown. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user of the general-purpose reading device from recognizing the existence of non-public data.

Therefore, even if such a non-public data code is included, the equivalent of the decoded data of the non-public data code is not displayed on the screen of the general-purpose reading device, so that the user recognizes the existence of the non-public data. It does not cause the user to feel distrust or inadvertently try to decipher the user. Further, even if the control data or the like corresponds to the decoded data of the secret data code, it is not displayed on the screen, so that the screen display is not disturbed.

In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the printer 10 prints the QR code Q on the label P has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the QR code Q is visually expressed. As long as it is possible, the code generating process shown in FIG. 15 may be executed by the PC body 2 to display the QR code Q on the display 3. In this case, the code generation process can be conceptualized as a computer program, and therefore, for example, "the total number of disclosure data codes encoded as code words representing data to be disclosed is a capacity that can be accommodated in a code area in which the code words are to be arranged. If not, the end identification code indicating the end of the code string formed by the disclosed data code arranged in the code area is arranged at the end of this code string, and the data is not displayed in the empty portion of the code area. A program for causing a computer to function as a two-dimensional code generation device for arranging a padding code, wherein a secret data code encoded as a code word representing secret data is used as a part or all of the padding code. Instead, it is possible to grasp a technical idea that can be expressed as "two-dimensional code generation program characterized by being arranged after the end identification code." As a result, the computer functioning as a two-dimensional code generation device by the two-dimensional code generation program has the same operational effect as the MPU 11 of the printer 10 described above.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the configuration in which the PC 1 is connected to the printer 10 and print data is sent from the PC 1 has been described as an example. However, information processing capable of outputting character data such as alphanumeric characters, kanji and symbols. As long as the device is a device, the above-described operational effects can be obtained even if a configuration in which a digital camera or a mobile phone having such a function, a handheld computer, a handy terminal, or the like is connected to the printer 10.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the configuration of the reader 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The reader 20 according to the second embodiment is a reader 20 that can decode the QR code Q printed by the printer 10 described in the first embodiment. Note that the configuration of the QR code Q that can be decoded by the reader 20 has already been described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17, so description thereof will be omitted here.

First, the configuration of the reader 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the QR code reader according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, the reader 20 mainly includes an optical system including an illumination light source 21, a light receiving sensor 23, an imaging lens 27, and a microcomputer such as a memory 35, a control circuit 40, operation switches 42, and a liquid crystal display 46. It is composed of a system and a power supply system such as a power switch 41 and a battery 49. It should be noted that these are mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown) or internally provided in a housing (not shown), and have the same hardware configuration as a general-purpose QR code reader (reading device).

The optical system includes an illumination light source 21, a light receiving sensor 23, an image forming lens 27 and the like. The illumination light source 21 functions as an illumination light source capable of emitting the illumination light Lf, and is composed of, for example, a red LED and a diffusion lens, a condenser lens, etc. provided on the emitting side of the LED. In the second embodiment, the illumination light sources 21 are provided on both sides of the light receiving sensor 23, and the illumination light Lf can be emitted toward the label P via the reading port of the case (not shown). .. The QR code Q described in detail in the first embodiment is printed on the label P.

The light receiving sensor 23 is configured to be able to receive the reflected light Lr that is reflected by being irradiated on the label P or the QR code Q. For example, a light receiving element, which is a solid-state image sensor such as C-MOS or CCD, is two-dimensionally formed. They are arrayed area sensors and the like. The light receiving sensor 23 is mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown) so that the incident light entering through the imaging lens 27 can be received by the light receiving surface 23a.

The image forming lens 27 functions as an image forming optical system capable of forming an image on the light receiving surface 23a of the light receiving sensor 23 by condensing the incident light incident from the outside through the reading port, for example, a lens barrel. And a plurality of condenser lenses housed in the lens barrel.

Next, an outline of the configuration of the microcomputer system will be described. The microcomputer system includes an amplification circuit 31, an A/D conversion circuit 33, a memory 35, an address generation circuit 36, a synchronization signal generation circuit 38, a control circuit 40, an operation switch 42, an LED 43, a buzzer 44, a liquid crystal display 46, a communication interface 48. And so on. As its name implies, this microcomputer system is mainly composed of a control circuit 40 and a memory 35 that can function as a microcomputer.

The image signal output from the light receiving sensor 23 of the optical system is input to the amplifier circuit 31, amplified by a predetermined gain, and then input to the A/D conversion circuit 33, where it is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal. To be done. Then, when the digitized image signal, that is, the image data is input to the memory 35, it is stored in the image data storage area. The synchronization signal generation circuit 38 is configured to generate a synchronization signal for the light receiving sensor 23 and the address generation circuit 36, and the address generation circuit 36 is based on the synchronization signal supplied from the synchronization signal generation circuit 38. The storage address of the image data stored in the memory 35 can be generated.

The memory 35 is a semiconductor memory device, and corresponds to, for example, a RAM (DRAM, SRAM, etc.) or a ROM (EPROM, EEPROM, etc.). In the RAM of the memory 35, in addition to the image data storage area described above, a work area and the like used by the control circuit 40 in each processing such as arithmetic operation and logical operation can be secured. Further, the ROM stores in advance a predetermined program capable of executing decoding processing and the like, which will be described later, and a system program capable of controlling each hardware such as the illumination light source 21 and the light receiving sensor 23 in advance.

The control circuit 40 is a microcomputer capable of controlling the entire reader 20, is composed of a CPU, a system bus, an input/output interface, etc., and can constitute an information processing device together with the memory 35, and has an information processing function. The control circuit 40 is configured to be connectable to various input/output devices via a built-in input/output interface. In the case of the second embodiment, the power switch 41, the operation switch 42, the LED 43, the buzzer 44. , A liquid crystal display 46, a communication interface 48, etc. are connected.

Thereby, for example, monitoring and management of the power switch 41 and the operation switch 42, turning on/off the LED 43 functioning as an indicator, turning on/off the buzzer 44 capable of generating a beep sound or an alarm sound, and reading the QR code. The screen control of the liquid crystal display 46 capable of displaying the code content by Q and the communication control of the communication interface 48 which enables serial communication with an external device are possible. The external device connected to the communication interface 48 includes a host computer HST or the like corresponding to the host system of the reader 20.

The power supply system includes a power switch 41, a battery 49, and the like. When the power switch 41 managed by the control circuit 40 is turned on and off, the drive voltage supplied from the battery 49 is conducted to the above-described devices and circuits. And the interruption is controlled. The battery 49 is a secondary battery capable of generating a predetermined DC voltage, and corresponds to, for example, a lithium ion battery or the like. Further, instead of using the battery 49, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which electric power is supplied from an external device such as a host computer HST connected via the communication interface 48. In this case, the battery 49 becomes unnecessary. ..

By configuring the reader 20 in this manner, for example, when the power switch 41 is turned on, the predetermined self-diagnosis processing and the like are normally completed, and the QR code Q can be read, the illumination light Lf is instructed to be emitted. The input of the operation switch 42 (for example, a trigger switch) to be operated is accepted. As a result, when the user pulls the trigger switch to turn it on, the control circuit 40 outputs a light emission signal to the illumination light source 21 based on the synchronization signal, so that the illumination light source 21 receiving the light emission signal turns on the LED. The light is emitted to illuminate the illumination light Lf.

Then, the illumination light Lf applied to the QR code Q is reflected, and the reflected light Lr is incident on the imaging lens 27 through the reading port, so that the image of the QR code Q is received on the light receiving surface 23a of the light receiving sensor 23. Is imaged. As a result, the image of the QR code Q exposes the light receiving sensor 23, so that the image data of the QR code Q image-processed by the microcomputer system described above will be described next via the image data storage area of the memory 35. Passed to decoding process.

Next, the decoding process will be described with reference to FIGS. 17, 19 and 20. Note that FIG. 19 illustrates a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of the decoding process shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 17 illustrates an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a type 1 QR code.

