JP7168905B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming program for printing a digitized marked image.

Conventionally, an area in which the stamp image data should be placed is specified in the print data, and the synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the seal impression image data in the specified area in the print data. is known by a printing device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-121690 A

However, since the conventional image forming apparatus requires print data, there is a problem that it is not possible to generate a printed matter equivalent to an image that is supposed to be marked on a document that exists as a tangible object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming program capable of generating a printed matter equivalent to a printed matter assuming that marks have been added to a document that exists as a tangible object.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a reading device that reads an image from a document that exists as a tangible object, a printing device that prints the image on a recording medium, and a digitized mark arranged in the image read by the reading device. and a composite image generator for generating a composite image by combining the mark with the region identified by the region identifying unit for the image read by the reading device. and a composite image printing unit for printing the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit by the printing device.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention generates a composite image by synthesizing a digitized mark with an image read by a reading device from a document that exists as a tangible object, and generates a composite image. Since it is printed by a printing device, it is possible to produce a print equivalent to what it would have been if a manuscript that exists as a tangible object had been marked.

In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the area specifying unit may detect the area in the image read by the reading device by performing image recognition on the image read by the reading device. .

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention detects the area where the mark should be placed by performing image recognition on the image read by the reading device, thereby improving convenience. .

The image forming apparatus of the present invention performs image recognition on the image read by the reading device to detect the position of the charge information indicating the charge in the image read by the reading device. and a fee acquisition unit for acquiring the fee indicated by the fee information whose position is detected by the fee information position detector, wherein the fee acquisition unit transmits the acquired fee to an external device of the image forming apparatus. The payment system may be notified, and the composite image printing unit may print the composite image when the payment system notifies completion of payment of the fee notified from the image forming apparatus.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the payment document for paying the charge is a document, allows the payment system to transfer the charge indicated by the charge information detected in the image read by the reading device from the payment document. , and when the payment system notifies the completion of payment of this fee, the printing device prints a composite image generated by combining the mark with the image read by the reading device, so the mark is A copy of the attached payment document can be generated as a receipt.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a display device for displaying information and an operation device for inputting an operation, and the area specifying section displays a preview of the image read by the reading device on the display device. The area may be specified by inputting the position of the area from the operation device with respect to the preview displayed on the display device.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention can allow the user to specify the area where the mark is to be placed using the preview, thereby improving convenience.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an operation device for inputting an operation, and a mark obtaining section for obtaining the mark used for generating the composite image by the composite image generating section, wherein the mark obtaining section includes the You may acquire the said mark input by handwriting from the operation device.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention generates a composite image by synthesizing the mark handwritten input from the operation device with the image read by the reading device, and the generated composite image is printed by the printing device. Since it is printed, convenience can be improved.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a mark obtaining section for obtaining the mark used for generating the composite image by the composite image generating section, and the mark obtaining section obtains the mark read by the reading device. You can

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus of the present invention generates a composite image by combining the mark read by the reading device with the image read by the reading device, and prints the generated composite image by the printing device. Therefore, convenience can be improved.

An image forming program according to the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a reading device that reads an image from a document existing as a tangible object and a printing device that prints the image on a recording medium, and digitizes the image read by the reading device. and an area specifying unit for specifying an area in which the marked mark is to be placed, and a synthesized image by combining the mark with the area specified by the area specifying unit for the image read by the reading device. and a composite image printing unit for printing the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit with the printing device.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus that executes the image forming program of the present invention generates a synthesized image by synthesizing the digitized mark with the image read by the reading device from the manuscript that exists as a tangible object. Since the generated composite image is printed by a printing device, it is possible to generate a printed matter equivalent to what is assumed to have been marked on a document that exists as a tangible object.

The image forming apparatus and the image forming program according to the present invention can generate printed matter equivalent to what is supposed to be marked on a document that exists as a tangible object.

