JPH03265278A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and surely decode cryptographic picture information and to prevent leakage of received picture information to a 3rd party by recording once the received picture information onto paper while the information is ciphered and its content is magnified. CONSTITUTION:Picture information read by a scanner 11 while switches 1, 2 are changed over is inputted to a scrambler 21, where the picture information ciphered and fed to a decoder 12, where the signal is coded and outputted from a communication circuit (not shown in fig.) via a MODEM 13 and an NCU 14. The ciphering in the scrambler 21 is implemented by the normal method and comments such as destination name, message and date are added to the upper part of the picture information so as to make the recipient of the cryptographic data clear. The picture information received from the communication line is decoded by a decoder 15 of similar constitution, stored in a memory 16, fed to a printer 17 and outputted on recording paper. Thus, after the recording, even when a state such as power failure or switch interrupt takes place, no missing of received picture information is caused.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a facsimile device suitable for preventing leakage of image information.

(Prior Art) Various facsimile devices for preventing leakage of image information have been proposed in the past.

Among these, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 18371/1983,
The image information is encrypted and transmitted by exchanging the main scanning lines on the transmitting side, and the receiving side prints out the received image information on recording paper with the main scanning lines exchanged, and the recording paper is If it is delivered to the recipient,
A facsimile device is shown that reads image information printed out on the recording paper with a scanner, replaces the main scanning lines again, and restores the image information.

Further, in the specification of Utility Model Application No. 186039/1982, data for specifying an encryption method or encryption method is stored in an information recording medium such as a magnetic card, and when transmitting image information, the information An encryption formula is read from a recording medium, the image information is encrypted and transmitted, and the receiving side temporarily stores the received image information in a memory, and then the encryption formula is read from the information recording medium to encrypt and transmit the image information. A facsimile device is disclosed that decodes image information.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The above-described conventional technology had the following problems.

(1) In the facsimile machine described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-18371, the encrypted image information, that is, the main scanning line has been replaced, must be read with a scanner and the main scanning line must be replaced again. However, with this method, it is extremely difficult to reproduce the original image information due to errors during printing and errors during reading by the scanner.

This tendency is particularly strong when the recording density in the sub-scanning direction is high.

(2> In the facsimile machine described in the specification of Utility Model Application No. 186039/1982, the received image information is temporarily stored in the memory, and this storage continues until the encryption method is specified. With such a method, there is a risk that the contents of the memory will be lost if a power outage occurs or the power switch of the facsimile device is turned off.In this case, the image information will be transmitted to the recipient. I can't.

(3) Also, for example, in JP-A-55-110470,
In order to give documents authenticity and value, a technique has been proposed in which encrypted information and image information are separately superimposed on the same sheet of paper, but this method requires confidentiality of the image information itself. In some cases, no effect can be expected.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent the leakage of image information to a third party and the loss of image information as much as possible, and to protect the encrypted image information. An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile device that can reliably reproduce data.

(Means and operations for solving the problem) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention enlarges the encrypted image information and records it on paper when encrypted image information is received. , the content of the paper is read and decoded, and the image information after decoding is recorded on the paper again.

Also, when receiving unencrypted image information, the image information is encrypted once, enlarged and recorded on paper, and then
Another feature is that the content of the paper is read and decoded, and the decoded image information is output again onto the paper.

(Example) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, symbols 1 to 7 are two-way changeover switches, and symbol 8 is a two-way changeover switch.
and 9 is an on/off switch. The switches 8 and 9 are set to be normally open.

The control panel 19 includes a scrambler 21 which will be described later.
A password is set for the descrambler 22, and various modes of the facsimile machine are set.

The control unit W118 controls switches 1 to 9 and various devices based on various mode signals inputted via the control panel 19 by the operator of the facsimile machine.

The functions of the other various components shown in FIG. 1 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 13, but the control system!
'18, the scrambler 21, the descrambler 22, the large dot converting means 23, the large dot discriminating means 24, etc. can be constituted by, for example, a microcomputer (not shown).

The functions of the facsimile device include a transmission mode in which image information read by the scanner 11 is sent, and a reception mode in which image information sent from the other party's facsimile device is received in a memory (image memory) or output on recording paper. There is a memory contents output mode that outputs the image information stored in the memory on recording paper in a predetermined format, and a replay mode that reads the encrypted image information on the recording paper, decodes it, and outputs it again. It can be broadly divided into output modes.

First, the transmission mode will be explained with reference to Figure N2 and Figure 3.

