JP4784635B2 - Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a program.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a video printer in which when a comment is printed on an image, the image size is changed according to the size of the comment to be printed and the image is output.

Japanese Patent No. 3256635

  It is an object of the present invention to add additional information to an output image as compared with the case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. An object is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a program capable of improving visibility.

[Image processing device]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting unit that sets a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus.
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Area designating means for designating an area for the image in the image data based on the layout template set by the setting means ;
Generation means for generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area designated by the area designation means, as additional information to be added to the output image data;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Additional information to be added to the output image data for the designated area designated by the area designation means in the image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means. An image processing apparatus includes a combining unit that sequentially combines line by line .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting unit that sets a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus.
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Generation means for generating image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area specified based on a layout template set by the setting means, as additional information to be added to image data to be output;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Image data in which image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means, and additional information to be added to the output image data is provided in the area corresponding to the designated area An image processing apparatus includes a combining unit that sequentially combines data with each line .

  The present invention according to claim 3 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixed value data is data indicating that image output processing is not performed.

  The present invention according to claim 4 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixed value data is white data.

  The present invention according to claim 5 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixed value data is data having a background of a set pattern.

  The present invention according to claim 6 is the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the additional information is tracking information for tracking a distribution route of the output image.

[Image forming equipment]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided setting means for setting a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Area designating means for designating an area for the image in the image data based on the layout template set by the setting means ;
Generation means for generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area designated by the area designation means, as additional information to be added to the output image data;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Additional information to be added to the output image data for the designated area designated by the area designation means in the image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means. Synthesis means for sequentially synthesizing every line ;
And an image output unit that outputs an image based on the image data that has been combined by the combining unit.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting unit that sets a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus.
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Generation means for generating image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area specified based on a layout template set by the setting means, as additional information to be added to image data to be output;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Image data in which image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means, and additional information to be added to the output image data is provided in the area corresponding to the designated area Combining means for sequentially combining data with each line ;
And an image output unit that outputs an image based on the image data that has been combined by the combining unit.

[program]
The present invention according to claim 9 is a step of setting a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Designating a region for an image in image data to be output based on the set layout template ;
Selecting the decompressed image data line by line by transferring the image data stored in a compressed state to the decompression unit line by line ;
Generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area, the additional information to be added to the output image data;
Recognizing the designated area based on the position of the additional information included in the generated image data, sequentially determining whether or not the selected image data for one line overlaps the designated area;
A step of replacing the image data included in the designated area with preset fixed value data when it is determined that the designated area overlaps;
For each line , additional information for adding to the output image data is added to the specified area specified by the area specifying means in the image data after the image data included in the specified area is replaced with fixed value data. This is a program for causing a computer to execute the sequential synthesis step.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of setting a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data stored in a compressed state to the decompression unit for each line ;
Generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area designated based on the set layout template, with additional information to be added to the image data to be output;
The designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the generated image data, and it is sequentially determined whether or not the selected image data for one line overlaps the designated area to which the additional information is to be added. And steps to
A step of replacing the image data included in the designated area with preset fixed value data when it is determined that the designated area overlaps;
The image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with the fixed value data, and the image data provided in the area corresponding to the designated area as additional information to be added to the output image data are 1 This is a program for causing a computer to execute the step of sequentially combining lines .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the additional information is added to the output image, it is compared with the case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the additional information is added to the output image, it is compared with the case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of preventing an image from being output within a designated area to which additional information is added.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of making a white image in a designated area to which additional information is added.

  According to the present invention of claim 5, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of grasping that the original image has been changed.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of adding tracking information for tracking the distribution route of the output image to the output image.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when additional information is added to an output image, it is compared with a case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when additional information is added to an output image, it is compared with a case where additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when the additional information is added to the output image, it is compared with the case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide a program capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, when the additional information is added to the output image, it is compared with the case where the additional information is directly synthesized on the output image without developing the entire image to be output on the memory. Thus, it is possible to provide a program capable of improving the visibility of the additional information.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus 10 and a terminal device 20 connected to each other via a network 30. The terminal device 20 generates print data and transmits the print data generated via the network 30 to the image forming apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 receives the print data transmitted from the terminal device 20 and outputs an image corresponding to the print data on a sheet. The image forming apparatus 10 is an apparatus called a so-called multi-function machine having a plurality of functions such as a print function, a scan function, a copy function, and a facsimile function.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming system of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a communication interface (IF) that transmits and receives data to and from an external device or the like via a CPU 11, a memory 12, a hard disk drive (HDD) 13, and a network 30. ) Unit 14, a touch panel or liquid crystal display, and a user interface (UI) device 15 including a keyboard, a scanner 16, and a print engine 17. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 18.