As shown in FIG. 19, the decoding process is started by the control circuit 40 and the memory 35 which are activated by turning on the power of the reader 20, and first, the initial setting process is performed in step S201. In this process, the work area of the memory 35 and the image data storage area for storing the image data are cleared, and predetermined flags and counters are cleared. Note that the reader 20 described here is connected to the host computer HST and acquires the data of the decryption key as the setting data from the host computer HST.

In step S203, a process of clearing the count value of the timer is performed. The timer whose counter value is cleared in this step S203 measures the elapse of a predetermined time in the next step S205.

In step S205, a process for determining whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed is performed by the previous timer. That is, it is necessary to determine in the next step S209 whether or not the decryption key data is included in the setting data sent from the host computer HST. For example, it is determined whether or not 5 seconds have passed as the predetermined time. However, if the data related to the encryption has not been sent from the host computer HST by the time this time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S207 with the elapse of a predetermined time (S205; Yes).

On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not elapsed (S205; No), the process of determining whether or not the decryption key (decryption key) has been received is performed in the next step S209. If it is determined that the message is received (S209; Yes), the process proceeds to the subsequent step S211, and if it is not determined that it is received (S209; No), the process proceeds to step S205 described above. The process is returned to determine again the passage of time.

When it is determined in step S205 that the predetermined time has elapsed (S205; Yes), "0" is set in the predetermined flag in step S207. This flag indicates whether or not the private data code of the QR code Q is decrypted by the decryption key. When "0" is set, it indicates that the decryption key is not decrypted, and "1" is set. When is set, it indicates that the decryption key is used for decryption. Therefore, when it is determined that the decryption key is received by 209 (S209; Yes), the process of setting "1" to this flag is performed in the following step S211.

When "1" is set to the predetermined flag in step S211, the process of acquiring image data is performed in subsequent step 213. That is, the process of reading the image data stored in the image data storage area of the memory 35 is performed. Thereby, for example, a code image of the QR code Q as shown in FIG. 17 can be obtained.

In the following step S215, processing for detecting the position detection pattern is performed. That is, since the QR code Q has position detection patterns at its three corners as shown in FIG. 17, by detecting them, the code outline of the QR code Q is detected in the next step S217.

Then, by performing the process of calculating the center coordinates of each cell in step S219, the black and white of each cell is determined in step S221. As a result, the format information (hatched portion shown in FIG. 17) and the data block shown in FIG. 17 can be recognized. Therefore, in the subsequent step S223, if there is a missing data block, the block is error-corrected. Determine if it is possible.

If it is determined in step S223 that the error can be corrected (S223; OK), the error is corrected and the decoding process is performed in step S300. On the other hand, if it cannot be determined in step S223 that the error can be corrected (S223; NG), the error cannot be corrected. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S213, the image data is acquired again, and each of steps S215 to S221. Perform processing.

After step S300, the process proceeds to step S350 to determine whether or not the decoding process has been completed for all the two-dimensional codes. As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the processing operation is ended. On the other hand, if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process proceeds to step S201 again, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

The details of step S300 are shown in FIG. 20, and the decoding process will be described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 20, in the decoding process, first, in step S301, a process of setting the counter n to 0 (zero) is performed. This counter n will function as a variable indicating the order of the data codes forming the QR code Q in this decoding process.

In step S303, a process of acquiring the n-th data code indicated by the counter n is performed. In subsequent step S305, a process of determining whether or not the n-th data code acquired in step S303 is a termination identification code is performed. As a result, when it is determined that the data code is the termination identification code (S305; Yes), the normal data code arranged before the termination identification code is no longer included in the QR code Q. Since this is not the case, the process moves to step S315.

On the other hand, when it is not possible to determine that the data code is the termination identification code (S305; No), it means that there is still a normal data code before the termination identification code, so the process proceeds to step S307. To obtain the next data code, that is, the (n+1)th data code as the code number i. This is because the number of characters is stored in the position corresponding to the second character of the data code, as described with reference to FIG. 16D in the first embodiment. It is described in "8.4 Data Encoding" of the basic specifications of JIS (JIS X 0510:2004).

When the code number i is acquired in step S307, a process of acquiring the data code for the number of characters (i) is performed in the following step S309, and further, in step S311, the data code, that is, the disclosed data code (representing disclosed data is represented. A process of decoding (a data code encoded as a code word) is performed.

After the decoding process in step S311, the process of setting "n+i+1" in the counter n so that the counter n points to the next data code is performed in step S313, and then the process returns to step S303 again to return to the nth position. The process of acquiring the data code of is performed.

As described above, in steps S303 to S313, a process of acquiring and decoding a normal data code (disclosed data code) that is arranged in front of the termination identification code and originally decoded is performed.

In step S315, a process of determining whether or not "1" is set in the above-mentioned predetermined flag, that is, whether or not the private data code of the QR code Q is decrypted by the decryption key is performed. If "1" is not set in the flag (S315; No), there is no need to decrypt with the decryption key, so this decryption processing is terminated and step S300 shown in FIG. finish.

On the other hand, when "1" is set in the predetermined flag (S315; Yes), it is necessary to decrypt with the decryption key, so the process proceeds to the subsequent step S317, and the counter n is set to n+1. Then, in step S319, the process of acquiring the n-th data code indicated by the counter n is performed.

Then, in subsequent step S321, a process of determining whether or not the n-th data code acquired in step S319 is a secret identification code is performed.

As a result, when it is determined that the data code is the confidential identification code (S321; Yes), the private data code exists after the confidential identification code. Therefore, the process proceeds to the subsequent step S323, and the code number j of the next data code, that is, the (n+1)th data code is acquired. .. This is also based on the fact that the number of characters is stored at the position corresponding to the second character of the data code, as in step S309.

When it is determined in step S321 that the confidential identification code is arranged, the host computer HST is configured to notify the QR code Q that the confidential identification code is arranged. Good. As a result, the host computer HST can recognize that the data code behind the end identification code is a private data code. Originally, only the padding code is placed in the code area after the end identification code (empty part of the code area) other than the padding code, which is not a private data code (for example, it becomes a padding code due to garbled data). Information that is a private data code is not output to the host computer HST, a malfunction that may occur by decoding something other than the private data code is prevented. It becomes possible.

On the other hand, when the data code cannot be determined to be the confidential identification code (S321; No), the private code is no longer included in the QR code Q after the confidential identification code. There will be no. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the decoding process has been completed and the decoding process has been completed for all the two-dimensional codes (S350). As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, step S300 shown in FIG. 19 is ended and the decoding process is ended. On the other hand, if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process proceeds to step S201 again, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

Next, the process proceeds to step S320, and it is determined whether or not the related code information is included. As a result of this determination, when the related code information is included, the related code information is acquired (S320′), and then the process proceeds to step S323. On the other hand, if the related code information is not included, the process directly proceeds to step S323.

When the code number j is acquired in step S323, a process of acquiring the data code for the number of characters (j) is performed in the following step S325, and further, in step S327, the counter n outputs the next data code, that is, the secret data code. After the process of setting "n+j+2" in the counter n as indicated, the process of acquiring the n-th decryption key check data (key identification information) is performed in step S329.

Then, based on the decryption key check data acquired in step S329, the decryption key received from the host computer HST in step S209 is matched as a key for decrypting the encrypted data of the n-th private data code. Whether or not there is is determined in step S331. As a result, when it is determined that the decryption key is suitable for step S331 (S331; Yes), the encrypted data is decrypted by the following step S333.

Note that the encryption here uses the known visual decryption encryption technology (visual decryption secret sharing method) described in the first embodiment, whereby the encrypted data of the private data code is Even if it is encrypted by such a visual decryption encryption technology, it can be decrypted and returned to the original plaintext.

On the other hand, if it cannot be determined in step S331 that the decryption key is suitable (S331; No), the next private data code is read without decrypting the n-th private data code. In order to obtain it, the process moves to step S337 and the counter n is set to n+1. As a result, when the decryption key of the reader 20 is not a decryption key that can decrypt the n-th private data code, the n-th private data code is neither decrypted nor decrypted, and unnecessary decryption processing is suppressed. be able to.

