JPH11305866A - Data processor with input protecting function and program recording medium for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely hold an input protecting function for inhibiting an inputting operation, and to release an input protecting function without inputting any password. SOLUTION: When power is supplied, a CPU 1 fetches a photographic image of an operator by starting a CCD camera 8, analyzes it, and registers and preserves the analyzed result in a protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time. Then, when a key operation for releasing the function is operated while an input protecting function is artificially or automatically started, photographing by the operator is performed with the CCD camera 8, and the analyzed result of the photographic image is compared with the preliminarily registered and preserved analyzed result of the image so that the identity of the operator can be judged, and the input protecting function is released according thereto.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data processing device having an input protection function for prohibiting an input operation under a predetermined condition, and a program recording medium therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a data processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer, when an operator temporarily leaves a seat, input operations are prohibited in order to maintain confidentiality and data protection from others. Input protection function is provided. Here, during the operation of the input protection function, when canceling the input protection function, the operator inputs a password unique to the operator.

[0003]

In order to release the input protection function as described above, a password must be entered each time. Therefore, it is troublesome to memorize a password and a key input procedure. If you forget your password or make a key entry error even temporarily, it takes a long time to release it.If someone knows your password, the input protection function is broken and you can maintain security. become unable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to ensure that an input protection function for prohibiting an input operation can be maintained, and that the input protection function can be released without inputting a password.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. The invention according to claim 1 stores setting means for setting an input protection state for prohibiting an input operation according to predetermined conditions, image input means for photographing an operator, and a photographed image photographed by the image input means. When the image storage unit is set to the input protection state by the setting unit, the operator compares the captured image captured by the image input unit with the captured image stored in the image storage unit, and the operator agrees. And a canceling means for canceling the input protection state and permitting the input operation when the discrimination of the operator is made by the judging means. The image input means may be detachably attached to the front surface of the apparatus main body, and may photograph an operator under predetermined conditions in a state where the image input means is mounted on the apparatus main body. Further, a time measuring means for detecting whether or not a certain time has elapsed from the previous input operation is provided, and the setting means sets the input protection state when the certain time has elapsed by the time measuring means. You may do so. Further, monitoring means for monitoring the presence or absence of an operator by the auto-focus function of the image input means is provided, and when the presence of the operator is confirmed by the monitoring means, the image input means may photograph the operator. Good.

[0005] In the first aspect of the present invention, for example,
When the operator takes a picture with the power ON, and the photographed image is stored and held, predetermined conditions,
For example, an input protection state is set in which an input operation is prohibited by a key operation or the like for activating the input protection function. afterwards,
When the operator performs photographing by a key operation or the like for canceling the input protection function, the current photographed image is compared with a photographed image stored and held in advance, and a match between the operators is determined based on the comparison. As a result, when it is determined that the operators match, the input protection state is released and the input operation is permitted. Therefore, the input protection function for inhibiting the input operation can be reliably held, and the input protection function can be released without inputting the password.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a data processing device with an input protection function. The CPU 1 is a central processing unit that controls the overall operation of the data processing apparatus with an input protection function according to various programs loaded in the RAM 2. The storage device 3 includes a storage medium 4 in which an operating system, various application programs, data files, character font data, and the like are stored in advance, and a drive system thereof. The storage medium 4 is fixedly provided or removably mountable, and is constituted by a magnetic / optical storage medium such as a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, RAM card, or the like, and a semiconductor memory. The programs and data in the storage medium 4 are loaded into the RAM 2 under the control of the CPU 1 as needed. Further, the CPU 1 receives programs and data transmitted from other devices via a communication line or the like and stores them in the storage medium 4 or stored in a storage medium provided in other devices. Existing programs and data can be used via a communication line or the like. An input device 5, a display device 6, a printing device 7, and a CCD camera 8, which are input / output peripheral devices, are connected to the CPU 1 via a bus line, and the CPU 1 controls these operations according to an input / output program. I do.