  The CPU 11 executes a predetermined process based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or the HDD 13 to control the operation of the image forming apparatus 10. In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 has been described as reading and executing a control program stored in the memory 12 or the HDD 13, but the program is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and provided to the CPU 11. It is also possible.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by executing the control program.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an image reading unit 31, an image processing device 32, an image output unit 33, and an operation unit 34. The image processing device 32 includes an image input unit 41, a compression / decompression unit 42, a control unit 43, an image transfer unit 44, a memory 12, an HDD 13, and a communication IF unit 14.

  The image reading unit 31 reads a document set on a document table or a document feeder and converts it into read image data. The image processing device 32 performs various image processing on the image data read by the image reading unit 31 and the image data instructed to be output from the terminal device 20, and generates data that can be output to the image output unit 33. The image output unit 33 outputs an image based on the image data transferred from the image transfer unit 44. Various instructions input from the user to the operation unit 34 and the image forming apparatus 10 are input.

  The image input unit 41 inputs the image data from the image reading unit 31 and stores it in the memory 12. The compression / decompression unit 42 performs a compression process on the image data and a decompression process on the compressed image data.

  The control unit 43 controls the image input unit 41, the compression / decompression unit 42, the image transfer unit 44, the HDD 13, the memory 12, the communication IF unit 14, and the like, thereby realizing various processes such as a copy process, a print process, and a scan process. To do. The image transfer unit 44 performs a process of transferring the image data stored in the memory 12 to the image output unit 33.

  The HDD 13 is a storage device for storing image data that needs to be stored. The image data stored in the HDD 13 is stored in a state after being subjected to compression processing by the compression / decompression unit 42 in principle. The memory 12 functions as a storage unit that stores image data to be output. The communication IF unit 14 communicates with the terminal device 20 via the network 30.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment when no additional information is added to the output image will be described.

  For example, when a user tries to copy a document, the document is set on a document table or a document feeder, and a copy instruction is issued by the operation unit 34. Then, the document image is read by the document reading unit 31, and the read image data is transferred to the memory 12 via the image input unit 41. Then, the control unit 43 transfers the image data in the memory 12 to the compression / decompression unit 42 and performs a compression process. Then, the control unit 43 instructs the compressed image data to be returned to the memory 12. Stored in the memory 12. Next, the control unit 43 controls to transfer the compressed image data from the memory 12 to the HDD 13.

  When the image transfer unit 44 receives notification from the control unit 43 that there is image data to be output, the image transfer unit 44 transfers the image data in the HDD 13 onto the memory 12. In this state, the image data on the memory 12 remains compressed. The control unit 43 sets image data information to be output to the image transfer unit 44 in accordance with the order to be output. The control unit 43 performs communication with the image output unit 33 via an interface unit (not shown). This communication is performed by serial communication. The control unit 43 notifies the image output unit 33 of information such as cycle up, information on paper to be printed, and a feed instruction, and the image output unit 33 notifies the control unit 43 of the information. In this case, notification of the print state and mechanical sensor information of the printing unit is performed.

  Then, the image transfer unit 44 transfers the image data on the memory 12 to the image output unit 33. The image transfer unit 44 and the image output unit 33 are connected by a synchronization signal line and a data transfer line, and transfer image data from the data transfer line while synchronizing image data transferred by an electric signal flowing on the synchronization signal line. The image data transferred to the image output unit 33 is changed to an output signal of a ROS (Raster Output Scanner) included in the image output unit 33, a latent image is drawn on the drum, and then a process such as development and fixing is performed on the paper. Output as an image.

  Here, the operation when a certain original is to be copied has been described. However, after the compressed image is stored in the HDD 13, when a print job is transmitted from the terminal device 20, the facsimile received original is received. The same applies to the case of outputting, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, details of the function of the image transfer unit 44 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the image transfer unit 44 includes a selection unit 51, a determination unit 52, a replacement unit 53, an image composition unit 54, and a composite image generation unit 55. Note that the operation unit 34 illustrated in FIG. 3 functions as an area designating unit that designates an area to which additional information is to be added to an image in image data to be output.

