JP3384354B2 - Image processing apparatus, printer, printing system, printing method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for preventing counterfeiting of valuables such as banknotes and illegal copying of copyrighted works such as books, photographs and paintings.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the improvement of color image reading / image processing technology, printed matter obtained by copying from an original by a copying machine or an image output device is difficult to distinguish between the original and the duplicate at first glance. The image quality is getting higher. Such a high-quality image forming apparatus is used, for example, for forgery of banknotes, securities, gift certificates and other securities, notarized documents, official documents, private documents, and for copying copyrighted works such as books, photographs, and pictures. If used, it is difficult to avoid the situation where they are generally distributed in large numbers without being discerned from the real one, which causes great confusion in society.

Therefore, in order to prevent the above-mentioned abuse,
An image reading apparatus is required to be able to identify a document that is not permitted to be copied or duplicated when reading the document, and by using the identification result,
Copying can be prohibited, or special image information can be processed or special image information can be added and output during copying so that the copy or duplicate can be distinguished from the original. Further, in the image forming apparatus, it is required to add information that allows the apparatus to track the reproduced image without degrading the image quality.

Already, for example, the tracking pattern is changed according to the area area of the input image so that the output result of securities such as banknotes and stamps can be more reliably traced, and other images can be traced. A device has been proposed that prevents image quality deterioration by providing a pattern that is less noticeable (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-111581). In addition, there have been proposed some image processing apparatuses that record specific information by adding a specific pattern as a tracking pattern to an apparatus that reproduced the image so that the apparatus can be tracked (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10 (1999) -242242). 4-294682, JP-A-5-14682).

Recently, there has been an increasing number of occasions in which copyrighted works such as paintings and photographs are distributed as electronic data. However, electronic data can be easily copied, and a large amount can be copied by a printer or the like. Is. Therefore, in order to clarify the whereabouts of the copyright and prevent illegal duplication, information such as the name of the copyright holder is embedded as a hidden pattern when the electronic data regarding the copyrighted work such as a painting is output by the printer. Technology is also being considered.

[0006]

The hidden pattern described above is embedded in the original print image with a color and brightness that cannot be discriminated by human eyes. However, the embedding of the hidden pattern causes the hue of the original print image to be somewhat different. The image quality may change and the image quality may deteriorate.

Therefore, it is desirable that the size of the hidden pattern is as small as possible. However, the size of metal objects such as banknotes into which the hidden pattern is embedded is not uniform and varies from small ones such as stamps to large ones such as stock certificates. It is not reasonable to make them the same size.