1 is a block diagram of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the MFP shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functions realized by a control unit shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the main flow of processing in the MFP shown in FIG. 2 when printing an image of a document with a digital mark added; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the management system shown in FIG. 1 when configured by one computer; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the mark list shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of mark printing history information shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of operations of the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 when a user logs into the MFP; FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 2 when registering a digital mark in the management system; 3 is a flowchart of part of the operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 2 when printing an image of a document with a digital mark added; FIG. 11 is a flow chart following the flow chart shown in FIG. 10; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart following the flow chart shown in FIG. 10; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a document used in the image forming system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a modification of the operations shown in FIGS. 10 to 12; FIG. FIG. 15 is a flow chart of a modification of the operations shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 different from the example shown in FIG. 14; FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an image forming system according to a second embodiment of the invention; 17 is a block diagram of the MFP shown in FIG. 16; FIG. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing functions realized by a control unit shown in FIG. 17; FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the main flow of processing in the MFP shown in FIG. 17 when printing an image of a document with a digital mark added; FIG. 17 is a block diagram of the settlement system shown in FIG. 16 when configured by one computer; 17 is a diagram showing an example of a payment document used in the image forming system shown in FIG. 16; FIG. FIG. 18 is a flow chart of the operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 17 when a payment document is set as a document on the scanner; FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming system 10 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 10 includes an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) 20 as an image forming apparatus and a management system 40 for managing users. In addition to the MFP 20 , the image forming system 10 can include at least one MFP having the same configuration as the MFP 20 .

The management system 40 may be composed of one computer, or may be composed of a plurality of computers.

MFP 20 and management system 40 can communicate via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the MFP 20. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 20 includes an operation unit 21 which is an input device such as a button for inputting various operations, and a display which is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying various information. A unit 22, a printer 23 that is a printing device that prints an image on a recording medium such as paper, a scanner 24 that is a reading device that reads an image from a document existing as a tangible object, an external facsimile device and a public telephone (not shown). A fax communication unit 25, which is a fax device that performs fax communication via a communication line such as a line, communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without a network. a communication unit 26 that is a communication device that performs communication, a storage unit 27 that is a nonvolatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information, and a control unit 30 that controls the entire MFP 20. I have.

At least part of the operation unit 21 constitutes a touch panel together with the display unit 22 .

The storage unit 27 stores an image forming program 27a. The image forming program 27a may be installed in the MFP 20 at the manufacturing stage of the MFP 20, may be additionally installed in the MFP 20 from an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or may be installed on the network. may be additionally installed in the MFP 20 from the

The control unit 30 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32 storing programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) serving as a work area for the CPU 31. ) 33. The CPU 31 executes programs stored in the storage unit 27 or the ROM 32 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 30. As shown in FIG.

By executing the image forming program 27a, the control unit 30 arranges a digitized mark (hereinafter referred to as "digital mark") in the image read by the scanner 24 as shown in FIG. An area identifying section 30a for identifying an area (hereinafter referred to as a "mark placement area"), a mark obtaining section 30b for obtaining a digital mark, and an image read by the scanner 24 is identified by the area identifying section 30a. A composite image generating unit 30c that generates a composite image by combining digital marks in the mark placement area, and a composite image printing unit 30d that prints the composite image generated by the composite image generating unit 30c by the printer 23. come true.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the main flow of processing in the MFP 20 when printing an image of a document with a digital mark added.

As shown in FIG. 4, the RGB format image read by the scanner 24 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 27, then color-converted from the RGB format to the CMYK format by the converter 28 of the MFP 20, and stored in the RAM 33. . Next, for the CMYK format image stored in the RAM 33, the area for mark placement is specified by the area specifying section 30a. Then, a digital mark is acquired by the mark acquiring section 30b. Next, the composite image generation unit 30c synthesizes the digital mark acquired by the mark acquisition unit 30b with the mark placement area specified by the area specification unit 30a in the CMYK format image stored in the RAM 33. to generate a composite image. Finally, the composite image printing unit 30d prints the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit 30c using the printer 23. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of management system 40 when configured by a single computer.

The management system 40 shown in FIG. 5 includes an operation unit 41, which is an operation device such as a keyboard and a mouse, for inputting various operations, a display unit 42, which is a display device such as an LCD for displaying various information, A communication unit 43, which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without a network, and a semiconductor memory or HDD that stores various information. and a control unit 45 that controls the entire management system 40 .

The storage unit 44 stores an authentication information list 44a containing authentication information for authenticating users for each user. The authentication information is, for example, a combination of user's identification information and user's password.

The storage unit 44 stores a mark list 44b including digital marks for each user.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the mark list 44b.

As shown in FIG. 6, the mark list 44b is a combination of user identification information and user digital marks. The mark list 44b shown in FIG. 6 is drawn without specific examples of the user's digital marks. The digital mark may be, for example, a signature image, a seal impression image, or any image desired by the user.

As shown in FIG. 5, the storage unit 44 stores mark printing history information 44c indicating the printing history of images including digital marks.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the mark printing history information 44c.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mark printing history information 44c includes, for each printing of an image containing a digital mark, the date and time of printing, the identification information of the user who printed, the digital mark used for printing, and the printed image. is information associated with and shown. The mark printing history information 44c shown in FIG. 7 is drawn without specific examples of the digital marks used for printing and the printed images.