  The selection unit 51 selects the image data stored in the memory 12 for each line (specific unit amount). The determination unit 52 sequentially determines whether or not the image data for one line selected by the selection unit 51 overlaps with the designated area designated by the operation unit 34.

  When the determination unit 52 determines that the replacement unit 53 overlaps the designated region, the replacement unit 53 replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data.

  Here, as fixed value data for replacing the image data in the designated area by the replacement unit 53, data indicating that image output processing is not performed or white data, for example, “000... 00” It can be data. Further, the fixed value data may be data having a set pattern background.

  The composite image generation unit 55 generates image data in which additional information to be added to the output image data is provided in an area corresponding to the designated area. Here, the additional information includes, for example, user ID information, output date / time information, output time information, IP address, and information specifying the output device (tracking information for tracking the distribution route of the output image) ID) and certain specific information can be used. Here, the user ID information is an ID number input when an authentication action is performed from the IC card or the operation unit 34 before the user performs copying. When copying is permitted without authentication, the user ID cannot be acquired. In such a case, the user ID cannot be used as additional information. It is also possible to add the notification information other than the tracking information to the output image as additional information. Such additional information is not limited to information that can be directly identified by humans, but a one-dimensional code such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code such as a QR (Quick Response) code (registered trademark) is used as the additional information. It is also possible to do. Further, a plurality of pieces of information among various kinds of additional information may be used in any combination.

  The image synthesis unit 54 sequentially synthesizes the image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with the fixed value data by the replacement unit 53 and the image data generated by the composite image generation unit 55 for each line. To do. Note that the composite image generation unit 55 does not generate image data in which the additional information is provided in the region corresponding to the designated region, but the image synthesis unit 54 may combine the additional information with the output image. Is possible. In this case, the image composition unit 54 outputs the designated area specified by the operation unit 34 in the image data after the replacement unit 53 replaces the image data included in the specified area with the fixed value data. Additional information to be added to the image data is sequentially synthesized for each line.

  Here, the setting of which area in the output image is a designated area for adding additional information, what information is added as additional information, and what additional information is added in the case of image output, This is performed based on the operation of the operation unit 34 shown in FIG.

  For example, when the administrator inputs the administrator ID information and password from the operation unit 34, an administrator screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus 10. On the screen for the administrator, it is possible to specify for each job type that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 10 whether or not to apply a layout template, and if so, which layout template to apply. . The administrator screen shown in FIG. 5 shows that a layout template named “User ID printing” is used when copying, and a layout template named “IP address printing” is used when printing. Has been. In addition, in the case of facsimile transmission, it is indicated that no tracking information is added. Here, the layout template is a template for creating an image including additional information added when printing data instructed to be output.

  The administrator can set a desired service by touching the service name on the display panel. FIG. 6 shows an example of a layout setting screen for performing additional setting of tracking information at the time of copying.

  By selecting either “add” or “not add” displayed on the left side of the screen of FIG. 6, it is set whether or not the tracking information is added to the output image. When “Append” is specified, a list of registered layout template names is displayed on the right side. By touching the desired layout template name from the list, additional information forcibly added at the time of copy output is set. A layout template is specified.

  An example of the layout template designated in this way is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the setting content is displayed on the right side of the item on the left side of “:”.

  In FIG. 7, a user ID is specified as metadata, and it is instructed to add user ID information to the output image as additional information. And the instruction “Color: Black, Print position: Lower right side, X direction position: 5 mm, Y direction position: 5 mm” prints the user ID in black characters at a position 5 mm vertically and horizontally from the lower right of the paper. Means an instruction to do. Further, “designated area: 8 mm from the lower side” means that an area within 8 mm on the lower side of the paper is set as the designated area.

  As a method for setting the designated area, the position of the designated area may be set by setting the front end and rear end in the sub-scanning direction and the front end and rear end in the main scanning direction. Furthermore, as a method for setting the designated area, the position of the designated area may be set by setting the upper end, the lower end, the right end, and the left end with respect to the orientation of the image to be output.

  In this way, when setting the position of the designated area based on the orientation of the image to be output, the designated area is set according to the orientation of each page, whether it is based on the orientation of a specific page You may make it possible to select whether to do. When it is selected to use the orientation of a specific page as a reference, the position of the designated area of the entire document is determined based on the image direction of the designated page, and the designated area is determined according to the orientation of each page. When setting is selected, the position of the designated area is determined based on the image direction of each page.