Further, since there is a possibility that a plurality of counterfeit banknotes or the like may be printed on one sheet of printing paper, when a plurality of printing images are printed on the printing paper, a hidden pattern must be embedded in each printing image. I have to. Therefore, if the size of the hidden pattern is reduced, the hidden pattern is not embedded in a part of the printed image, and it becomes impossible to prevent forgery of banknotes or illegal duplication of a copyrighted work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reliably prevent forgery of banknotes and illegal duplication of copyrighted works while reducing the size of hidden patterns as much as possible. An object is to provide an image processing device, a printer, a printing system, a printing method, and a recording medium.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is provided.
Is an image processing apparatus for generating print data based on application data output from an application program, wherein at least a part of a hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in a reference area set in the print image. A hidden pattern size setting unit that sets the size of the hidden pattern based on the size of the print image and the size of the reference area, and the hidden pattern of the size set by the hidden pattern size setting unit. And a hidden pattern generation unit for generating and embedding it in the print image.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a reference area (for example, an area having the same size as a metal object such as a stamp or a bill) is set in the print image, and the hidden pattern is hidden so that the hidden pattern is always embedded in the reference area. Since the size of the pattern is set, it is possible to reliably prevent counterfeiting of bills or the like and illegal duplication of copyrighted works.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the size of the print image is smaller than the size of the reference area, it cannot be considered to be forgery or the like. Therefore, the embedding of the hidden pattern is stopped and the size of the print image becomes the reference. If the area size is equal to or larger than the first reference length and is smaller than the first reference length, the size of the hidden pattern is set to the same size as the print image so that the size width of the print image is the first reference length. In the above cases, the size of the hidden pattern is made larger than the size of the print image, but the size is made as small as possible.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the hidden pattern embedding position is set so that the hidden pattern is embedded near the center of the print image.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since it is determined whether or not the hidden pattern is to be embedded with the print head width as a unit, the hidden pattern is less likely to be embedded in the area where the print image does not exist.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the size of the hidden pattern is set with reference to the length of the shortest side of the reference region, so that the hidden pattern can be embedded in the reference region without fail.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in a printer that prints by generating a print image based on print data supplied from a print information generating device, a print image is printed in a reference area set in the print image. In a hidden pattern size setting unit that sets the size of the hidden pattern based on the size of the print image and the size of the reference region, and the hidden pattern size setting unit so that at least a part of the hidden pattern to be embedded is included. A hidden pattern generation unit that generates the hidden pattern of a set size and embeds it in a print image.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, a printer for generating and printing a print image corresponding to the application data output from the application program, and a print information generation for converting the application data into print data corresponding to the printer. And a size of the reference area such that at least a part of a hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in the reference area set in the print image. A hidden pattern size setting unit that sets the size of the hidden pattern based on the above, and a hidden pattern generation unit that generates the hidden pattern of the size set by the hidden pattern size setting unit and embeds it in a print image.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for converting application data into print data corresponding to a printer by a print information generating device, generating a print image by the printer based on the print data, and performing printing. The size of the hidden pattern is set based on the size of the print image and the size of the reference region so that at least a part of the hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in the reference region set in the print image. And a step of generating the hidden pattern of the set size and embedding the hidden pattern in a print image.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for converting application data into print data corresponding to a printer and supplying the print data to the printer, a standard set in a print image. Setting the size of the hidden pattern based on the size of the print image and the size of the reference region so that at least a part of the hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in the region; Generating the hidden pattern of size and embedding it in a printed image.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An image processing apparatus, a printer, a printing system, a printing method, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention. Figure 1
The printing system is composed of a host computer 1 and a printer 2. The host computer 1 is a CPU,
It is composed of hardware such as a memory, a display device, a keyboard and a mouse, and software for controlling these hardware. The software is further divided into an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 3, an application program 4 that operates under the control of the OS 3, and a driver (print information generation device) 5.

The OS 3 further includes a GDI (Graphics Device I) that analyzes application data output from the application program 4 such as a word processor.
interface module 6 and an interface unit that sends print data according to the analysis result of the GDI module 6 to the printer 2 under the control of the driver 5 and receives status information sent from the printer 2 and supplies it to the driver 5. 7 and.

Inside the driver 5, a print data generator 8 for generating print data to be supplied to the printer 2, a hidden pattern generator 9 for generating a hidden pattern to be embedded in the print data, and an analysis result of the GDI module 6. An embedded discriminating unit 10 for discriminating whether or not the hidden pattern is generated by the hidden pattern generating unit 9 based on the above.

The printer 2 has an interface section 11 for transmitting and receiving print data and status information to and from the driver 5, an interpreting section 12 for analyzing the content of the print data sent from the driver 5, and an analyzing section 12. An image generation unit 13 that generates a print image based on the result, a printer engine 14 that controls the drive of a print head (not shown) based on the generated print image, and a panel unit that displays the operating state of the printer 2 and the like. 15, a status management unit 16 that controls the state of the printer 2, a memory management unit 17 that controls a memory (not shown) that temporarily stores a print image,
The printer 2 includes a control unit (pattern generation switching unit) 18 that controls each unit in the printer 2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hidden pattern generated by the hidden pattern generation unit 7. The hidden patterns include a change pattern obtained by changing a part of the original print image (FIG. 2A) and an additional pattern added to the print image (FIG. 2B).

The shaded area in FIG. 2A represents a modification pattern obtained by modifying the original print image, and the dotted area in FIG. 2B represents an additional pattern.

The change pattern and the additional pattern are generated in colors and brightness that are difficult for the human eye to identify. For example, the change pattern is generated by slightly changing the color and brightness of the surrounding image. Further, in the case of the additional pattern, it is generated in a color that is difficult for the human eye to identify, such as yellow.

For the purpose of preventing forgery of banknotes, information for identifying the type of the printer 2, for example, the printer 2 is used.
Name, model number, manufacturer name, serial number, product ID, etc. are embedded in the print image as a hidden pattern.

When the purpose is to prevent the copying of copyrighted works such as paintings and photographs, the information that shows where the copyright is,
For example, the name of the copyright holder is embedded in the print image as a hidden pattern.