The control unit 45 shown in FIG. 5 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and a RAM that serves as a work area for the CPU of the control unit 45 . The CPU of the control unit 45 executes programs stored in the storage unit 44 or the ROM of the control unit 45 .

Next, operations of the image forming system 10 will be described.

First, the operation of the image forming system 10 when the user logs into the MFP 20 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of operations of image forming system 10 when a user logs into MFP 20 .

The user can instruct the MFP 20 to start login processing via the operation unit 21 of the MFP 20 . When the start of login processing is instructed, the control unit 30 of the MFP 20 displays a login screen for login on the display unit 22 as shown in FIG. 8 (S101). Therefore, the user can input authentication information to the login screen displayed on the display unit 22 via the operation unit 21 .

After the process of S101, when the authentication information is input, the control unit 30 transmits the input authentication information to the management system 40 (S102).

When receiving the authentication information from the MFP 20, the control unit 45 of the management system 40 attempts authentication based on the received authentication information and the authentication information list 44a (S103).

When the authentication in S103 fails, the control unit 45 transmits a notification of authentication failure to the MFP 20 (S104).

Upon receiving the notification in S104, the control unit 30 of the MFP 20 displays login failure on the display unit 22 (S105).

When the authentication in S103 succeeds, the control unit 45 transmits a notification of authentication success to the MFP 20 (S106).

When the control unit 30 of the MFP 20 receives the notification in S106, it displays login success on the display unit 22 (S107).

Next, the operation of the MFP 20 when registering a digital mark in the management system 40 will be described.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the operation of the MFP 20 when registering a digital mark in the management system 40. As shown in FIG.

When the user is logged in to the MFP 20 , the user can instruct the MFP 20 via the operation unit 21 to start processing for registering a digital mark in the management system 40 . When the control unit 30 of the MFP 20 is instructed to start the process of registering the digital mark in the management system 40, it executes the image forming program 27a to perform the operation shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the mark acquisition unit 30b notifies the user of an instruction to input a digital mark by displaying on the display unit 22 (S121). The notification in S121 indicates that a digital mark can be input from the touch panel or scanner 24 described above. Therefore, the user can make the touch panel read the image of the signature by, for example, handwriting inputting the signature on the touch panel. In addition, the user, for example, after setting a medium such as paper on which a seal impression is attached to the scanner 24, instructs the scanner 24 to read the image via the operation unit 21, thereby allowing the image to be printed on the medium. It is possible to cause the scanner 24 to read the image of the imprint that is present.

After the processing of S121, the mark acquisition unit 30b determines whether or not a digital mark has been input from the touch panel or scanner 24 until determining that a digital mark has been input from the touch panel or scanner 24 (S122).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S122 that a digital mark has been input from the touch panel or the scanner 24, the mark acquisition unit 30b stores the digital mark determined in S122 as being input in association with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. is requested to the management system 40 (S123). Therefore, the control unit 45 of the management system 40 includes the digital mark transmitted from the MFP 20 in S123 in the mark list 44b as the digital mark associated with the user's identification information transmitted from the MFP 20 in S123. Then, the control unit 45 notifies the MFP 20 of the success of registration of the digital mark.

After the processing of S123, the mark acquisition unit 30b determines whether or not the management system 40 has notified the success of the registration of the digital mark until it determines that the management system 40 has notified the success of the registration of the digital mark ( S124).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S124 that the management system 40 has notified that the registration of the digital mark was successful, the operation shown in FIG. 9 ends.

Registration of the digital mark in management system 40 may be performed by operations other than those shown in FIG. For example, the user can instruct the management system 40 to register a digital mark from a computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) (not shown).

Next, the operation of the MFP 20 when printing an image in which a digital mark is added to an original image will be described.

10 to 12 are flow charts of the operation of the MFP 20 when printing an image with a digital mark attached to the original image.

When the user logs in to the MFP 20 , the user can instruct the MFP 20 via the operation unit 21 to start printing an image with a digital mark added to the original image. When the control unit 30 of the MFP 20 is instructed to start printing an image with a digital mark added to the original image, the control unit 30 executes the image forming program 27a to perform the operations shown in FIGS. .

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the control unit 30 notifies the scanner 24 of an instruction to read an image from the document by displaying on the display unit 22 (S141). Therefore, after setting the document on the scanner 24 , the user can instruct the scanner 24 to read the image via the operation unit 21 .

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a document 50 used in the image forming system 10. As shown in FIG.