FIG. 2 shows a mode in which read image information is transmitted without being encrypted, and FIG. 3 shows a mode in which read image information is encrypted and transmitted.

First, in FIG. 2, both switch 1 and switch 2 are switched to the A side, and image information read by the scanner 11 is output to the Korg 12. The read image information is encoded in the COG 12 and output to a communication line (not shown) via the modem 13 and NCU 14.

In Figure 3, switch 1 is on the A side and switch 2 is on the B side.
image information read by the scanner 11 is output to the Korg 12 via the scrambler 21.

The scrambler 21 encrypts the read image information.

Any known method can be adopted as this encryption method.

That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, image information of binary data is assumed to be in a matrix form having a plurality of blocks in the row and column directions, and each block is replaced (rotated) in the row and column directions. ). Further, the descrambler 22, which will be described later, is configured to restore the rotation performed by the scrambler 21, that is, to perform rotation in the opposite direction to the rotation performed by the scrambler 21 described above.

Here, if the password (scramble parameter) is entered manually from the control panel 19 and rotation is performed according to the password, only when the same password is entered on the receiving side as on the sending side, Image information will now be decoded normally.

Furthermore, by adding comments such as the addressee's name, message, date, etc. to the top of the encrypted image information, the recipient of the encrypted data can be clarified (see FIG. 14).

Further, as the scrambler 21, it is also possible to use a configuration similar to a scrambler normally used for spreading data within a communication modem. This is a method of encrypting a data string by dividing it by an arbitrary polynomial and using the coefficients of the quotient polynomial as a new data string (first
(See Figure 5 (A)). The configuration of the descrambler 22, that is, the original image string data can be restored by multiplying the divided polynomial (see FIG. 15(B)). Specifically, CCITT V series recommendation V
, 29 Appendix (■) can be considered. Of course, the application of the procedure in this recommendation is different from that of the present invention, but it can be used as a method for encrypting image information.

With this method, multiple passwords can be set depending on the polynomial to be divided or the initial value of the polynomial. In other words, the encryption method can be changed depending on the password.

The password described above may be manually entered by the operator, but if the communication is a confidential communication, it may be automatically set for each confidential box (designated area of the received m-image memory).

Scrambler 21 and descrambler 2 using this method
2 can be easily constructed by using a shift register or the like.

Furthermore, for encryption, compression methods (ME, MR, MMR) that are normally used for communication can also be used. Therefore, the same scrambler 21 and descrambler 22 as the Korg 12 and decoder 15 can be used. In this case, the same function can be achieved by omitting the scrambler 21 and decoder 15 and storing or recording encoded image information without decoding it.

After the encrypted image information is encoded in the SATE and KOG 12, the image information is output to the communication line via the modem 13 and NCU 14.

Next, the reception mode will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8.

Fig. 4 shows a mode in which image information sent from the communication line is stored in the memory (image memory) 16, and Fig. 5 shows a mode in which image information sent from the communication line is decrypted without being encrypted and then recorded as is. The mode in which the image information is output to paper, Figure 6 is the mode in which the image information sent from the communication line without being encrypted is decrypted, then encrypted and output to recording paper, *Figure 7 is the mode in which the image information is encrypted and sent through the communication line. Figure 8 shows a mode in which image information sent from the communication line is decoded and output to recording paper in its encrypted state. It shows.

First, in FIG. 4, the switch 3 is switched to the A side, and image information received from the communication line via the NCU 14 and modem 13 is decoded by the decoder 15 and then stored in the memory 16. . Here, the received image information may be encrypted or unencrypted.

In FIG. 5, switches 3 to 5 are both switched to the B side, and switch 7 is switched to the A side. The image information received from the communication line via the NCU 14 and the modem 13 is decoded by the decoder 15 and then output to the printer 17, where it is output directly onto recording paper.

In FIG. 6, switches 3 and 7 are switched to B#, and switches 8 and 9 are turned on. The image information received from the communication line via the NCU 14 and the modem 13 is decoded by the decoder 15 and then encrypted by the scrambler 21.
The image is outputted to the printer 17 via the large dot conversion means 23.

The large dot converting means 23
Enlarge the image information (encrypted image information) input to . In other words, in this mode, the encrypted image information is recorded as is on the recording paper, and in the mode shown in FIG. 13, which will be described later, the image information recorded in this encrypted state is The encrypted image information is read by the scanner 11, and each bit of the encrypted image information is enlarged to a size that allows the scanner 11 to accurately read each bit constituting the encrypted image information. That is, each bit is 2 x 2 dots, 3 x 3 dots, 4
The image is enlarged to a size such as ×4 dots.

