JPH07152320A - Method and system for ciphering image information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide method and system capable of simply dealing with image information ciphered to the impossibility to be deciphered. CONSTITUTION:By using a ciphering image guide 1 consists of plural optical fibers having irregular graded index, the image information is converted into an electric signal by a CCD camera 8 through the ciphering image guide 1. Thus, the ciphering is performed simply, and since the ciphering is performed by the combination being accidental not logical, the deciphering hardly be possible. The ciphered image information is inputted to a CPU 9 to be transmitted by a modem 10, or to be printed by a printer 11 and to be sent by mail and facsimiles 12, 15. The information is inputted to a receiving CPU 14 through the modem 13 or an image sensor 16. The CPU 14 uses the correspondence relation information of the position specifying codes of the incident side and the outgoing side of the ciphering image guide 1 informed separately, and recognizes the position specifying codes of the ciphering image information, and restores the original image information by rearranging pixels.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and system for handling highly confidential image information when the image information is handled by a personal computer, a facsimile, a copying machine, various cameras or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When processing image information with a conventional personal computer, facsimile, copying machine, various cameras, etc.,
Playback, display, copying, imaging, communication and the like are performed in a state that can be seen and understood by people.

[0003]

In a device for handling various kinds of image information according to the prior art as described above, since the image information is handled as it is, the confidentiality is high, and reproduction, display, copying, imaging and communication are performed. Even if it is desired to present the processed image information to only a limited number of people, there is a problem that the confidentiality may not be maintained. As a countermeasure, a method of encrypting image information by computer processing can be considered, but since the processing is complicated, requires processing time, and is logically performed, in the past experience, it is almost impossible to decrypt. It is said to be possible.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and system capable of easily and unencryptably encrypting and processing image information. is there.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the image information encryption method of the present invention, a plurality of unit image guides are irregularly focused to form an encrypted image guide means, A position designation code is given to the end face of each of the unit image guides on the incident side and the emission side of the encrypted image guide means, and light is incident only on the end face of the unit image guide constituting any one picture element on the incident side. Means for scanning the incident side, and by using the light receiving means on the emitting side to recognize the light receiving position for the incident light, the correspondence information of the position specifying code on the incident side and the position specifying code on the emitting side is obtained. Image information obtained in advance and inputted from the incident side and obtained at the exit side is inputted to the image information processing means, and the image information processing means is inputted to the image information processing means. Is characterized by restoring the image information of the incident side performs pixel sort was used to recognize the position specification code of the image information which is the input said relationship information when decrypting the image information.

Also, the image information encryption system of the present invention is an encryption system comprising an image information encryption device and an image information processing device, wherein the image information encryption device uses a plurality of unit image guides. An encrypted image guide unit composed of an encrypted image guide unit formed by irregularly converging or an encrypted image guide aggregate formed by irregularly collecting the encrypted image guide unit, and the encrypted image guide unit. The image information processing apparatus comprises: a means for converting the image information obtained through the means into an electric signal; and a means for transmitting the image information converted into the electric signal or recording the information on a record carrier. Means for receiving the recorded image information or reading the recorded image information, and the encrypted image Means for inputting or pre-storing the correspondence information of the position designation codes given to the end faces of the unit image guides on the incident side and the emission side of the image guide means, and for recognizing the position designation code of the received or read image information It is characterized by comprising means for rearranging picture elements at corresponding positions on the incident side of the encrypted image guide means based on the correspondence information, and means for presenting the rearranged image information.

[0007]

According to the image information encryption method and system of the present invention, a code consisting of a single encrypted image guide in which a plurality of unit image guides are randomly bundled or an encrypted image guide aggregate in which these image guides are randomly gathered. The encrypted image guide means is used to pass the image information through the encrypted image guide means, and the image information is converted into an electric signal so that it can be encrypted and handled by a simple method. In this way, the image information is encrypted by an accidental combination of unit image guides rather than logically as in computer processing, making decryption almost impossible. The original image information is restored by specifying the position given to the end face of each unit image guide on the entrance side and the exit side of the encrypted image guide means, which is obtained by detecting the light incident on the end face of the unit image guide for each pixel in advance. This is performed by recognizing the position designation code of the encrypted image information using the code correspondence information and rearranging the picture elements.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C show an example of the structure of an encrypted image guide using an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a perspective view showing the structural schematic, (b) is an end view of the incident side, and (c) is an end view of the emitting side.
In this example, one optical fiber 1c guides one picture element. As shown in (a), the encrypted image guide 1 of this example is formed by irregularly focusing a large number of optical fibers 1c and aligning the end faces on the incident side and the emitting side into a constant shape. In the illustrated example, the end face has a quadrangular shape, but the end face is not limited to this and may have, for example, a hexagonal shape.