In step S335, a process of decoding the private data code is performed. That is, since the encrypted data can be decrypted in the previous step S333, the private data code is decrypted (decoded) based on the encrypted data decrypted in this step S335.

When the decoding process in step S335 ends, in step S337, the process of setting "n+1" in the counter n so that the count n points to the next data code is performed, and then in step S339, the n-th data code Is obtained.

Then, in step S341, a process of determining whether or not the n-th data code acquired in step S339 is a padding code is performed. As a result, if the n-th data code is the padding code (S341; Yes), the private data code is not included in the QR code Q any more. The processing is ended, and it is determined whether or not the decoding processing has been completed for all the two-dimensional codes (S350). As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, step S300 is ended and the decoding process is ended. On the other hand, if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process proceeds to step S201 again, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S341 that the n-th data code is the padding code (S341; No), the n-th data code is a private data code, and thus the process proceeds to step S323. Then, the same process as described above is performed by acquiring the code number j of the (n+1)th data code again.

In this way, in steps S319 and S323 to S335, a process of acquiring and decoding a data code (private data code) that is placed behind the end identification code and is not originally decoded is performed.

As described above, according to the reader 20 according to the second embodiment, the private data code is arranged in the code area (the empty portion of the code area) after the termination identification code where only the padding code is originally arranged. Even this private data code can be decoded. Therefore, it is possible to decode the data code existing in the empty portion of the code area where the code word is to be arranged. Therefore, the QR code Q printed by the printer 10 described in the first embodiment can be decoded by the reader 20 according to the second embodiment.

In the decoding process described above, the n-th decoding key check data is acquired in step S329. However, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 16(E) in the first embodiment, the decoding key itself Is added to the private data code, the n-th decryption key may be acquired instead of step S329. As a result, even if the reader 20 does not have a decryption key (decryptable key) for the private data code, the private data code can be decrypted and returned to the original plaintext.

Even if each private data code is encrypted with a different encryption key, if each private data code is added with a corresponding decryption key, instead of step S329, the n-th private data code is added. It is possible to decrypt each private data code and restore it to the original plaintext even if the reader 20 does not have the decryption key for the private data code by configuring to obtain the private key of the private data code. Become.

Furthermore, in the above-described decoding process, the nth decryption key check data is acquired in step S329. However, for example, as the position information as described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. If the "start digit" is added to the secret data code, the "start digit" is separated from the secret data code instead of step S329, and based on the separated "start digit". The private data obtained by decoding the private data code may be arranged in a positional relationship in the data record before being encoded. As a result, even if the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word is mixed before and after, the decoded data is arranged in the positional relationship before being coded based on this positional information. be able to.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, another QR code generation process by the printer 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. As shown in FIG. 22(C), another QR code described here adopts a format in which an arbitrary code (for example, 00000000 or 11111111) is filled in a free area instead of the padding code (11101100). ..

In the flowchart of the code generation processing shown in FIG. 21, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps that configure the code generation processing (FIG. 15) already described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, regarding the format examples of the data and codes shown in FIG. 22, similarly, detailed description of the formats substantially the same as the format example (FIG. 16) already described will be omitted. Note that, in FIG. 22, for convenience, the disclosure data code is defined as “disclosure code”, and the termination identification code is defined as “terminator”.

As shown in FIG. 21, the code generation process is started by the MPU 11 and the memory 12 which are activated by turning on the power of the printer 10. When the initial setting process is performed in step S101, print data is received in step S103. Then, when the non-public data is received through steps S107 and S111, the disclosure data and the non-public data are rearranged in step S115, and each data such as the disclosure data and the non-public data is encoded in step S117, and then the step S119. An error correction code is generated according to step S121, and a termination identification code is added after the disclosed data code in step S121.

Note that, instead of adding such an end identification code after the disclosed data code, for example, by calculating the data lengths of all disclosed data codes as in the format shown in parentheses in FIG. 22(C). End position data (“end information” in FIG. 22C) that can specify the obtained “end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code” (hereinafter simply referred to as “end position”) is placed at the beginning of the disclosed data code or You may add.

If the print data includes private data (S123; Yes), the process proceeds to S124. In step S124, it is determined whether or not the related code information needs to be added. If the related code information needs to be added, the process proceeds to step S124', and the related code information arrangement process is performed. If it is unnecessary to add the related code information, the process proceeds to step S125.

After steps S125 to S133, after adding the confidential identification code or the like to the end position, or when the print data does not include non-public data (S123; No), after the end position, step S135', respectively. Accordingly, for example, 00000000 or 11111111 is added as the above-mentioned arbitrary code.

That is, in the process of adding an arbitrary code in step S135′, padding is performed in the range after the end position and before the RS code, even if the private data code is packed, if a blank area (a blank portion of the code area) occurs. Arbitrary code (for example, 00000000 or 11111111) is packed instead of the code. Therefore, for example, in the case where the initialization process of filling the entire range with such an arbitrary code in advance on the memory configuring such a data format is processed in step S101, the step S135′ is executed. It can be omitted without performing (the frame line of step S135′ is represented by a broken line in FIG. 21).

Then, when the process of adding the RS code which is the error correction code word is performed in step S137, the data code of the format shown in FIG. 22C is generated, and therefore such a data code is generated in the following step S139. Based on this, each cell is generated and placed in the data block described and shown in FIG. That is, except that the arbitrary code described above is originally arranged in the range in which the padding code is arranged, the QR code is arranged in the same manner as the QR code described with reference to FIGS.

As described above, in the printer 10 according to the third embodiment, in the QR code Q generated by the code generation process executed by the MPU 11, the private data code is placed after the end position in step S133. There is. As a result, the non-public data code placed after the end position will not be read by the general-specification reader, so a two-dimensional code containing such non-public data code can be read by the general-specification reader. However, the existence of data to be kept secret by the private data code is unknown. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent the user of the general-purpose reading device from recognizing the existence of non-public data.

Therefore, even if such a non-public data code is included, the equivalent of the decoded data of the non-public data code is not displayed on the screen of the general-purpose reading device, so that the user recognizes the existence of the non-public data. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling distrustful or giving an inadvertent motivation to try decryption without causing the user to do so. Further, even if the data corresponding to the decoded data of the secret data code is the control data or the like, it is not displayed on the screen, so that the screen display can be prevented from being disturbed.

In the third embodiment described above, an example in which the printer 10 prints the QR code Q on the label P has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the QR code Q can be visually recognized. Anything that can be expressed may be used, and for example, the code generation process shown in FIG. 21 may be executed by the PC body 2 to display the QR code Q on the display 3. In this case, the code generation process can be conceptualized as a computer program, and therefore, for example, "the total number of disclosure data codes encoded as code words representing data to be disclosed is a capacity that can be accommodated in a code area in which the code words are to be arranged. If not, a termination identification code indicating the end of the code string formed by the disclosed data code arranged in the code area is arranged at the end of this code string, or the end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code is specified. A program for causing a computer to function as a two-dimensional code generation device for arranging possible terminal identification information at a predetermined position of this code string, and secret data coded as a code word representing secret data. A two-dimensional code generation program characterized by arranging a code after the end identification code or after the end position specified by the end identification information." it can. As a result, the computer functioning as a two-dimensional code generation device by the two-dimensional code generation program has the same operation and effect as the MPU 11 of the printer 10 described above.

Further, in the above-described third embodiment, the configuration in which the PC 1 is connected to the printer 10 and print data is sent from the PC 1 has been described as an example. However, information processing capable of outputting character data such as alphanumeric characters, kanji and symbols. As long as the device is a device, the above-described operation and effect can be obtained even if a configuration in which a digital camera or a mobile phone having such a function, a handheld computer, a handy terminal, or the like is connected to the printer 10.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, another QR code decoding process by the reader 20 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24. It should be noted that the "other QR code" is a code that takes a format that fills an empty area with an arbitrary code (for example, 00000000 or 11111111) instead of the padding code (11101100), and the printer 10 according to the third embodiment. It is a QR code printed by.