In principle, the change pattern is generated depending on the data of the given application program, so that the generation process takes a longer time than the generation of the additional pattern. Therefore, a printer that cannot mount a high-speed CPU on the printer side (for example, a standard inkjet
In the case of a printer), it is preferable to generate a hidden pattern with a printer driver that can use a relatively high-speed CPU on the host side. This is because software can generate hidden patterns more easily.

On the other hand, the additional pattern does not depend on the given application program in principle, and a predetermined pattern is uniformly ORed (added) to any data.
To do. Such a process is easier to implement when the printer outputs the print image data to the engine than the driver on the host side, and high-speed processing is possible. This is common to serial printers having only one image buffer or page printers having a memory equivalent to one page.

In other words, since the change pattern partially changes the print data, the data amount is the same as the original data, while the addition pattern adds new data to the original data. The amount of data will increase.
Therefore, if you generate an additional pattern on the driver side,
This results in more print data being sent from the host to the printer, which is undesirable because it takes longer to transfer the data.

The driver 5 of this embodiment has a function of automatically setting the size of the hidden pattern in accordance with the size of the print image instructed to print by the application program 4.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the driver 5 of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. In FIG. 4, XI is the size of the print image in the main scanning direction of the print head, YI is the size of the print image in the sub-scanning direction, XP is the size of the hidden pattern in the main scanning direction set by the processing of FIG. The size of the hidden pattern in the scanning direction, XR represents the reference size in the main scanning direction, and YR represents the reference size in the sub-scanning direction.

Here, the reference size is a virtual size in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction of a metal object such as a bill to be forged or a literary work such as a photograph. For example, the vertical and horizontal sizes of stamps and the size of banknotes are preset as reference sizes. Alternatively, a plurality of reference size candidates may be prepared so that one of them can be selected as needed.

The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure for setting the size of the hidden pattern. Steps S1 to S8 in FIG. 3 are processes for setting the size of the hidden pattern in the main scanning direction, and steps S9 to S14 are processes for setting the size in the sub scanning direction.

First, the print data output from the application program 4 is acquired (step S1).
Next, the size XI of the print image is detected based on the acquired print data (step S2).

Next, it is determined whether or not the size XI of the print image is smaller than the reference size XR, and if it is determined to be smaller, the generation of the hidden pattern is stopped (step S3).
That is, if the print image is smaller than the reference size, it is not considered to be forgery purpose, and the generation of the hidden pattern is stopped (step S4).

On the other hand, if the size XI of the print image is determined to be the reference size XR or more, then the size XI of the print image is the reference size XR or more and 2XR (first reference length).
It is determined whether it is less than (step S5).

Although it is determined in step S5 whether or not it is less than 2XR, other values may be used. When the size is larger than 2XR, the size of the hidden pattern becomes larger, so that forgery of banknotes and illegal duplication of copyrighted works can be more surely prevented, but the range in which the image quality of the printed image deteriorates is widened accordingly.

If the determination in step S4 is affirmative, the size XP of the hidden pattern is set to be the same as the size XI of the print image (step S6).

On the other hand, when the size XI of the print image is determined to be 2XR or more in step S4, the size XP of the hidden pattern is determined based on the equation (1) (step S4).
7).

XP = XI− (XR / 4 + XR / 4) (1) It should be noted that the value in parentheses on the right side of the equation (1) (second reference length)
Are not limited to those described above. For example, if the value in parentheses is made smaller, the size of the hidden pattern becomes larger, so it is possible to more reliably prevent illegal duplication such as forgery of banknotes and land crops, but the image quality of the printed image deteriorates accordingly. The range expands.

Actually, as shown in FIG. 4, the hidden pattern embedding position is set inside by XR / 4 from the left and right edges of the print image (step S8).

When the processing of step S6 or S8 is completed, the size of the hidden pattern in the sub-scanning direction is set this time. Specifically, first, it is determined whether or not the size YI of the print image is smaller than the reference size YR (step S
9) If it is determined to be small, the generation of the hidden pattern is stopped (step S10). On the other hand, when the size YI is determined to be the reference size YR or more, it is determined whether the size YI of the print image is the reference size YR or more and less than 2YR (step S11).