Note that an end code indicating that the image information has ended is added to the end of the image information encrypted by the scrambler 21.

Furthermore, a data reference line is added so that the scanner 11 can accurately read each dot of the encrypted image information even if the paper on which the image information is recorded is fed diagonally (see Figure 16). . How this data reference line is utilized will be discussed below with respect to FIG.

Now, as mentioned above, this mode is adopted when the image information output from the communication line is not encrypted, but the facsimile machine (receiving facsimile machine) automatically encrypts the image information. The printer 17 outputs the image information to recording paper in this encrypted format.

In FIG. 7, switches 3 to 5 and switch 7 are both switched to the B side. The image information received from the communication line via the NCU 14 and the modem 13 is decoded by the decoder 15, and then
The image is outputted to the printer 17 via the large dot conversion means 23.

As mentioned above, this mode is adopted when the image information output from the communication line is encrypted, and the printer 17 receives the image information in the format encrypted by the sending facsimile device. Image information is output to recording paper.

In FIG. 8, switch 3, switch 4, and switch 6 are switched to the B side, and switch 5 is switched to the A side. Then, from the communication line to NCU1
4. The image information received via the modem 13 is descrambled (scrambled) in the descrambler 22.
In other words, after decoding the encrypted image information),
It is output to the printer 17.

Next, referring to FIGS. 9 to 12, the memory 16
A memory content output mode for outputting image information stored in a memory onto recording paper in a predetermined format will be explained.

FIG. 9 shows a mode in which decrypted and unencrypted image information is read out from the memory 16, decrypted, and then output as is on recording paper, and FIG. 10 shows decrypted and encrypted image information. In the mode shown in FIG. 11, decrypted and encrypted image information is read out from the memory 16, decoded, and then outputted to the recording paper. mode, Figure 12 shows decrypted and unencrypted image information stored in memory 1.
6, the image information is encrypted, and the encrypted state is output to recording paper.

First, in FIG. 9, both the switch 4 and the switch 5 are switched to the B side, and the switch 7 is switched to the A side. Then, the image information (decoded image information) read from the memory 16 is directly sent to the printer 1.
7 and is output on recording paper.

In FIG. 10, switch 4, switch 5, and switch 7 are all switched to the B side. The decoded image information read from the memory 16 is output to the printer 17 via the large dot converting means 23.

In this mode, image information is output to the recording paper in an encrypted format, as described above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7.

In FIG. 11, switch 4 and switch 6 are switched to the B side, and switch 5 is switched to the A side. The decoded image information read from the memory 16 is decoded by the descrambler 22 and output to the printer 17.

In FIG. 12, switch 7 is switched to the B side, and switches 8 and 9 are turned on. Then, the decoded image information read out from the memory 16 is encrypted in the scrambler 21, and then enlarged into large dots by the large dot conversion means 23, and then sent to the printer 1.
7 is output.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 10, and FIG. The re-output mode for re-outputting on paper will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 13, switch 1 is switched to the B side, and switches 4 to 6 are switched to the A side.

The image information recorded on the recording paper in an encrypted state is read by the scanner 11 and transferred to the large dot discriminating means 24. This large dot discrimination means 24 is a means for reading the contents of the encrypted image information when it is enlarged and recorded on recording paper by the large dot conversion means 23, and is a means for reading the contents of this image information. It is composed of a controlling microcomputer, etc. The operation of this large dot discriminating means 24 will be explained with reference to FIG. 17.

It is assumed that a data reference line as shown in FIG. 16 is recorded in the image information read by the scanner 11.

In FIG. 17, first in step S1, the scanner 1
1, the encrypted image information is first stored in a memory (not shown) within the microcomputer.

In step S2, a plurality of points constituting the data reference line are identified on the memory, and the data reference line is recognized.

In step S3, the read image information is rotated so that the data reference line exactly matches the vertical and horizontal directions on the memory. In this case, if the document (recording paper on which encrypted image information is recorded) is not skewed and the read image information exactly matches the vertical and horizontal directions in memory, this rotation will not occur. .

In step S4, an area on the memory representing one bit (2 x 2 dots, 3 x 3 dots, 4 x 4 dots,
) and count the number of black dots in this area.

In step S5, it is determined whether the counted number of black dots exceeds a criterion (threshold value for determining whether the read area is black or white).

If the count value of the black dot exceeds the above criteria,
In step S6, data (1
The bit) is determined to be black, that is, "1". If the count value of the black dots does not exceed the criterion, it is determined in step S7 that the data in the read area is white, that is, "0".