A document 50 shown in FIG. 13 includes a mark placement area 51 where marks are to be placed. Note that the document 50 does not have to include the mark placement area 51 .

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, after the process of S141, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the scanner 24 has been instructed to read the image until it determines that the scanner 24 has been instructed to read the image. (S142).

When the controller 30 determines in S142 that the scanner 24 is instructed to read an image, the scanner 24 reads an image from the document (S143).

Next, the area specifying unit 30a displays on the display unit 22 an inquiry as to whether or not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 (S144). Therefore, the user can reply to the MFP 20 via the operation unit 21 whether or not to designate the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143.

After the process of S144, the area specifying unit 30a determines the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 until it determines that whether or not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 is received. (S145).

If the area specifying unit 30a determines in S145 that the question of whether or not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 is received, it is answered in S143 that the position of the mark placement area in the read image is specified. (S146).

The area specifying unit 30a determines in S146 that the response to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 was not received, that is, the response was not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143. Then, by performing image recognition on the image read in S143, an attempt is made to detect a mark placement area in the image read in S143 (S147). The mark placement area is, for example, a signature space or a stamp space for a seal.

After the process of S147, the area specifying unit 30a determines whether or not the detection in S147 has succeeded (S148).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S148 that the detection in S147 was successful, the mark acquisition unit 30b inquires of the management system 40 whether or not to request the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. It is displayed on the display unit 22 (S149). Therefore, the user can reply to the MFP 20 via the operation unit 21 whether or not to request the management system 40 for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20 .

After the process of S149, the mark acquisition unit 30b continues to log in to the MFP 20 until it determines that the management system 40 has received a response as to whether or not to request the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. It is determined whether or not the management system 40 has been answered whether or not to request the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user who is doing so (S150).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S150 that a response has been received as to whether or not to request the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged into the MFP 20 from the management system 40, the user logged into the MFP 20 (S151).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S151 that the management system 40 has been answered to request the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20, the mark acquisition unit 30b obtains the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. The associated digital mark is requested from the management system 40 (S152). Therefore, the control unit 45 of the management system 40 displays the digital mark associated in the mark list 44b with the user identification information transmitted from the MFP 20 in S152, that is, the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20. exists or not. Then, the control unit 45 transmits the digital mark of the logged-in user to the MFP 20 when the digital mark of the logged-in user exists in the MFP 20 . On the other hand, when the digital mark of the logged-in user does not exist in the MFP 20, the control unit 45 notifies the MFP 20 that the digital mark of the logged-in user does not exist.

After the process of S152, the mark acquisition unit 30b determines whether or not the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 has been received from the management system 40 (S153).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S153 that the digital mark of the user logged into the MFP 20 has not been received from the management system 40, the management system 30b detects that the digital mark of the user logged into the MFP 20 does not exist. It is determined whether or not notification has been received from 40 (S154).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S154 that the management system 40 does not notify that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 does not exist, the mark acquisition unit 30b executes the process of S153.

When it is determined in S153 that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 has been received from the management system 40, the composite image generation unit 30c adds the mark placement area detected in S147 to the image read in S143. Then, a composite image is generated by combining the digital marks determined to have been received in S153 (S155).

The mark acquisition unit 30b did not respond to request the management system 40 for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. If it is determined in S151 that the management system 40 does not request the digital mark received from the management system 40, or if it is determined in S154 that the management system 40 has notified that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 does not exist, S121 The processing of S156-S157 similar to the processing of S122 is executed.

When it is determined in S157 that a digital mark has been input from the touch panel or the scanner 24, the composite image generation unit 30c determines in S157 that the mark placement area detected in S147 has been input in the image read in S143. A synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the digital marks obtained (S158).

If the region specifying unit 30a determines in S146 that the position of the mark placement region in the image read in S143 has been specified, or if it determines in S148 that the detection in S147 has failed, the mark placement in the image read in S143 is determined. The display unit 22 notifies the user of the designation of the position of the use area (S159). The notification in S159 shows a preview of the image read in S143 and that the position of the mark placement area can be specified from the above touch panel. Therefore, the user can cause the touch panel to read the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143 by inputting the position of the mark placement area in the preview displayed on the touch panel into the touch panel. .

After the process of S159, the area specifying unit 30a determines whether or not the position of the mark placement area has been input from the touch panel until it determines that the position of the mark placement area has been input from the touch panel (S160).

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S160 that the position of the mark placement area has been input from the touch panel, it executes the processes of S161 to S166 similar to the processes of S149 to S154.