  Here, although it has been described that the content of the additional information and the designated area are set on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 10, the content of the additional information and The designated area may be set, and the generated layout template information may be transmitted from the terminal device 20 to the control unit 43 via the communication IF unit 14. In this case, in the image forming apparatus 10, the layout template information from the terminal device 20 is taken in, and the contents are interpreted by the control unit 43 and registered.

  By performing such setting, a designated area 90 as shown in FIG. 8A is set. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, a composite image including user ID information 91 as additional information is generated by the composite image generation unit 55.

  Next, the operation when adding additional information to the output image by the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining image transfer processing performed by the selection unit 51, the determination unit 52, and the replacement unit 53 in the image transfer unit 44. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining image composition processing performed by the image composition unit 54 in the image transfer unit 44.

  Here, it is assumed that image data to be output is stored in a compressed state in the HDD 13. When the output of the image is instructed, the control unit 43 transfers one line of image data stored in the HDD 13 to the memory 12 as a bit string. Since this image data is compressed and stored in the HDD 13, it is stored in the memory 12 in a compressed state.

  In this state, when the image transfer unit 44 receives an instruction to transfer image data to the image output unit 33 from the control unit 43, the image transfer unit 44 first sets the line count L to 1 (step In step S101, it is determined whether or not the line count L is larger than the number of transfer lines (step S102). If the line count L exceeds the number of transfer lines in step S102 (yes in step S102), the process ends because the processing of the image data for one page has been completed.

  When the line count L does not exceed the number of transfer lines in step S102 (no in step S102), the selection unit 51 acquires image data for one line of output image data from the memory 12 (step S103). Here, when the image data in the memory 12 is compressed, the selection unit 51 once transfers the acquired image data for one line to the compression / decompression unit 42 and decompresses the image data for one line. To get.

  Then, the bit count b is set to 1 (step S104), and it is determined whether or not the bit count b exceeds the number of bits in one line (step S105). Here, if the bit count b exceeds the number of bits in one line, it means that the processing of the image data for one line has been completed (yes in step S105). 1 is added to L (step S106).

  If the bit count b does not exceed the number of bits in one line in step S105 (no in step S105), the determination unit 52 determines whether the bit corresponding to the bit count b is in the designated area. (Step S107).

  If it is determined in step S107 that the corresponding bit is within the designated area (yes in step S107), “0” is set as bit data to be transferred in the replacement unit 52 (step S108). If it is determined in step S107 that the corresponding bit is not within the designated area (no in step S107), the bit data of the output image data is set as it is as bit data to be transferred in the replacement unit 52 (step S109). . Then, 1 is added to the bit count b, and the process returns to step S105 (step S110).

  The image data output as the transfer bits is sequentially stored in a line buffer memory capable of storing image data for one line, and when the image data for one line is prepared, the image composition unit 54 as a bit string for each line. Forwarded to

  Next, the image composition processing performed in the image composition unit 54 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Also in the image composition unit 54, first, the line count L is set to 1 (step S201), and it is determined whether or not the line count L is larger than the number of transfer lines (step S202). If the line count L exceeds the number of transfer lines in step S202 (yes in step S202), the process ends because the processing of the image data for one page has been completed.

  If the line count L does not exceed the number of transfer lines in step S202 (no in step S202), the image composition unit 54 acquires the image data for one line transferred from the replacement unit 53 (step S203). Then, the presence / absence of an instruction to synthesize additional information is determined (step S204). If there is no instruction to synthesize (no in step S204), the acquired image data is directly used as output data (step S205). If it is determined in step S204 that there is a compositing instruction (yes in step S204), one line of composite image data generated by the composite image generation unit 55 is acquired from the memory 12 (step S206). Then, the image composition unit 54 performs composition processing of the image data for one line acquired from the replacement unit 53 and the composite image data for one line acquired from the memory 12 (step S207).

  Here, it is assumed that as the image synthesis process, a process of performing a logical sum (OR) operation on the image data for one line acquired from the replacement unit 53 and the synthesized image data for one line for each bit data is performed. To do. Actually, a logical sum operation process is performed on a line buffer memory provided in the image composition unit 54.

  Then, the image composition unit 54 outputs the image data for one line after the image composition processing is performed to the image output unit 33 (step S208), adds 1 to the line count L, and performs the process of step S202. Return (step S209).