Note that, in the flowchart of the decoding process shown in FIG. 23, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps constituting the decoding process (FIG. 19) already described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, in the flowchart of the decoding process shown in FIG. 24, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps that configure the decoding process (FIG. 20) already described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 23, the decoding process is started by the control circuit 40 and the memory 35 which are activated when the power of the reader 20 is turned on, and when the initialization process is performed in step S201, after a predetermined time has elapsed in step S205 ( After receiving the decryption key in step S209 (S205; Yes) or in step S209 (S209; Yes), the image data is acquired in step S213. Then, the QR code Q is image-recognized in steps S215, S217, S219, and S221, and it is determined in step S223 whether or not the error can be corrected. If it is determined that the error can be corrected (S223; OK). ), and after error correction, the decoding process (FIG. 11) is performed in step S300′. After step S300', the process proceeds to step S350 to determine whether or not the decoding process has been completed for all the two-dimensional codes. As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the processing operation is ended. On the other hand, if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process proceeds to step S201 again, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

As shown in FIG. 24, in the decoding process of step S300′, the end position (the end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code, which can be specified by the end identification code or the end position data) is determined in steps S301 to S313. If found (S305'; Yes), the nth data code indicated by the counter n is acquired in steps S315, S317, and S319, and it is determined in step S321 whether or not it is the secret identification code. When it is determined that the code is the confidential identification code (S321; Yes), the process proceeds to step S320, and it is determined whether the related code information is included. As a result of this determination, when the related code information is included, the related code information is acquired (S320′), and then the process proceeds to step S323. On the other hand, if the related code information is not included, the process directly proceeds to step S323. The matching of the decryption key is checked in S323 to S331, the encrypted data is decrypted in S333 with the decryption key, and the secret data code is decrypted in step S335.

When it is determined in step S321 that the confidential identification code is placed, for example, the host computer HST is notified that the QR code Q has the confidential identification code. You may. As a result, the host computer HST can recognize that the data code behind the end identification code is a private data code. Originally, only the padding code is placed in the code area after the end identification code (empty part of the code area) other than the padding code, which is not a private data code (for example, it becomes a padding code due to garbled data). Information that is a private data code is not output to the host computer HST, a malfunction that may occur by decoding something other than the private data code is prevented. It becomes possible.

Then, in step S336', it is determined whether the decrypted private data code is the last private data code. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 22(C), since the secret identifier stores the data length of the private data code that follows it, the private data code is based on this. Determines whether is the last private data code. Further, as described above, since any code (for example, 00000000 or 11111111) is packed after the last private data code, that is, in the empty area (empty part of the code area), such an arbitrary code It is determined whether or not the private data code corresponds to the last private data code based on the existence of the.

When it is not determined in step S336′ that the private data code is the last private data code (when it is determined that it is not the last private data code) (S336′; No), the count n is calculated in step S337. After the process of setting “n+1” in the counter n so that indicates the next data code is performed, the process of acquiring the nth data code is performed in the following step S339, and step S323 is performed as described above. The matching of the decryption key is checked by S331.

On the other hand, when the private data code is determined to be the last private data code in step S336′ (S336′; Yes), the private data code is further included in the QR code Q. Since this is not the case, this decoding process is terminated, and it is determined whether or not the decoding process has been completed for all two-dimensional codes (S350). As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, step S300 is ended and the decoding process is ended. On the other hand, if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process proceeds to step S201 again, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

Note that in steps S303 to S313, a process of acquiring and decoding a normal data code (disclosed data code) that is arranged in front of the end position and originally decoded is performed.

In step S321, a process of determining whether or not the nth data code acquired in step S319 is a secret identification code is performed.

Further, in steps S319 and S323 to S335, a process of acquiring and decoding a data code (private data code) that is arranged behind the end position and is not originally decoded is performed.

As described above, according to the reader 20 of the fourth embodiment, the private data code is originally arranged in the code area (vacant part of the code area) after the end position where the data code is not arranged. Even this private data code can be decoded. Therefore, it is possible to decode the data code existing in the empty portion of the code area where the code word is to be arranged. Therefore, the QR code Q printed by the printer 10 described in the third embodiment can be decoded by the reader 20 according to the fourth embodiment.

In the decoding process described above, the n-th decryption key check data is acquired in step S329. However, for example, as described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. Similarly, in the mode, when the decryption key itself is added to the private data code (see FIG. 22(E)), the n-th decryption key is obtained instead of step S329. Is also good. As a result, even if the reader 20 does not have a decryption key (decryptable key) for the private data code, the private data code can be decrypted and returned to the original plaintext.

Even if each private data code is encrypted with a different encryption key, if each private data code is added with a corresponding decryption key, instead of step S329, the n-th private data code is added. It is possible to decrypt each private data code and restore it to the original plaintext even if the reader 20 does not have the decryption key for the private data code by configuring to obtain the private key of the private data code. Become.

Further, in the decoding process described above, the n-th decryption key check data is acquired in step S329. However, for example, as described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. Similarly, in the form, when the “start digit” as the position information is added to the secret data code (see FIG. 22D), instead of this step S329, the “start digit” is changed from the secret data code. , And the private data code obtained by decoding the private data code based on the separated “start digit” is arranged in the positional relationship in the data record before being encoded. Good. As a result, even if the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word is mixed before and after, the decoded data is arranged in the positional relationship before being coded based on this positional information. It becomes possible.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, another QR code generation process by the printer 10 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 to 27. As shown in FIG. 27(B) and the like, the other QR codes described here have a format in which the secret data codes α, β, etc. are subjected to predetermined processing to fill the empty area.

Note that in the flowchart of the code generation processing shown in FIG. 25, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps constituting the code generation processing (FIG. 15) already described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Similarly, with respect to the format example of the code shown in FIG. 27, detailed description of the format substantially the same as the format example (FIG. 16) already described will be omitted. Note that in FIG. 27, for convenience, the disclosure data code is expressed as “disclosure code”, and the termination identification code is expressed as “terminator”.

As shown in FIG. 25, the code generation process is started by the MPU 11 and the memory 12 which are activated when the power of the printer 10 is turned on. When the initialization process is performed in step S101, print data is received in step S103. When the non-public data is received through steps S107 and S111, each data such as the disclosure data and the non-public data is encoded in step S117, and the disclosure data code is followed by the termination identification code (disclosure data) in step S121′. (Including the end position of the code string formed by the code) is added.

If the print data includes private data (S123; Yes), the process proceeds to S124. In step S124, it is determined whether or not the related code information needs to be added. If the related code information needs to be added, the process proceeds to step S124', and the related code information arrangement process is performed. If it is unnecessary to add the related code information, the process proceeds to step S125. After the secret identification code is added to the end position in steps S125 and S127, the secret data code is encrypted in step S131, and the padding code is added to the empty area in step S132. After this, a predetermined processing process is performed in step S500. On the other hand, if the print data does not include non-public data (S123; No), the process proceeds to step S133 without performing these processes (S125, S127, S131, S132, S500).

Here, the predetermined processing process in step S500 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 26, in the predetermined processing, first, a process of zero clearing the pointer i is performed in step S501. This pointer i points to a bit position that is the target of the distributed arrangement processing in steps S507 to S517, and starts from the 0th bit by this clear processing.

In step S503, an empty area that exists after the end position (see FIGS. 27A to 27C), that is, an area that is originally filled with padding codes and excludes the range of the RS code that is the error correction code word A process for obtaining the number of bits n of is performed. This process is a constant used when the pseudo random number R is obtained in step S513 described later.

In the following step S505, a process of obtaining the sum m (see FIGS. 27D and 27E) of the bit number of the encrypted data and the bit number of the decryption key check data is performed. That is, by grasping the number of bits of the secret data code which is the target of the distributed arrangement processing, it is possible to determine whether or not the distributed arrangement is completed in step S519, which will be described later.