When judging in S165 that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 has been received from the management system 40, the composite image generating unit 30c generates the mark judging in S160 that the position has been input for the image read in S143. A synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the digital mark determined to have been received in S165 with the placement area (S167).

The mark acquisition unit 30b did not respond to request the management system 40 for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. If it is determined in S163 that the management system 40 has not requested the digital mark received, or if it is determined in S166 that the management system 40 has notified that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 20 does not exist, S156 The processing of S168-S169 similar to the processing of S157 is executed.

When the composite image generation unit 30c determines in S169 that a digital mark has been input from the touch panel or the scanner 24, it is determined in S160 that the position of the image read in S143 has been input to the mark placement area determined in S160. A composite image is generated by combining the digital marks determined in S169 (S170).

After the processing of S155, S158, S167 or S170, the composite image printing unit 30d prints the composite image generated in S155, S158, S167 or S170 by the printer 23 (S171). Therefore, the user can obtain a copy of the original with the digital mark.

Next, the control unit 30 stores the date and time of printing in S171, the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20, the digital mark used in S155, S158, S167 or S170, and the image printed in S171 as a management system. 40 (S172). Therefore, the management system 40 associates the date and time of printing, the identification information of the user, the digital mark, and the printed image transmitted from the MFP 20 in S172 and records them in the mark printing history information 44c.

After the processing of S172, the control unit 30 ends the operations shown in FIGS.

As described above, the MFP 20 generates a synthesized image by synthesizing a digital mark with the image read in S143 by the scanner 24 from the manuscript that exists as a tangible object (S155, S158, S167 and S170). Since the generated composite image is printed by the printer 23 (S171), it is possible to generate a printed matter equivalent to a manuscript that exists as a tangible object with a digital mark.

The MFP 20 detects the mark placement area by performing image recognition on the image read by the scanner 24 (S147), thereby improving convenience.

The MFP 20 can allow the user to specify the mark placement area using the preview in S159, thereby improving convenience.

The MFP 20 generates a synthesized image by synthesizing the digital mark handwritten input from the operation unit 21 with the image read by the scanner 24 (“YES in S157 and S158” or “YES in S169 and S170”). ), and the generated composite image is printed by the printer 23 (S171), so convenience can be improved.

The MFP 20 generates a composite image by combining the digital mark read by the scanner 24 with the image read by the scanner 24 (“YES in S157 and S158” or “YES in S169 and S170”), Since the generated composite image is printed by the printer 23 (S171), convenience can be improved.

The MFP 20 does not require the user to use the actual seal when printing the image read by the scanner 24 with the image of the seal imprint as a digital mark. Therefore, the MFP 20 can reduce the possibility of the actual seal being used illegally or the actual seal being lost due to the user misplacing the actual seal in some place. can be improved.

A history of printing images including digital marks by the MFP 20 is all recorded in the mark printing history information 44c. Therefore, the printing of images containing digital marks by the MFP 20 can be easily audited using the mark printing history information 44c.

In the above description, an example in which the CPU 31 implements the area specifying unit 30a, the mark acquiring unit 30b, the composite image generating unit 30c, and the composite image printing unit 30d has been described. However, at least a part of the area specifying unit 30a, the mark acquiring unit 30b, the composite image generating unit 30c, and the composite image printing unit 30d may be realized by ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The performance of the MFP 20 can be improved when at least part of the area specifying section 30a, the mark acquiring section 30b, the composite image generating section 30c, and the composite image printing section 30d are realized by ASIC.

The MFP 20 prints the image read by the scanner 24 with a digital mark. However, the MFP 20 attaches a digital mark to an image based on print data input from an external computer such as a PC by the same operation as printing an image read by the scanner 24 with a digital mark. It is also possible to print an image stored in an external storage medium such as a USB memory with a digital mark added.

In the operations shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, after the process of S143, the area specifying unit 30a displays on the display unit 22 an inquiry as to whether or not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143. (S144). However, as shown in FIG. 14, after the process of S143, the area specifying unit 30a does not display on the display unit 22 an inquiry as to whether or not to specify the position of the mark placement area in the image read in S143. , and an attempt to detect the mark placement area in the image read in S143 by performing image recognition on the image read in S143 (S147).

In the operations shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, when it is determined in S148 that the detection in S147 was successful, the mark acquisition unit 30b manages the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20. An inquiry as to whether or not to make a request to the system 40 is displayed on the display unit 22 (S149). However, as shown in FIG. 15, when the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S148 that the detection in S147 was successful, the mark acquisition unit 30b acquires the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20 from the management system 40. It is also possible to request the management system 40 for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20 without displaying on the display unit 22 an inquiry as to whether or not the request is to be made (S152). Similarly, when the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S160 that the position of the mark placement area has been input from the touch panel, the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20 is sent to the management system 40. The management system 40 may be requested for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 20 without displaying the inquiry as to whether or not to request it on the display unit 22 (S164).