Next, when the determination in step S8 is affirmative, the size YP of the hidden pattern is set to be the same as the size YI of the print image (step S12).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S9 that the size YI of the print image is 2YR or more, the size YP of the hidden pattern is determined based on the equation (2) (step S9).
13).

YP = YI− (YR / 4 + YR / 4) (2) Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the hidden pattern embedding position is YR / 4 inward from the upper and lower ends of the print image. Is set (step S14). Next, a hidden pattern is embedded in the coordinate position set in step S14 (step S15).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), some colors and luminances of the original image data are changed so that they cannot be recognized by human eyes. Alternatively, the printer 2 is instructed to generate an additional pattern as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the size of the print image corresponding to the application data is compared with a predetermined reference size, and the hidden pattern is always embedded in the print image, and the size of the hidden pattern is minimized. Since the size of the hidden pattern is set so that it becomes smaller, it is possible to reliably prevent counterfeiting of banknotes and illegal duplication of copyrighted works, etc., and to minimize the range in which the image quality is degraded by embedding the hidden pattern. it can.

(Second Embodiment) A serial printer such as an ink jet printer is a printer like a page printer.
Instead of printing in page units, printing is performed in units of print head width. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the size of the hidden pattern is set in units of the print head width.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment, and shows an example in which a print image is arranged obliquely with respect to the main scanning direction of the print head. The vertical widths shown in (1) to (12) of FIG. 5 represent the print head widths determined by the dot forming elements, and the shaded area in each area represents the range in which the hidden pattern is generated. Further, the size of the reference object such as a bill or a stamp is shown by a one-dot chain line.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the vertical size and the horizontal size of the reference object are different. In such a case, the shorter size (horizontal size XR in the example of FIG. 5) is set as the reference size. .

The driver 5 of the second embodiment performs the same processing as that of FIG. 3 with the print head width as a unit. For example,
When the print head scans the areas (1) and (12) in Fig. 5,
In step S2 of FIG. 3, it is determined that the size XI of the print image is smaller than the reference size XR, and the generation of the hidden pattern is stopped.

Next, the print heads are set to (2), (3), (10),
When scanning the area (11), in step S4 of FIG.
XR ≤ XI <2XR, hidden pattern size XP
Is set to a length substantially the same as the size XI of the print image.

Next, when the print head scans the areas (4) to (9) in FIG. 5, it is determined that 2XR≤XI, and the size XP of the hidden pattern is set based on the above equation (1). To be done. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the hidden pattern is not generated within the range of XR / 4 inward from the left and right ends of the moving range of the print head.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the size of the hidden pattern is set with the print head width as a unit, a hidden pattern matching the shape of the printed image can be generated, and the hidden pattern is hidden in the area where the printed image does not exist. No pattern is generated. That is, since the size of the hidden pattern can be made as small as possible according to the shape of the printed image, it is possible to minimize the range in which the image quality deteriorates due to the embedding of the hidden pattern.

Further, since the range in which the hidden pattern is embedded in the print image is narrowed, the number of times of the OR processing between the print image and the hidden pattern can be reduced, the time required for the hidden pattern embedding process can be shortened, and the printing can be performed. Speed up. Also, because the size of the hidden pattern is set with the print head width as the unit, when the print image is placed at an angle to the moving direction of the print head, or when the print image has a complicated shape. However, a hidden pattern having a shape corresponding to the shape of the printed image can be generated.

In the first and second embodiments described above,
Although the example in which the size setting and the generation of the hidden pattern are performed on the driver 5 side has been described, the size setting and the generation of the hidden pattern may be performed on the printer 2 side. In this case, as the hidden pattern, either the change pattern as shown in FIG. 2A or the additional pattern as shown in FIG. 2B may be generated, but the printer 2 uses a high-performance CPU or the like. Since it is often not provided, it is preferable to generate an additional pattern rather than a change pattern that requires a large amount of processing. That is, when the change pattern is generated, it is preferable to generate it on the driver 5 side.

In the first and second embodiments described above,
Although the example in which the driver 5 is incorporated in the operating system 3 has been described, the driver 5 may be configured as software separate from the operating system 3, or the driver 5 may be configured by hardware.

The driver 5 having the functions described in the first and second embodiments described above may be housed in a recording medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM and read by a computer for execution. The recording medium is not limited to a portable one such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk, but may be a fixed recording medium such as a hard disk device or a memory. Alternatively, the driver 5 may be distributed via a communication line (including wireless communication) such as the Internet.
Further, the program of the driver 5 may be distributed in a state of being encrypted, modulated, or compressed, via a wired line or wireless line such as the Internet, or stored in a recording medium.