In the next step S507, a process of performing an exclusive OR (EXOR) operation on the disclosed data code and the encrypted data in units of 2 bytes to obtain the result S is performed, and in the subsequent step S509, such an operation result S is obtained. The process of setting the seed value of the pseudo random number in step S513 is performed. This seed value is a seed for generating a pseudo-random number by a predetermined calculation, and if the seed value is the same, the generated random numbers will be exactly the same. That is, in the pseudo-random number generated in step S513, the value generated by the value of the calculation result S and the generation order thereof are uniquely determined. In this respect, this processing is performed based on the contents of the disclosed data code.

In step S511, a process of incrementing the pointer i, that is, counting up by 1, is performed. As a result, the count of the position of the bit (the position pointed by the pointer i) that is the target of the distributed arrangement processing in step S517 and the like is incremented. In the previous example, counting up from 0 to 1 indicates the first bit.

In a succeeding step S513, a process for obtaining the pseudo random number R is performed. This operation is to generate a pseudo random number by performing information processing according to a predetermined random number generation algorithm based on the seed value described above, and here, 1 to n (n is a bit of an empty area). Generate pseudo-random numbers in the range up to (number). For this reason, for example, it is calculated by the arithmetic expression “R=rand()mod n+1”.

Note that rand() is a function that returns a pseudo-random number with respect to the seed value S, and xmody is a function that obtains the modulo value y with respect to x. That is, in the above arithmetic expression, 1 is added to the remainder when the value of the pseudo-random number that is the argument x (which is rand()) before mod is divided by the argument y (which is n) after mod. The pseudo random number R is obtained as the value. Note that n is the number of bits in the empty area, as described above.

In this way, when the pseudo random number R from 1 to n is obtained in step S513, the process of determining whether or not the pseudo random number R has already been generated is performed in step S515. That is, when the same value is generated as the pseudo random number R, the bit value is overwritten in the rearrangement process in the next step S517, so that the value arranged at the same bit position before that is prevented from being destroyed. This is because Therefore, when it is determined in step S515 that the same value has already been generated as the pseudo random number R (S515; Yes), the process returns to step S513 and the pseudo random number R is obtained again.

If it is not determined in step S515 that the value is the same as the already generated pseudo-random number R (S515; No), the value of the i-th bit (the position of the bit pointed by the pointer i) of the encrypted data is vacant in subsequent step S517. A process of setting the R-th bit in the area, that is, a layout process is performed. In the above example, the value of the first bit is set to the R bit of the empty area. As a result, the information originally located at the 1st bit moves to the Rth bit which is randomly generated by the random number.

In a succeeding step S519, a process of determining whether or not the value of the pointer i has reached the end (final bit) of the number of bits of the secret data code which is the target of the distributed placement process, that is, the determination of whether or not the distributed placement is completed is performed. Done. If the pointer i and the total number of bits of the private data code match, all the bits of the private data code have been subjected to the distributed arrangement processing in steps S507 to 517 described above. Therefore (S519; Yes), this processing is terminated.

On the other hand, if the pointer i and the total number of bits of the private data code do not match, the private data code will have bits that have not been subjected to the distributed arrangement processing ( S519; No), the pointer i is counted up in step S511, and the pseudo random number generation process in step S513 is performed again.

In this way, by repeating the processing in steps S513 to S517 for all the bits of the secret data code, originally, the first bit, the second bit, the third bit,..., (n−1)th bit, n Each piece of bit information arranged in order such as the bit-threshold moves to the R-th bit at a position according to the pseudo-random number R that fluctuates irregularly. Therefore, when the predetermined processing process in step S500 is completed, for example, as shown in FIG. 27(B), the secret data codes α and β (FIG. 27(A)) before the distributed arrangement process are performed , All of them are disassembled bit by bit and distributed and rearranged as private data code pieces, and the padding code is also disassembled into individual pieces by the distributed allocation process. It will be rearranged in the empty area in the state of being mixed with.

As a result, the encrypted private data code is further scrambled, so that the strength of security can be further enhanced.

In this processing, instead of the distributed arrangement processing in steps S507 to S517, for example, bits may be rearranged based on a bit position conversion table (conversion table) capable of converting bit positions. Specifically, for example, the first bit is the fourth bit, the second bit is the thirteenth bit, the third bit is the first bit, the fourth bit is the second bit, the fifth bit is the fifteenth bit. 6th bit to 11th bit, 7th bit to 8th bit, 8th bit to 3rd bit, 9th bit to 10th bit, 10th bit to 6th bit, 11th bit To 12th bit, 12th bit to 5th bit, 13th bit to 9th bit, 14th bit to 16th bit, 15th bit to 7th bit, 16th bit to 14th bit , A bit position conversion table for converting the position is provided, and the bit position is converted according to the conversion rule. Thereby, for example, 16-bit data “1001011011010110” (96D6h) is converted into “0101101101100001” (5A61h).

Further, by passing through such a bit position conversion table, for example, in the above example, since the hexadecimal notation data “96D6h” is converted to “5A61h”, it is possible to use the bits forming the private data code. It can be understood as a technical idea of converting the specified data value itself based on a predetermined data value conversion table (conversion table). Note that this data value conversion can also be performed by a predetermined data value conversion formula, for example, in which the input data X is doubled and then 1 is subtracted to output Y (=X×2-1).

Further, for example, a cyclic shift register may be used so that the bit position is cyclically shifted by a predetermined number of bits to the LSB side. In the above 16-bit data example, “1001011011010110” (96D6h) is converted to “0110100101101101” (696Dh). Of course, the shift amount is not limited to 4 bits, and in the case of a 16-bit configuration, it may be any of 1 bit to 15 bits, and the shift direction may be on the MSB side. The 16 bits in the 16-bit configuration illustrated here correspond to the sum m of the number of bits of the encrypted data and the number of bits of the decryption key check data described above. Note that FIG. 27D shows an example of a format (encrypted data+decryption key check data) by rearranging bits or converting bit values other than the above-described distributed arrangement processing (FIG. 27( E) is a configuration example of a secret data code generated by the code generation processing of the third embodiment for comparison).

In step S507 described above, the disclosed data code and the encrypted data are subjected to exclusive OR (EXOR) operation in units of 2 bytes to obtain the result S, which is set to the seed value of the pseudo random number in step S509. However, instead of the disclosed data code, the unique information associated with the QR code Q, for example, the error correction level (L, M, Q, H) or the model number (1 to 40) is used to exclude the encrypted data. The logical sum (EXOR) operation may be performed and the result S may be obtained. The details and specifications of the error correction level and model number may be in accordance with, for example, the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) two-dimensional code symbol-QR code-basic specification (JIS X 0510:2004).

Here, returning to FIG. 25, after the predetermined processing is completed in step S500, a secret data code is added in the following step S133, and it is further determined in step S134 whether or not the secret data code is included. A determination process is performed.

That is, if the private data code is included in step S134 (S134; Yes), the padding code is already added in step S132 described above, and thus the padding code is not added in subsequent step S135. Becomes Therefore, in such a case, the process of step S135 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S137. On the other hand, when the private data code is not included, that is, when only the disclosure data code is included (S134; No), since the padding code is not added yet, the padding code is added in the following step S135. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S137.

Then, when the process of adding the RS code, which is the error correction code word, is performed in step S137, the data code in the format shown in FIGS. 27A to 27C is generated. Each cell is generated based on the data code and is arranged in the data block shown and described in FIG.

As described above, according to the printer 10 of the fifth embodiment, in the QR code Q generated by the code generation process executed by the MPU 11, the secret data code is subjected to a predetermined process by the process process of step S500. Then, it is arranged after the end identification code or after the end position specified by the end identification information. As a result, the non-public data code is processed so as not to know the existence of the non-public data code by performing a predetermined process. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to read after the end identification code, etc. Since it is not even known that the data code is arranged, it is possible to further enhance the security level.