(Second embodiment)
First, the configuration of an image forming system according to the second embodiment of the invention will be described.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of image forming system 210 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16, the configuration of image forming system 210 is such that image forming system 10 (see FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment includes MFP 220 instead of MFP 20, and settlement system 240 for executing settlement. is the same as that of the image forming system 10.

MFP 220 is installed in a retail store such as a convenience store.

The settlement system 240 may be composed of one computer or may be composed of a plurality of computers.

MFP 220, management system 40, and settlement system 240 can communicate via a network such as a LAN or the Internet.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of MFP 220. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, the configuration of the MFP 220 is similar to that of the MFP 20 (see FIG. 2) provided with an image forming program 227a instead of the image forming program 27a.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 30. As shown in FIG.

By executing the image forming program 227a, the control unit 30 executes the area identification unit 30a, the mark acquisition unit 30b, the composite image generation unit 30c, the composite image printing unit 30d, and the scanner 24 as shown in FIG. A charge information position detection unit 230a for detecting the position of the charge information in the captured image and a charge acquisition unit 230b for acquiring the charge indicated by the charge information whose position is detected by the charge information position detection unit 230a are realized.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the main flow of processing in the MFP 220 when printing an image of a document with a digital mark.

As shown in FIG. 19, the RGB format image read by the scanner 24 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 27, then color-converted from the RGB format to the CMYK format by the converter 28 of the MFP 20, and stored in the RAM 33. . Next, the charge information position detector 230a detects the position of the charge information in the CMYK format image stored in the RAM 33 . Then, the charge acquisition unit 230b notifies the payment system 240 of the charge indicated by the charge information whose position is detected by the charge information position detection unit 230a. In the CMYK format image stored in the RAM 33, the area for mark placement is specified by the area specifying unit 30a. Then, a digital mark is acquired by the mark acquiring section 30b. Next, the composite image generation unit 30c synthesizes the digital mark acquired by the mark acquisition unit 30b with the mark placement area specified by the area specification unit 30a in the CMYK format image stored in the RAM 33. to generate a composite image. Finally, the composite image printing unit 30d prints the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit 30c using the printer 23. FIG.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of payment system 240 when configured by a single computer.

A settlement system 240 shown in FIG. 20 includes an operation unit 241, which is an operation device such as a keyboard and a mouse, for inputting various operations, a display unit 242, which is a display device such as an LCD for displaying various information, A communication unit 243, which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without a network, and a semiconductor memory or HDD that stores various information. and a control unit 245 that controls the entire settlement system 240 .

The display unit 242 may be installed in the retail store where the MFP 220 is installed.

The control unit 245 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and a RAM that serves as a work area for the CPU of the control unit 245 . The CPU of the control unit 245 executes programs stored in the storage unit 244 or the ROM of the control unit 245 .

Next, operations of the image forming system 210 will be described.

In the following description, it is assumed that the retail store logs in to MFP 220 as a user through operations similar to those described in the first embodiment. It is also assumed that the image of the seal imprint of the seal of the retail store is registered as a digital mark in the mark list 44b of the management system 40 by the same operation as that described in the first embodiment.

The customer of the retail store hands the payment document 250 (see FIG. 21) to the retail store clerk for paying the fee to the retail store.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a payment document 250 used in image forming system 210. As shown in FIG.

The payment document 250 shown in FIG. 21 includes fee information 251 such as a bar code indicating the fee that the customer of the retail store needs to pay to the retail store, and a mark arrangement area for stamping the seal of the retail store. and a stamp field 252 of . The payment document 250 may be, for example, a parcel delivery slip or a printed matter for receiving a product such as a ticket ordered on the Internet.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the operation of MFP 220 when payment document 250 is set on scanner 24 as an original.

Upon receiving the payment document 250 from the customer, the store clerk sets the received payment document 250 on the scanner 24 . When the payment document 250 is set on the scanner 24, the controller 30 of the MFP 220 executes the image forming program 227a to perform the operations shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 22, the controller 30 of the MFP 220 reads an image from the payment document 250 using the scanner 24 (S301).

Next, the charge information position detection unit 230a attempts to detect the position of the charge information 251 in the image read in S301 by performing image recognition on the image read in S301 (S302).