When image information as shown in FIG. 1B is input to the entrance side of the encrypted image guide 1 as described above, picture elements are dispersed at random positions on the exit side as shown in FIG. And very easily encrypted. Moreover, since this encryption is accidental and not logical like computer processing, it is almost impossible to decrypt and the confidentiality can be easily maintained.

The following is an example of a method of using the image information encrypted in this way.

First, FIG. 2 shows a structural example of an inspection apparatus for obtaining the correspondence information between the incident side and the emitting side of the optical fiber end surface of the encrypted image guide 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c), A1, A2, ..., B1, B are formed on the end faces of the optical fiber on the entrance side 1a and the exit side 1b of the encrypted image guide 1.
The position designation code is given in the order of 2, ... Such an encrypted image guide 1 is positioned and fixed in a space separated from the XY table 2 with the incident side 1a facing the surface of the XY table 2. On the XY table 2, any one of the optical fibers on the incident side 1a of the encrypted image guide 1 is selected.
The projector 3 which makes light incident only on the book is fixed. on the other hand,
The exit side 1b of the encrypted image guide 1 is, for example, a CCD
It is arranged so that it can be photographed by the camera 4 or the like. The image signal of the CCD camera 4 is input to the inspection device 5.

The inspection device 5 controls the XY table 2,
The incident side 1a of the encrypted image guide 1 is scanned. That is, light is sequentially incident on each end face of the optical fiber on the incident side 1a. Here, the light incident on any one end face of the optical fiber is emitted from a specific position on the emission side 1b. The light is captured by the CCD camera 4 and input to the inspection device 5. The inspection device 5 recognizes the position designation code of the end face of the optical fiber on the emission side 1b in advance by the alignment, and grasps the position designation code of the light emission position. The above
By scanning the light projector 3 and carrying out all the optical fiber end faces on the incident side 1a, correspondence data of the position specifying code on the incident side 1a and the position specifying code on the emitting side 1b is obtained.

Next, FIG. 3 shows an example of a system using the image information encrypted by this embodiment. In this system, the case where the sender sends the encrypted image information to the receiver and the receiver restores the original image information is shown.

In the figure, on the transmission side, the subject 6 is CCD through the lens 7 and the encrypted image guide 1 of FIG.
The image is taken by the camera 8 and the image signal is input to the image data processing device such as the CPU 9. In the CPU 9, the input image data is transmitted to the receiving side by the modem 10, or is printed by the printer 11, and the printed matter is delivered to the receiving side by the facsimile 12, or by mail or door to door.

In response to this, the receiving side receives the data by the modem 13 and inputs it to the CPU 14 in the case of transmission, receives it by the facsimile 15 in the case of fax, and inputs it to the CPU 14 via the image sensor 16. On the other hand, even in the case of mailing or the like, the printed matter or the like is sent to the CP via the image sensor
Input in U14. The CPU 14 refers to the correspondence data that has been separately notified from the sender side and has been input to the memory 17 prior to the restoration or has been expanded in advance, and refers to the image data of the input image data. An image of the original subject 6 is restored by rearranging the elements, and is displayed on the monitor 18 or printed using the printer 19.

In the above, it is important that the CPU 9 on the transmitting side correctly recognizes the position specifying code of the input image, and the position of the encrypted image guide 1 and the CCD camera 8 are adjusted in advance. Further, upon restoration, that is, decryption of the code, the CPU 14 correctly recognizes the position specifying code (corresponding to the emitting side position specifying code) of the picture element of the image encrypted by the image processing by checking the position mark or the like of the input image, and the emitting side The position designation code on the incident side corresponding to the position designation code of is referred to from the correspondence data of the memory 17 to rearrange the picture elements. As described above, the decryption is performed, but as long as the correspondence data is secret, the confidentiality of the image information passed from the transmitting side to the receiving side is maintained even if it is erroneously sent or stolen. The feature of the encryption according to the present embodiment is that it uses a combination of optical fibers that can be done by chance without using a logical encryption means such as a CPU, which is said to be decipherable in the end, so that the more pixels there are, the more likely it is to decrypt. Is on the point of difficulty.