  By performing the processing as described above, the image data after the replacement unit 53 replaces the image data in the designated area with the fixed value data, and the composite image data generated by the composite image generation unit 55, One line of image data is synthesized for each line and output to the image output unit 33 as a bit string.

  A state when additional information is added to the output image by performing such processing will be described with reference to a specific example of FIG.

  In FIG. 11, it is assumed that the image to be output is an image as shown in FIG. 11A and a designated area 90 as shown in FIG. 8A is set. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11B, the image shown in FIG. 11A is replaced by “0”, which is a white image, in the replacement unit 53 in the image data in the designated area 90. It becomes a correct image. Then, when the composite image generated in the composite image generation unit 55 is an image as shown in FIG. 11D, the image as shown in FIG. 11B and the image shown in FIG. The images are combined into an image as shown in FIG. Then, the image shown in FIG. 11C is output from the image output unit 33.

  In this embodiment, the character generated as the additional information is black, and the replacement unit 53 replaces the image data in the designated area with “0” that is a white image. Image synthesis is performed by performing a logical OR operation. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the character generated as the additional information is black, the replacement unit 53 replaces the image data in the designated area with “1” which is a black image, and the image composition unit 54 performs exclusive OR (EX-OR). ) Calculation may be performed to perform image composition.

  FIG. 12 shows an example in which image composition is performed in this way. When image composition is performed in this way, the image data in the designated area is replaced with a black image, and therefore image composition is performed by exclusive OR operation with the data of the character part composed of black. As a result, it can be seen that the character portion is white.

  In addition, the determination unit 52 does not recognize the designated region based on the set designated region information, but based on the position of the additional information included in the composite image data generated by the composite image generation unit 55. May be recognized.

  Furthermore, mask data 90 as shown in FIG. 13 may be stored in the memory 12, and the determination unit 52 may recognize the designated area based on the mask data 90. The mask data 90 is an image for specifying a designated area, and is data in which a designated area to which additional information is to be added is composed of a white image and other areas are composed of a black image.

  By using such mask data 90, the determination unit 52 obtains the mask data 90 and the image data to be output one line at a time and compares them for each bit. When “0” is “0”, it is determined to be a designated area, and when “1”, it can be determined that the area is other than that. Further, if the mask data 90 and the image data to be output are each subjected to a logical product (AND) operation for each bit, it is possible to set the image data in the designated area to “0”. is there.

  Further, when generating the composite image data having the additional information, the composite image generation unit 55 may set the image data having the background image in the designated area as the composite image data. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the composite image generation unit 55 provides a background image in the designated area instead of making the designated area a white image, and provides information such as a user ID in the designated area. An image is generated as composite image data. Then, the image composition unit 54 synthesizes the image obtained by replacing the designated area of the original image data with the white image and the composite image data.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the case of monochrome printing has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to color printing. In the case of color printing, since the image data is compressed for each color element of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, the image transfer process and the image composition process described above are performed for each color element.

  However, in the case where the designated region is black and the image composition unit 54 performs an exclusive OR (EX-OR) operation to perform image composition, yellow, magenta, and cyan color elements of the image data to be output Is replaced with “0” as fixed value data, and the black color element which is the same color element as the additional information image provided in the designated area of the composite image is replaced with “1” as fixed value data.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the additional information having the same content is added to each page of the image to be output has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case, and for each page. It is also possible to set to add different additional information. In such a case, instead of the layout template shown in FIG. 7, a layout template that can set what additional information is added to which page is used. Further, even when additional information can be set independently for each page, the additional information may be set for each page within a certain range.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a diagram for explaining details of functions of an image transfer unit 44 in the image processing apparatus 32. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus 10 when setting the content of additional information. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a layout setting screen which performs addition setting of the tracking information at the time of copying. It is a figure which shows an example of a layout template. FIG. 8 is a diagram (FIG. 8A) showing an example of a set designated area 90, and a diagram (FIG. 8B) showing an example of a composite image including user ID information 91 as additional information. 5 is a flowchart for explaining image transfer processing performed by a selection unit 51, a determination unit 52, and a replacement unit 53 in the image transfer unit 44. 5 is a flowchart for explaining image composition processing performed by an image composition unit 54 in an image transfer unit 44. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode when additional information is added to an output image. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the image synthetic | combination part performs an exclusive OR (EX-OR) operation and it performs an image composition. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where a designated area | region is recognized using the mask data 90. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the synthesized image production | generation part 55 provides a background image in the designation | designated area | region.