In the fifth embodiment described above, after step S113, the process of rearranging the disclosed data and the non-public data (corresponding to S115 shown in FIG. 15) is not interposed, but the print data is disclosed to a third party. If the data (disclosure data) and the data that the third party wants to keep secret and hide (private data) are included and these are mixed in the data record, the data is received in step S111. Based on the above-mentioned “positional information indicating the positional relationship in the data record of the non-public data”, the order of the data may be exchanged and the processing may be divided into a collection of the disclosure data and a collection of the non-public data. As a result, for example, when the record of the print data sent from the PC 1 includes data arranged in the order of the disclosure data A, the non-public data α, the disclosure data B, and the non-public data β, the process proceeds to step S115. , The disclosure data A, the disclosure data B, the non-public data α, and the non-public data β are rearranged in this order, so that the disclosure data and the non-disclosure data are collected respectively. It is possible to easily perform addition processing, addition processing of the secret identification code in step S125, and the like.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Next, another QR code decoding process by the reader 20 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 28 to 30. Note that the other QR codes described here have a format in which the private data codes α, β, etc. are subjected to predetermined processing and filled in the empty area, as described above with reference to FIG. 27(B) and the like. Is.

In the flowchart of the decoding process shown in FIG. 28, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps that configure the decoding processing (FIG. 23) already described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, in the flowchart of the decoding process shown in FIG. 29, the same reference numerals are given to the processing steps that are substantially the same as the processing steps that constitute the decoding process (FIG. 24) already described, and the detailed description thereof will be given below. Omit it.

As shown in FIG. 28, the decoding process is started by the control circuit 40 and the memory 35 which are activated when the power of the reader 20 is turned on, and when the initialization process is performed in step S201, after a predetermined time has elapsed in step S205 ( After receiving the decryption key in step S209 (S205; Yes) or in step S209 (S209; Yes), the image data is acquired in step S213. Then, the QR code Q is image-recognized in steps S215, S217, S219, and S221, it is determined in step S223 whether or not the error can be corrected, and if it is determined that the error can be corrected (S223; OK). ), after performing error correction, the decoding process (FIG. 29) is performed in step S300″. After that, it is determined whether the decoding process has been completed for all two-dimensional codes (S350). If the decoding process has been completed for the two-dimensional code in step S300, the decoding process is completed, while if the decoding process has not been completed for all the two-dimensional codes, the process returns to step S201. The process shifts and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed.

As shown in FIG. 29, in the decoding process of step S300″, the end position (the end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code, which can be specified by the end identification code or the end position data) is determined in steps S301 to S313. If found (S305'; Yes), the n-th data code indicated by the counter n is acquired in steps S315, S317, and S319, and it is determined in step S321 whether or not the data code is the confidential identification code. If it is determined that the code is a code (S321; Yes), the process proceeds to step S320, and it is determined whether or not the related code information is included. After performing the acquisition processing of the related code information (S320'), the process proceeds to step S323. On the other hand, if the related code information is not included, the process proceeds to step S323 as it is. After acquiring, the predetermined extraction processing in step S600 is performed.

When it is determined in step S321 that the confidential identification code is placed, for example, the host computer HST is notified that the QR code Q has the confidential identification code. You may. As a result, the host computer HST can recognize that the data code behind the end identification code is a private data code. Originally, only the padding code is placed in the code area after the end identification code (empty part of the code area) other than the padding code, which is not a private data code (for example, it becomes a padding code due to garbled data). Information that is a private data code is not output to the host computer HST, a malfunction that may occur by decoding something other than the private data code is prevented. It becomes possible.

Here, the predetermined extraction processing in step S600 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the predetermined extraction processing shown in FIG. 30 is similar in content of information processing to the predetermined processing processing (FIG. 26) which has already been described in the fifth embodiment, the processing steps constituting the predetermined processing processing are the same. The substantially same processing steps are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

As shown in FIG. 30, in the predetermined extraction processing, the pointer i is zero-cleared in step S501, and the number of bits n of the empty area existing after the end position in step S503 (see FIGS. 27A to 27C). ), a process of obtaining the sum m (see FIGS. 27D and 27E) of the number of bits of the encrypted data and the number of bits of the decryption key check data in step S505, and the disclosure data code and the encryption in step S507. A process of performing an exclusive OR (EXOR) operation on the united data with a unit of 2 bytes to obtain the result S is sequentially performed, and in a subsequent step S509, a process of setting a seed value of the pseudo random number is performed.

The seed value set in step S509 is a seed for generating a pseudo-random number by a predetermined calculation, as described in the fifth embodiment, and if the seed values are the same, the generated random number is completely random. Will be the same. Therefore, if the QR code Q is the same, the seed value of the predetermined processing (FIG. 26) and the seed value of the main extraction processing are the same value, and the pseudo random number value in the next step S513 and its generation order are obtained. Will be the same.

If the pseudo random number R is processed in step S513 and it is not determined in step S515 that it has the same value as the already generated pseudo random number R (S515; No), then in step S617, the R-th bit of the empty area is determined. Is set in the i-th bit of the encrypted data buffer (the position of the bit pointed by the pointer i).

That is, in the predetermined processing according to the fifth embodiment, the value of the i-th bit (the position of the bit pointed by the pointer i) of the encrypted data is set to the R-th bit of the empty area in step S517. For example, the value of the 1st bit is set to the R bit of the free area, but in step S617 of this extraction processing, conversely, the value of the R bit of the empty area is set to the i bit of the encrypted data buffer. It is set to the eye (the position of the bit pointed by the pointer i), and for example, the value of the Rth bit of the empty area is set to the first bit of the encrypted data buffer.

As a result, the value of the i-th bit of the encrypted data set in the R-th bit of the empty area by the predetermined processing of the fifth embodiment is set in the i-th bit of the encrypted data buffer by the main extraction processing. As a result, it is possible to restore the private data code pieces and the like that have been disassembled into individual pieces in units of bits. That is, the aggregate restoration process can be performed in step S617 and the like.

Then, in step S519, when the pointer i and the total number of bits of the secret data code match, all the bits of the secret data code are subjected to the aggregation/restoration processing in steps S507 to 517 described above. Since this means that the processing has been completed (S519; Yes), this processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the pointer i and the total number of bits of the private data code do not match, the private data code has some bits that have not been restored (S519; No). The pointer i is counted up in step S511, and the pseudo random number generation process in step S513 is performed again.

Here, returning to FIG. 29, after the predetermined extraction processing is completed in step S600, the data code for the number of characters (j) is acquired in step S325, and the j-th decryption key check data (key Get specific information).

Then, based on the decryption key check data obtained in step S329', the decryption key received from the host computer HST in step S209 is matched as a key for decrypting the encrypted data of the j-th private data code. Whether or not there is is determined in step S331. When it is determined that the decryption key is suitable (S331; Yes), the encrypted data is decrypted in the subsequent step S333.

On the other hand, if it cannot be determined in step S331 that the decryption key is suitable (S331; No), the decryption process is terminated without decrypting the n-th private data code. When the process of decoding the private data code is performed in step S335, step S300″ shown in FIG. 28 is ended, and it is determined whether or not the decoding process has been completed for all the two-dimensional codes (S350). As a result, when the decoding process is completed for all the two-dimensional codes, step S300 is ended and the decoding process is ended, while when the decoding process is not completed for all the two-dimensional codes, The process proceeds to step S201, and the subsequent processing operations are repeatedly executed, and the decoding process ends.

In the main extraction process, instead of the aggregation/restoration process in steps S507 to S617, for example, bits may be rearranged based on a bit position reverse conversion table that can convert bit positions in the reverse direction. Specifically, for example, in the bit position reverse conversion table described in the fifth embodiment, the first bit is the third bit, the second bit is the fourth bit, the third bit is the eighth bit, and the fourth bit is the fourth bit. Bit 1 is the 1st bit, 5th bit is the 12th bit, 6th bit is the 10th bit, 7th bit is the 15th bit, 8th bit is the 7th bit, 9th bit is the 13th bit 10th bit to 9th bit, 11th bit to 6th bit, 12th bit to 11th bit, 13th bit to 2nd bit, 14th bit to 16th bit, 15th bit A bit position inverse conversion table for converting the position is provided for the 5th bit and the 16th bit for the 14th bit, and the bit position is converted according to the inverse conversion rule. Thereby, for example, the 16-bit data “0101101101100001” (5A61h) is converted into the original “1001011011010110” (96D6h).