After the processing of S302, the charge information position detection unit 230a determines whether or not the detection in S302 was successful (S303).

If the charge information position detection unit 230a determines in S303 that the detection in S302 has failed, it displays on the display unit 22 that the detection of the position of the charge information 251 has failed (S304), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

If it is determined in S303 that the detection in S302 was successful, the fee acquisition unit 230b acquires the fee indicated in the fee information 251 whose position was detected in S302 (S305).

Next, the fee acquisition unit 230b notifies the payment system 240 of the fee acquired in S305 (S306). Therefore, control unit 245 of payment system 240 displays the charge notified from MFP 220 on display unit 242 . Note that the image forming system 210 may display the charge acquired in S<b>305 on the display unit 22 of the MFP 220 in addition to the display unit 242 or instead of the display unit 242 . After confirming the displayed charge, the retail store clerk receives the charge from the customer by any known method. After recognizing by any known method that the retailer has received the charge notified from MFP 220, control unit 245 of payment system 240 notifies MFP 220 of completion of payment of the charge.

After the processing of S306, the area specifying unit 30a determines whether or not the payment completion has been notified from the payment system 240 until it determines that the payment completion has been notified from the payment system 240 (S307).

When the area specifying unit 30a determines in S307 that the settlement system 240 has notified that the payment has been completed, the area specifying unit 30a detects the stamp field 252 in the image read in S301 by executing image recognition on the image read in S301. (S308).

After the process of S308, the area specifying unit 30a determines whether or not the detection in S308 has succeeded (S309).

When the region specifying unit 30a determines in S309 that the detection in S308 has failed, the area specifying unit 30a notifies the display unit 22 that the image of the seal impression of the retailer's seal cannot be affixed to the stamp space 252 because the detection of the stamp space 252 has failed. It is displayed (S310), and the operation shown in FIG. 22 ends.

When the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S309 that the detection in S308 has succeeded, it requests the management system 40 for the digital mark associated with the identification information of the retail store as the user logging in to the MFP 220 (S311). Therefore, the control unit 45 of the management system 40 displays the digital mark associated in the mark list 44b with the identification information of the user transmitted from the MFP 220 in S311, that is, the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 220. exists or not. Then, when the digital mark of the logged-in user of MFP 220 exists, control unit 45 transmits the digital mark of the logged-in user of MFP 220 to MFP 220 . On the other hand, when the digital mark of the user logged into MFP 220 does not exist, control unit 45 notifies MFP 220 that the digital mark of the user logged into MFP 220 does not exist.

After the process of S311, the mark acquisition unit 30b determines whether or not the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 220 has been received from the management system 40 (S312).

If the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S312 that the digital mark of the user logged into the MFP 220 has not been received from the management system 40, the management system 30b detects that the digital mark of the user logged into the MFP 220 does not exist. 40 determines whether or not it has been notified (S313).

If the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S313 that the management system 40 does not notify that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 220 does not exist, the mark acquisition unit 30b executes the process of S312.

If the mark acquisition unit 30b determines in S313 that the management system 40 has notified that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 220 does not exist, the image of the seal imprint of the seal of the retail store is registered in the management system 40. The display unit 22 displays that the stamp image of the retailer's seal cannot be affixed to the stamp column 252 (S314), and the operation shown in FIG. 22 is terminated.

When determining in S312 that the digital mark of the user logged in to the MFP 220 has been received from the management system 40, the composite image generating unit 30c adds the received digital mark to the stamp field 252 detected in S308 for the image read in S301. A synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the digital marks determined in S312 (S315).

After the process of S315, the composite image printing unit 30d prints the composite image generated in S315 by the printer 23 (S316). Therefore, the store clerk can give the customer a copy of the payment document 250 with the imprint image of the store's seal in the stamp field 252 as a receipt.

After the process of S316, the control unit 30 sends the date and time of printing in S316, the identification information of the user logged in to the MFP 220, the digital mark used in S315, and the image printed in S316 to the management system 40. Send (S317). Therefore, the management system 40 associates the date and time of printing, the identification information of the user, the digital mark, and the printed image transmitted from the MFP 220 in S317 and records them in the mark printing history information 44c.

After the process of S317, the control unit 30 ends the operation shown in FIG.

As described above, the MFP 220 generates a composite image by combining the digital mark with the image read in S301 by the scanner 24 from the payment document 250 that exists as a tangible object (S315). Since the composite image is printed by the printer 23 (S316), it is possible to generate a printed matter equivalent to a printed matter assuming that a digital mark is attached to the payment document 250 existing as a tangible object.