Explanation of symbols

10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 Memory 13 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Communication interface (IF) part 15 User interface (UI) apparatus 16 Scanner 17 Print engine 18 Control bus 20 Terminal apparatus 30 Network 31 Image reading part 32 Image processing apparatus 33 Image output part 34 Operation part 41 Image input part 42 Compression / decompression part 43 control unit 44 image transfer unit 51 selection unit 52 determination unit 53 replacement unit 54 image synthesis unit 55 composite image generation unit 90 designated area 91 user ID information S101 to S110 steps S201 to S209 steps

Claims (10)

Setting means for setting a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Area designating means for designating an area for the image in the image data based on the layout template set by the setting means ;
Generation means for generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area designated by the area designation means, as additional information to be added to the output image data;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Additional information to be added to the output image data for the designated area designated by the area designation means in the image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means. Synthesis means for sequentially synthesizing every line ;
An image processing apparatus. Setting means for setting a layout template including information on the type, position, and color of additional information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Storage means for storing the image data to be output in a compressed state ;
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Generation means for generating image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area specified based on a layout template set by the setting means, as additional information to be added to image data to be output;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Image data in which image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means, and additional information to be added to the output image data is provided in the area corresponding to the designated area Combining means for sequentially combining data with each line ;
An image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed value data is data indicating that image output processing is not performed.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed value data is white data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data having the additional information is data having a background image in a designated area.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is tracking information for tracking a distribution route of the output image. Setting means for setting a layout template including additional information type, position, and color information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus, and storage means for storing image data to be output in a compressed state When,
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Area designating means for designating an area for the image in the image data based on the layout template set by the setting means ;
Generation means for generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area designated by the area designation means, as additional information to be added to the output image data;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Additional information to be added to the output image data for the designated area designated by the area designation means in the image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means. Synthesis means for sequentially synthesizing every line ;
Image output means for outputting an image based on the image data after being synthesized by the synthesis means;
An image forming apparatus. Setting means for setting a layout template including additional information type, position, and color information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus, and storage means for storing image data to be output in a compressed state When,
Selection means for selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data for one line stored in the storage means to the decompression unit ;
Generation means for generating image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area specified based on a layout template set by the setting means, as additional information to be added to image data to be output;
Whether the designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the image data generated by the generating means, and whether the image data for one line selected by the selecting means overlaps the recognized designated area Determining means for sequentially determining
A replacement unit that replaces the image data included in the designated region with preset fixed value data when the judging unit determines that the designated region overlaps the designated region;
Image data in which image data included in the designated area is replaced with fixed value data by the replacement means, and additional information to be added to the output image data is provided in the area corresponding to the designated area Combining means for sequentially combining data with each line ;
Image output means for outputting an image based on the image data after being synthesized by the synthesis means;
An image forming apparatus. Setting a layout template including additional information type, position, and color information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Designating a region for an image in image data to be output based on the set layout template ;
Selecting the decompressed image data line by line by transferring the image data stored in a compressed state to the decompression unit line by line ;
Generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to the designated area, the additional information to be added to the output image data;
Recognizing the designated area based on the position of the additional information included in the generated image data, sequentially determining whether or not the selected image data for one line overlaps the designated area;
A step of replacing the image data included in the designated area with preset fixed value data when it is determined that the designated area overlaps;
For each line , additional information for adding to the output image data is added to the specified area specified by the area specifying means in the image data after the image data included in the specified area is replaced with fixed value data. A program for causing a computer to execute the sequential synthesis step. Setting a layout template including additional information type, position, and color information for each type of job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus;
Selecting the decompressed image data for each line by transferring the image data stored in a compressed state to the decompression unit for each line ;
Generating additional image data provided in an area corresponding to a designated area designated based on the set layout template, with additional information to be added to the image data to be output;
The designated area is recognized based on the position of the additional information included in the generated image data, and it is sequentially determined whether or not the selected image data for one line overlaps the designated area to which the additional information is to be added. And steps to
A step of replacing the image data included in the designated area with preset fixed value data when it is determined that the designated area overlaps;
The image data after the image data included in the designated area is replaced with the fixed value data, and the image data provided in the area corresponding to the designated area as additional information to be added to the output image data are 1 A program for causing a computer to execute a step of sequentially combining lines .

Images