Further, instead of passing through such a bit position reverse conversion table, a data value reverse conversion table capable of converting the data value specified by the bits forming the private data code in the reverse direction may be used. For example, in the example of the data value conversion table described in the fifth embodiment, since the hexadecimal notation data “96D6h” is converted to “5A61h”, this is reversed, and “5A61h” is changed to “96D6h”. By performing conversion based on a predetermined data value reverse conversion table that can be reverse-converted to, the restoration process can be performed.

Further, instead of passing through such a bit position reverse conversion table, a data value reverse conversion formula capable of converting the data value specified by the bits forming the private data code in the reverse direction may be used. For example, in the example of the predetermined data value conversion formula described in the fifth embodiment, since the input data X is doubled and 1 is subtracted to output Y (=X×2-1), On the contrary, the restoration process can be performed by dividing the result of adding 1 to the input data X′ by 2 and outputting Y′ (=(X′+1)/2).

Further, in the case of passing through the circular shift register described in the fifth embodiment, the restoration process can be performed by using the circular shift register that shifts in the direction opposite to the predetermined processing process for the restoration process. For example, in the above 16-bit data example, "1001011011010110" (96D6h) is converted to "0110100101101101" (696Dh) by shifting the LSB side by 4 bits in the predetermined processing, so this is restored in the restoration processing. , By shifting the MSB side in the opposite direction by 4 bits, it can be returned to the original state such as “1001011011010110” (96D6h).

The pseudo random number seed value set in step S509 is, as in the fifth embodiment, unique information associated with the QR code Q, such as the error correction level (L, M, Q, H) or the model number. An exclusive OR (EXOR) operation may be performed on the encrypted data using (1-40) to obtain the result S. The details and specifications of the error correction level and model number follow, for example, the two-dimensional code symbol of the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS)-QR code-basic specification (JIS X 0510:2004).

Note that in steps S303 to S313, a process of acquiring and decoding a normal data code (disclosed data code) that is arranged in front of the end position and originally decoded is performed.

In step S321, a process of determining whether or not the nth data code acquired in step S319 is a secret identification code is performed.

Further, in steps S319 and S323 to S335, a process of acquiring and decoding a data code (private data code) that is arranged behind the end position and is not originally decoded is performed.

As described above, according to the reader 20 according to the sixth embodiment, the code area (the empty area of the code area) after the end identification code where the data code is not originally arranged is subjected to the predetermined processing. Even if the private data code is arranged, this private data code can be decoded. Therefore, it is possible to decode the data code existing in the empty portion of the code area where the code word is to be arranged.

In the decoding process described above, the j-th decryption key check data is acquired in step S329′, but, for example, as described in the fifth embodiment, after the step S113, the disclosure data and the private data are not disclosed. By interposing a process of rearranging the data (corresponding to S115 shown in FIG. 15), the order of the data is changed based on the "positional information indicating the positional relationship in the data record of the private data" received in step S111. When the process of dividing into the collection of the disclosed data and the collection of the non-public data is performed, the “start digit” is separated from the non-public data code and the separated “start digit” is replaced with step S329′. Alternatively, the non-public data obtained by decoding the non-public data code may be arranged in the positional relationship in the data record before being encoded.

As a result, even if the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word is mixed before and after, the decoded data is arranged in the positional relationship before being coded based on this positional information. It becomes possible. In this case, the control circuit 40 or the like that executes the process of “separating the “start digit” from the secret data code” corresponds to the “positional information separating means”. In addition, a control circuit that executes a process of "disposing the private data obtained by decoding (decoding) the private data code based on the separated "start digit" in the positional relationship in the data record before being encoded"" 40 and the like correspond to "data arranging means".

[Seventh Embodiment]
Next, the decoding process of the QR code Q by the reader 20 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. The QR code Q described here means a QR code including each private data code described so far in the first to fifth embodiments.

In addition, in the seventh embodiment, although the flowchart of the decoding process is not shown, each decoding process of steps S300, S300′, S300″ shown in FIGS. 19, 23 and 28 is replaced with the decoding process shown in FIG. This makes it possible to apply these decoding processes to the seventh embodiment. Further, in the flowchart of the decoding process shown in Fig. 31, the processing steps constituting the decoding process (Fig. 24) already described. Processing steps that are substantially the same as the above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

As shown in FIG. 31, the decoding process determines in S305′ that it is not the end position (the end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code, which can be identified by the end identification code or the end position data) (S305′). No), and after obtaining the data code for the number of characters i in steps S307 and S309, it is determined in step S310 whether or not the disclosed data code is to be decoded.

That is, in this step S310, the state of the "read flag S" described later with reference to FIG. 32 ((1) Decode only disclosed data code S=1, (2) Decode only private data code Flag S=2, (3) whether or not information for decoding the disclosed data code is set in the read flag S based on the flag S=0 which codes both the disclosed data code and the non-disclosed data code. To judge. The read flag S is set, for example, in a predetermined area or register of the memory 35 forming the reader 20, and is set by a read flag setting process (see FIG. 32) described later.

Then, (1) if the flag S=1 that decodes only the disclosed data code or (3) if the flag S=0 that codes both the disclosed data code and the private data code is set in the read flag) (S310; Yes), the disclosed data code is decoded in the subsequent step S311, and (2) if the flag S=2 for decoding only the private data code is set in the read flag (S310; No), the process of decoding the disclosed data code is skipped in the subsequent step S311, and the process of acquiring the next data code is performed in steps S313 and S303.

On the other hand, when the end position (the end position of the code string formed by the disclosed data code, which can be identified by the end identification code or the end position data) is found in steps S301 to S313 (S305'; Yes), it is closed in step S314. Determine whether to decode the data code.

That is, in the step S314, contrary to the above-described step S310, it is determined based on the read flag S whether or not the private data code is to be decoded. That is, when the read flag is set to (2) the flag S=2 that decodes only the private data code or (3) the flag S=0 that codes both the disclosed data code and the private data code. (S314; Yes), the process of decoding the private data code is performed in subsequent steps S315 to S335. (1) When the flag S=1 for decoding only the disclosed data code is set in the read flag ( S314; No), this decoding process ends.

Here, the reading flag setting process will be described with reference to FIG. In the reading flag setting process, for example, various setting states of the hardware configuring the reader 20 (for example, beep sound on/off, backlight on/off of the liquid crystal display 46, etc.) are changed, canceled, or initialized. It is included in the maintenance program activated in this case, and is not included in the normal decoding process (FIGS. 19, 23 and 28). Here, the flowchart of the maintenance process by the maintenance program and its description are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 32, in the read flag setting process, first, a predetermined initialization process such as setting the read flag S to 0 (S=0) is performed in step S901, and then the timer value is cleared in step S903. Processing is performed. This timer is counted to determine whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed in the next step S905.

Then, if it is determined in step S905 that the predetermined time has not elapsed (S905; No), a process of determining whether or not a command is received is performed in subsequent step S907. This command is, for example, received from the host computer HST or input from the operation switch 42 constituting the reader 20 in the maintenance program described above.

If it is not determined in step S907 that the command has been received (it is determined that it has not been received) (S907; No), it is determined again in step S905 whether the predetermined time has elapsed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the command has been received (S907; Yes), a process of determining the content of the received command is performed in the subsequent step S909.

That is, in step S909, when the command is (1) decoding only the disclosed data code, the reading flag S is set to "1" (S=1) in step S911, and the command is (2 ) If only the private data code is to be decoded, the reading flag S is set to "2" in step S913 (S=2). On the other hand, if the command is not one of these commands, the read flag S is left at "0" and the read flag setting process ends. In other words, in this case, the default flag "0" set in step S901 is taken over as it is, and (3) the read flag S for data-coding both the disclosed data code and the private data code is maintained. ..

When the reading flag is set in steps S911 and S913, the reading flag setting process ends.

As described above, according to the reader 20 of the seventh embodiment, the user of the reader 20 selects at least one of decoding the disclosed data code and the private data code. Therefore, for example, if you want to read the private data code but do not want to read the disclosed data code, or conversely, if you want to read the disclosed data code but do not want to read the private data code, use unnecessary decoding processing. The decoding time can be reduced. Therefore, the decoding time can be shortened.