The MFP 220 detects the stamp field 252 as the mark arrangement area by performing image recognition on the image read in S301 by the scanner 24 (S308), thereby improving convenience.

When the payment document 250 for paying the fee is an original, the MFP 220 detects the position in the image read from the payment document 250 by the scanner 24 in S301 in S302, and transfers the fee indicated in the fee information 251 to the payment system. 240 (S306), and if the settlement system 240 notifies the completion of payment of this charge (YES in S307), the digital mark is combined with the image read in S301 by the scanner 24 in S315. Since the composite image generated in 3 is printed by the printer 23 (S316), a copy of the payment document 250 with a digital mark can be generated as a receipt.

When the MFP 220 prints the image read by the scanner 24 with the image of the seal imprint as a digital mark, it is not necessary for the store clerk to use the actual seal. Therefore, the MFP 220 can reduce the possibility of the actual seal being used illegally or the actual seal being lost due to the actual seal being misplaced somewhere by a store clerk, etc., thereby improving security. can be improved.

A history of printing images including digital marks by the MFP 220 is all recorded in the mark printing history information 44c. Therefore, the printing of images containing digital marks by MFP 220 can be easily audited using mark printing history information 44c.

In the above description, an example in which the CPU 31 realizes the area specifying unit 30a, the mark obtaining unit 30b, the composite image generating unit 30c, the composite image printing unit 30d, the fee information position detecting unit 230a, and the fee obtaining unit 230b is described. However, at least a part of the area identifying section 30a, the mark obtaining section 30b, the composite image generating section 30c, the composite image printing section 30d, the fee information position detecting section 230a, and the fee obtaining section 230b may be realized by ASIC. MFP 220 improves performance when at least part of area identification unit 30a, mark acquisition unit 30b, composite image generation unit 30c, composite image print unit 30d, charge information position detection unit 230a, and charge acquisition unit 230b are realized by ASIC. can be improved.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an MFP in each of the above-described embodiments, but may be an image forming apparatus other than the MFP.

20 MFP (image forming device)
21 operation unit (operation device)
22 display unit (display device)
23 Printer (printing device)
24 scanner (reading device)
27a Image forming program 30a Area specifying unit 30b Mark acquiring unit 30c Synthetic image generating unit 30d Synthetic image printing unit 50 Document 51 Mark placement area (area where digitized marks are to be placed)
220 MFP (image forming device)
227a Image forming program 230a Charge information position detector 230b Charge acquisition unit 240 Settlement system 250 Payment document (original)
251 fee information 252 stamp field (area where the digitized mark is to be placed)

Claims (4)

a reading device that reads an image from a document that exists as a tangible object;
a printing device for printing an image on a recording medium;
an area identification unit that identifies an area in which the digitized mark is to be placed in the image read by the reading device;
a synthetic image generating unit that generates a synthetic image by synthesizing the mark with the area specified by the area specifying unit with respect to the image read by the reading device;
a composite image printing unit that prints the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit using the printing device ;
a charge information position detection unit that detects the position of charge information indicating a charge in the image read by the reading device by performing image recognition on the image read by the reading device;
a charge acquisition unit for acquiring the charge indicated by the charge information whose position is detected by the charge information position detection unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising
The fee acquisition unit notifies the acquired fee to a payment system external to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the composite image printing unit prints the composite image when the settlement system notifies completion of payment of the charge notified from the image forming apparatus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the area specifying unit detects the area in the image read by the reading device by performing image recognition on the image read by the reading device. Image forming device. A mark acquisition unit for acquiring the mark used for generating the composite image by the composite image generation unit;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mark acquisition unit acquires the mark read by the reading device. a reading device that reads an image from a document that exists as a tangible object;
A printing device that prints an image on a recording medium and
an image forming apparatus comprising
an area identification unit that identifies an area in which the digitized mark is to be placed in the image read by the reading device;
a synthetic image generating unit that generates a synthetic image by synthesizing the mark with the area specified by the area specifying unit with respect to the image read by the reading device;
a composite image printing unit that prints the composite image generated by the composite image generation unit using the printing device;
a charge information position detection unit that detects the position of charge information indicating a charge in the image read by the reading device by performing image recognition on the image read by the reading device;
a charge acquisition unit for acquiring the charge indicated by the charge information whose position is detected by the charge information position detection unit;
to realize
The fee acquisition unit notifies the acquired fee to a payment system external to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming program, wherein the composite image printing unit prints the composite image when the settlement system notifies completion of payment of the fee notified from the image forming apparatus.

Images