In step S8, data in the area next to the 1-bit area determined as described above is read, and it is determined whether the data is an end code. If the end code is detected, the process ends; if not detected, the process returns to step S4.

In step S4, the number of black dots in the data in the area next to the 1-bit area determined as described above is counted.

After the encrypted image information is identified in this way, it is decoded by the descrambler 22 and output to the printer 17.

Next, examples of how to use each mode as described above will be explained.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the receiving facsimile machine. Note that the sending facsimile device transmits the image information without encrypting it, and when this operation is started, the receiving facsimile device (the facsimile device) performs communication as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the mode is such that image information sent from the line is stored in the memory 16.

In FIG. 18, first in step Sll, a document is received into the memory 16.

Next, as shown in step S12, the process is branched into two depending on whether the recipient of the document is near the facsimile machine. That is, when there is a recipient, the facsimile machine stores unencrypted image information in the memory 1 as shown in FIG.
6 and select the mode that outputs it as is to the recording paper, and when the recording of the image information to the recording paper is completed (
Step 513), the process ends.

If the destination person is not near the facsimile machine, it is determined in step S14 whether or not the image information stored in the memory 16 is to be saved as is.

This determination is made by an operator other than the recipient who is near the facsimile machine.

If an operator other than the recipient decides to save the received image information as is, or if there is no operator near the facsimile machine, the process ends via step S15.

When an operator other than the destination person determines that the received image information is not to be saved as is, the mode shown in FIG. 12 is selected, for example. That is, in step 816, the scrambler 21 and the large dot converting means 23 are selected as the output path of the memory 16, and in step S1
At step 7, a password is input from the control panel 19, and at step 81g, the encrypted image information is output from the printer 17. Then, in step S19, the output image information is saved.

Thereafter, the processing operation of the facsimile device ends.

FIG. 19 shows a case where encrypted image information is recorded on recording paper, and when the image information is read and output again in a decrypted state, that is, when the mode shown in FIG. 13 is selected. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG.

*In FIG. 19, first, in step s21, the large dot discriminating means 24 and the descrambler 22 are selected for the output path of the scanner 11.

In step S22, the password is entered manually from the control panel 19.

In step S23, the image information recorded on the recording paper in an encrypted state is read by the scanner 11.

In step S24, the image information read by the scanner 11 is discriminated by the large dot discrimination means 24, decoded by the descrambler 22, and outputted from the printer 17.

After that, the process ends.

Although the various modes of the facsimile machine have been described as being specified from the control panel 9, it is also possible to specify the communication mode of the other party using the protocol, for example.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

(1) That is, according to the facsimile apparatus according to claims 1 and 2, the received image information is temporarily recorded on the paper in an encrypted state and its contents are enlarged. (A) It is easy and reliable to decode the encrypted image information, and (B) After recording the encrypted received image information on paper, In this case, even if a power outage occurs or the power switch of the facsimile device is turned off, there is no risk of the received image information being lost.

(2) Furthermore, according to the facsimile device according to claim 2, since the sending facsimile device does not need to have a function of encrypting image information, confidential communication can be performed regardless of the model of the sending side. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams when an embodiment of the present invention is in a transmission mode. FIGS. 4 to 8 are block diagrams when an embodiment of the present invention is in reception mode. FIGS. 9 to 12 are block diagrams when one embodiment of the present invention is in memory content output mode. FIG. 13 is a block diagram when one embodiment of the present invention is in re-output mode. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining one method of scrambling. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining another method of scrambling. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a data reference line. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the large dot discriminating means. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the receiving facsimile machine. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the facsimile apparatus when encrypted image information is recorded on recording paper, and when the image information is read and outputted again in a decrypted state. 1-9...switch, 11...scanner, da, 13
...-modem, 14... NCU, 1 da, 16... memory, 17... printer, device, 19... control panel, 2 scrambler, 22... descrambler, 2
3 conversion means, 24... large dot discrimination means 12... code 5... deco 18... control l... scrubber... large dot

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A means for enlarging the encrypted image information received and recording it on paper, and a means for reading the information on the paper on which the encrypted image information is recorded and encrypting it. A facsimile device comprising means for determining the content of image information and decoding the content, and means for recording the decoded image information on paper. (2) A means for encrypting and enlarging the received image information and recording it on paper, and reading the information on the paper on which the encrypted image information is recorded and determining the content of the encrypted image information. A facsimile device comprising: a means for decoding the contents; and a means for recording the decoded image information on paper.