In the above embodiment, the encrypted image guide alone is used as the encrypted image guide means. However, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the encrypted image guide alone 1d is used. It is also possible to use an encrypted image guide aggregate 1'in which a plurality of random images are aggregated. in this case,
The position designation code that gives the incident side 1a (FIG. 4A) to the outgoing side (FIG. 4B) is the encrypted image guide unit 1
The position designation code of d (C1, C2, ..., D1, D2
...) and the position designation codes (A1, A2, ..., B1, of each optical fiber end face in each encrypted image guide unit 1d)
B2, ...) and manage it. As the encrypted image guide means, it is also possible to connect a plurality of those shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 in series. Alternatively, a plurality of optical fibers may be bundled into one unit image guide to guide one picture element. Correspondence data between the entrance side and the exit side of these encrypted image guide means are inspected and obtained in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. A scanning electron probe can be used as the inspection device, and the correspondence data can be similarly obtained.

In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which a document printed by a printer is transmitted by a facsimile, and a document received by the facsimile is read and restored. However, when a document transmitted by a facsimile on the transmission side is read by a line sensor or the like. A configuration is also possible in which a facsimile signal is directly encrypted and transmitted, and a facsimile signal received by a facsimile on the receiving side is directly decrypted and output.

As a means for converting the encrypted image information into an electric signal, it is possible to use another photoelectric conversion element such as a piezo element instead of the CCD camera. Also,
The record carrier of the encrypted image information may be in the form of a floppy disk, memory card or microfilm in addition to printing paper, and is suitable for storage.

As described above, the present invention can be applied in various ways in accordance with the gist thereof and can take various embodiments.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the image information encryption method and system of the present invention, it becomes possible to encrypt and handle image information by a simple method, which is similar to computer processing. Since it is encrypted not by logical but by accidental combination of unit image guides, it becomes almost impossible to decrypt and the confidentiality of image information can be enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A, 1B, and 1C are diagrams showing a configuration example of an encrypted image guide unit used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an inspection device for obtaining correspondence information of position designation codes on the incident side and the emission side of the encrypted image guide means.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a system using image information encrypted according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are diagrams showing another configuration example of the encrypted image guide unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Encrypted image guide 1 '... Encrypted image guide assembly 2 ... XY table 3 ... Projector 4 ... CCD camera 5 ... Inspection device 6 ... Subject 8 ... CCD camera 9, 14 ... CPU 10, 13 ... Modem 11, 19 ... Printer 12, 15 ... Facsimile 17 ... Memory 18 ... Monitor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/44 7251-5C

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of unit image guides are randomly gathered to form an encrypted image guide means, and a position is designated on an end surface of each of the unit image guides on the entrance side and the exit side of the encrypted image guide means. The incident light is scanned using a light-receiving means on the incident side, which is provided with a code, and means for making light incident only on the end face of a unit image guide that constitutes one of the picture elements on the incident side. Corresponding information between the incident side position designation code and the exit side position designation code is obtained in advance by recognizing the light receiving position with respect to, and the image information input from the incident side and obtained at the exit side is sent to the image information processing means. Input,
When the image information processing means decodes the input image information, it recognizes the position specifying code of the input image information, rearranges the picture elements using the correspondence information, and inputs the image information on the incident side. A method for encrypting image information, which is characterized by restoring. 2. The image information encryption method according to claim 1, wherein the encrypted image guide means irregularly collects a plurality of unit image guides, and a plurality of encrypted image guide units are further randomly gathered. In this case, the position designation code given to the end faces of the unit image guides on the incident side and the emission side of the encrypted image guide means is the encrypted image guide assembly, and the position designation code portion of the encrypted image guide alone and the cipher. A method for encrypting image information, which comprises a position specifying code portion of a unit image guide in a single image guide. 3. An encryption system comprising an image information encrypting device and an image information processing device, wherein the image information encrypting device irregularly bundles a plurality of unit image guides. Encrypted image guide means constituted by an encrypted image guide aggregate formed by irregularly assembling the encrypted image guide alone or the encrypted image guide, and the image information obtained through the encrypted image guide means into an electric signal. An image information processing device, comprising means for converting and means for transmitting the image information converted into the electric signal or recording on a record carrier, wherein the image information processing device receives the transmitted image information or records the information. Means for reading the encrypted image information, and the unit image on the entrance side and the exit side of the encrypted image guide means. Means for inputting or pre-storing correspondence information of the position designation code given to the end face of the image guide, and recognizing the position designation code of the received or read image information, and based on the correspondence information, the encrypted image guide An image information encryption system comprising: means for rearranging picture elements at corresponding positions on the incident side of the means; and means for presenting the rearranged image information.