[0062]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the size of the hidden pattern is set so that the hidden pattern is always embedded in the reference area set in the print image. Even when a plurality of counterfeit patterns are printed, the hidden pattern can be surely embedded in each counterfeit pattern.

Further, since the size of the hidden pattern is made as small as possible, the range in which the image quality is deteriorated by embedding the hidden pattern is narrowed, and the image quality of the printed image can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a change pattern, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of an addition pattern.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the driver of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the process of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which a print image is obliquely arranged with respect to a main scanning direction of a print head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Host computer 2 printer 3 Operating system (OS) 4 application programs 5 GDI module 6 drivers 7 Hidden pattern generator 11 Interface part 12 Interpretation Department 14 Image generator 15 Printer engine 16 panel section 17 Status Management Department 18 Memory management unit 19 Control unit

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for generating print data based on application data output from an application program, wherein at least one hidden pattern embedded in a print image is included in a reference area set in the print image. The size of the printed image and the size of the reference area so that
And the hidden pattern size setting unit to set the size of the hidden pattern based, and the hidden pattern generator embedded in the printed image to generate the hidden pattern of the size set by the hidden pattern size setting unit, in that it comprises A characteristic image processing device. 2. The hidden pattern size setting unit stops the generation of the hidden pattern when the size width of the print image is less than the size width of the reference region, and the size width of the print image is equal to the reference region. When the size width of the print image is equal to or larger than the first reference length and the size of the hidden pattern is substantially equal to the size of the print image, the size width of the print image is equal to or larger than the first reference length. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size width of the hidden pattern is shorter than the size width of the print image by a second reference length. 3. The hidden pattern generation unit embeds the hidden pattern inside the upper, lower, left, and right edges of the print image when the size width of the print image is greater than or equal to the first reference length. The image processing device according to claim 2. 4. The hidden pattern generation unit generates the hidden pattern in units of print head width of the printer, and the hidden pattern size setting unit prints a print image in the main scanning direction in units of print head width. If the size is less than the size of the reference region, the generation of the hidden pattern is stopped, and the size width of the print image in the main scanning direction in units of the print head width is equal to or larger than the size width of the reference region. When the length is less than the first reference length, the size of the hidden pattern is made substantially equal to the size of the print image, and the size width of the print image in the main scanning direction in units of print head width is the first width. When the length is equal to or larger than the reference length, the size width of the hidden pattern is smaller than the size width of the print image by the second.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is shortened by the reference length of. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the shortest side of the reference area is the size width of the reference area. 6. A printer for generating and printing a print image based on print data supplied from a print information generating device, wherein a hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in a reference area set in the print image. The size of the printed image and the size of the reference area should be at least partially included.
And the hidden pattern size setting unit to set the size of the hidden pattern based, and the hidden pattern generator embedded in the printed image to generate the hidden pattern of the size set by the hidden pattern size setting unit, in that it comprises Characteristic printer. 7. A printer for generating and printing a print image corresponding to application data output from an application program, and a print information generating device for converting the application data into print data corresponding to the printer. In the printing system, the size of the print image and the size of the reference area are set so that at least a part of the hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in the reference area set in the print image.
And the hidden pattern size setting unit to set the size of the hidden pattern based, and the hidden pattern generator embedded in the printed image to generate the hidden pattern of the size set by the hidden pattern size setting unit, in that it comprises Characteristic printing system. 8. A printing method in which application data is converted into print data corresponding to a printer by a print information generation device, and a print image is generated and printed by the printer based on the print data, which is set in the print image. The size of the print image and the size of the reference region are set so that at least a part of the hidden pattern embedded in the print image is included in the reference region.
A printing method comprising: setting a size of the hidden pattern based on the above; and generating the hidden pattern of the set size and embedding the hidden pattern in a print image. 9. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for converting application data into print data corresponding to a printer and supplying the print data to the printer is recorded in a reference area set in a print image. The size of the print image and the size of the reference area are set so that at least a part of the hidden pattern embedded in the image is included.
A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, comprising: setting the size of the hidden pattern based on the above; and generating the hidden pattern of the set size and embedding it in a print image.