Note that, in the above-described embodiments, for example, as described in the first embodiment (FIG. 15) and the third embodiment (FIG. 21), the RS code that is the error correction code word is added in step S119 of the code generation process. Although some have been generated, it is not always necessary to generate the RS code that is the error correction code word in this step S119. For example, the process corresponding to step S119 (RS code generation process) is The flow of the code generation process may be configured to be executed together with the process of adding the RS code (step S137) or before the process.

The example of applying the related two-dimensional code to the first to seventh embodiments has been described above by taking the QR code as an example.

In such a case, a QR code as a two-dimensional code is generated in the same manner as the QR code generation method described in the first to seventh embodiments, but as a result of executing this QR code a plurality of times, A plurality of related two-dimensional codes will be generated. At this time, when the private data code is arranged as shown in FIG. 33D, the related code information described above is included in the private data code.

Since the related code information is included in the private data code (that is, the related code information is hidden), when the standard decoder reads the related QR code, the standard decoder determines that the relevant QR code is the related QR code. Can not be understood (in other words, it is recognized as a normal QR code). Then, it is possible to recognize that the QR code is a related QR code for the first time by reading it with the extension decoder 70 capable of handling the private data code.

When the related two-dimensional code is applied to the QR code described in the first to seventh embodiments, the same applies when evaluating the two-dimensional code. The method of extracting the private data code from the related two-dimensional code is as described above. At this time, the related code information is extracted from the private data code. The method of extracting the related code information is also as described above. Such related code information extraction processing is executed for each of the read plurality of related two-dimensional codes.

Since it is sufficient to generate the related two-dimensional code a plurality of times, it is possible to generate three related two-dimensional codes by performing it three times or more. As a result, it becomes possible to apply to an application that confirms that three or more related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other.

Next, it is evaluated that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes. Since this evaluation method is also as described above, the description below is omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 33(E), the related code information may be arranged between the terminator and the secret identifier, or may be arranged in the secret identifier. Further, as shown in FIG. 33(F), the related code information may be arranged between the secret identifier and the data length information, or may be arranged in the data length information. That is, the related code information may be included in the secret identification code or before or after it, or in the data length information or before or after it, instead of being included in the secret data code.

At this time, the secret identifier is indispensable, but the data length information may be omitted. When the data length information is omitted, the data length information itself is not provided as shown in FIG.

Even in such a case, it is needless to say that the desired effect of the present invention described above can be obtained by executing the processing operation described above in the same manner.

1 Personal computer 10 QR code printer 11 MPU
12, 35 Memory 20 QR code reader (two-dimensional code reader)
40 control circuit

Claims (10)

A two-dimensional code generation method for generating a plurality of related two-dimensional codes associated with each other, comprising:
When the total number of disclosure data codes encoded as code words representing the disclosed data is less than the capacity that can be accommodated in the code area in which the code word is to be arranged, the disclosure data code arranged in the code area makes An end identification code indicating the end of the code string is placed at the end of this code string, and a padding code that does not represent data is placed in the empty part of the code area, and is encoded as a code word that represents secret data. By replacing the secret data code with a part or all of the padding code and performing a step of generating a two-dimensional code that is arranged after the terminal identification code, a plurality of related two-dimensional codes are generated by executing the step of generating the two-dimensional code a plurality of times. Generate,
When arranging the non-public data code in each of the generation steps, the non-public data code includes related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other. A method for generating a two-dimensional code characterized by the following. Between the terminal identification code and the private data code, a confidential identification code indicating that the subsequent data code is the private data code is arranged,
When the private data code is arranged in each of the generating steps, the related code information is included in the confidential identification code, or before or after the private identification code, instead of being included in the private data code. Item 2. A method for generating a two-dimensional code according to item 1. Between the terminal identification code and the private data code, data length information obtained by coding the data length of the private data code is further arranged,
When arranging the non-public data code in each of the generating steps, instead of including the related code information in the non-public data code, in the secret identification code or before or after the secret identification code, or in the data length information or the The method for generating a two-dimensional code according to claim 2, wherein the method is included before or after. When the disclosed data and the private data are mixed before and after in the positional relationship in the data record before being coded as a code word, the confidential data code includes a position in the data record. The method for generating a two-dimensional code according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein position information indicating a relationship is added. The two-dimensional code generation method according to claim 1, wherein
The related code information is
Identification information indicating whether the two-dimensional code is a related two-dimensional code,
Chain number information indicating the number of chains of a plurality of related two-dimensional codes associated with each other,
A related two-dimensional code comprising the related code information, and a sequence number information indicating what number of the related two-dimensional code of the number of chains the related two-dimensional code,
Related two-dimensional code comprising the related code information, index information indicating whether or not the related two-dimensional code is associated with another related two-dimensional code having a different order number from the related two-dimensional code,
A method for generating a two-dimensional code, which comprises: A two-dimensional code evaluation method that reads a plurality of related two-dimensional codes generated by the two-dimensional code generation method according to claim 1, and evaluates that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other. ,
A related code information extraction process of extracting the private data code from the related two-dimensional code and extracting the related code information from the private data code is executed for each of the read plurality of related two-dimensional codes. With the removal process,
An evaluation step of evaluating that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are related to each other based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes. Dimension code evaluation method. A two-dimensional code evaluation method that reads a plurality of related two-dimensional codes generated by the two-dimensional code generation method according to claim 5 and evaluates that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other. ,
Related code information extraction processing for extracting the confidential identification code or data length information including the related code information from the related two-dimensional code and extracting the related code information, each of the plurality of read related two-dimensional codes A take-out step to be performed for
An evaluation step of evaluating that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are related to each other based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes. Dimension code evaluation method. The two-dimensional code evaluation method according to claim 6,
The related code information is
Identification information indicating whether the two-dimensional code is a related two-dimensional code,
Chain number information indicating the number of chains of a plurality of related two-dimensional codes associated with each other,
A related two-dimensional code comprising the related code information, and a sequence number information indicating what number of the related two-dimensional code of the number of chains the related two-dimensional code,
The related two-dimensional code provided with the related code information has index information indicating whether or not the related two-dimensional code is associated with another related two-dimensional code having a different order number from the related two-dimensional code,
In the evaluation step,
Based on the identification information, each of the two-dimensional code is confirmed to be a related two-dimensional code, based on the chain number information and the sequence number information acquired from each of the plurality of related two-dimensional code , It is confirmed that the different ordering numbers corresponding to the number of chains are aligned, and it is confirmed that the related two-dimensional codes corresponding to the number of chains having different ordering numbers are associated based on the index information. When
A method for evaluating a two-dimensional code, characterized in that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are evaluated as being associated with each other. A two-dimensional code generation system for generating a plurality of related two-dimensional codes associated with each other,
When the total number of disclosure data codes encoded as code words representing the disclosed data is less than the capacity that can be accommodated in the code area in which the code word is to be arranged, the disclosure data code arranged in the code area makes An end identification code indicating the end of the code string is placed at the end of this code string, and a padding code that does not represent data is placed in the empty part of the code area, and is encoded as a code word that represents secret data. By replacing the secret data code with a part or all of the padding code and performing a step of generating a two-dimensional code that is arranged after the terminal identification code, a plurality of related two-dimensional codes are generated by executing the step of generating the two-dimensional code a plurality of times. Generate,
When arranging the non-public data code in each of the generation steps, the non-public data code includes related code information for making it possible to specify that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other. A two-dimensional code generation system characterized by A two-dimensional code evaluation system that reads a plurality of related two-dimensional codes generated by the two-dimensional code generation method according to claim 9 and evaluates that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are associated with each other. ,
A related code information extraction process of extracting the private data code from the related two-dimensional code and extracting the related code information from the private data code is executed for each of the read plurality of related two-dimensional codes. Take-out means,
Based on the related code information acquired from each of the plurality of related two-dimensional codes, an evaluation unit that evaluates that the plurality of related two-dimensional codes are related to each other. Dimension code evaluation system.

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