The input device 5 has a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting character string data and the like and for inputting various commands. Here, when the document data is input from the input device 5, the text data is displayed on the text screen of the display device 6 and the determined character string determined by the kana-kanji conversion is stored in the RAM 2. Note that the display device 6 is a liquid crystal display device, a CRT display device, a plasma display device, or the like, and the printing device 7 is a non-impact printer or an impact printer such as thermal transfer or ink jet. The CCD camera 8 is an electronic still camera called a digital camera having a built-in solid-state imaging device, and is provided detachably with respect to the apparatus main body. The mounting portion is provided on the front side of the apparatus main body, beside the display screen, and can photograph the upper body of the operator with the CCD camera 8 mounted. CPU 1 is a CCD camera 8
The captured image (color image) is captured and image processing is executed. At this time, if the captured image is a normal image of the operator, the captured image is analyzed, and the analysis result is stored in the RAM 2. Remember. In addition,
The CCD camera 8 can be used as a normal image input device for inputting an arbitrarily shot image as a paste image for pasting into a document in a state where the CCD camera 8 is detached from the apparatus main body. The image is fetched as an image, stored and held in the RAM 2, and is enlarged / reduced and attached to an arbitrary position in the document as needed.

FIG. 1B shows a main configuration of the RAM 2, and various memory areas are allocated to the RAM 2. The document memory 2-1 is a text memory that stores the input and created document data and the document data loaded from the storage device 3. The flag register 2-2 is set with a protection mode flag indicating whether or not an input protection state is set to prohibit an input operation. When a protection key for declaring input protection is operated from the input device 5, the flag register 2-2 is operated. Then, the protection mode flag is turned on to set the input protection state, and when the input protection release key is operated, the protection mode flag is turned off under a certain condition to permit the input operation.
The protection image memory 2-3 for the current time and the protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time store the analysis result of the photographed image of the operator.
Numeral 3 stores a photographing result photographed in a state where the input protection mode is turned on, and the previous protection image memory 2-4 stores a photographing result photographed when the power is turned on. here,
The analysis result of the photographed image of the operator is the contour and color information of the operator extracted from the photographed image.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a current protection image memory 2-3 and a previous protection image memory 2-4 when an input protection release key is operated.
Are compared, and as a result, if the two characteristic portions match, the input protection mode is canceled by regarding the match as an operator. The work memory 2-5 is a work area for temporarily storing various programs, calculation results during processing, and the like.

Next, the operation of the data processing apparatus with an input protection function will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Here, a program for realizing each function described in these flowcharts is a CPU.
1 is stored in the storage medium 4 in the form of a readable program code, and the contents thereof are loaded into the work memory 2-5 in the RAM 2. The same applies to flowcharts in other embodiments described later.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart that is started when the power is turned on. First, the CPU 1 activates the CCD camera 8 and
A color image of the operator captured by the CCD camera 8 is captured (Step A1), and the captured image is analyzed to extract a characteristic contour in the image (Step A).
2). That is, the CCD attached to the device body
The camera 8 is pointed at the operator, and the upper body of the operator is photographed as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, since the operator is usually photographed in the center of the image, the operator may be photographed. The central part of the image having high propensity is analyzed, and the characteristic outline is extracted while tracking the outline approximating the upper body pattern. As a result, if the extracted contour is significantly different from the upper body pattern, it is determined that the operator has not been properly photographed (step A3), and the CCD camera 8 is restarted to perform photographing again (step A1). . For example, when the operator is not facing the front or when only a part of the upper body is shot, several shots are repeated until a normal shot is taken.

If the operator can be normally photographed, the process proceeds to step A4, where the color in each extracted contour is detected from the photographed image (step A4), and the contour information and the color information are associated with each other. It is stored in the protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time (step A5). This allows the operator's features, such as the presence or absence of glasses, the shape of clothing,
Characteristic portions such as colors, body size and posture of the operator are recognized and registered and stored in the protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time. The image information registered and stored in this manner is characteristic information representing only the characteristics of the operator, and does not require strict information, so that the resolution of the CCD camera 8 and the strictness of image analysis are not required, and rough characteristics are recognized. If possible. In the state where the operator's image is taken along with the power-on and the characteristic portion is registered and stored, key input is waited (step A6), and the process waits until any key input is made. Here, immediately after the power is turned on, a list of processing menu items is displayed on the display screen, and by selecting and specifying an arbitrary menu item from the menu screen, processing such as document creation, update, and printing can be executed. Become. That is, in step A6,
If it is detected that another key has been operated except for the protection key for declaring the start of the input protection function and the release key for declaring the release of the function, the process proceeds to step A17, and the flag register 2-2 is reset. It is checked to see if it is set to input protection mode. Immediately after power-on, since input protection mode is reset, normal key input processing according to operation keys is executed, and document creation processing and editing Processing, printing processing, and the like are performed. Then, the process returns to step A6 to wait for key input, and thereafter, normal processing is performed until the protection key or the release key is operated.

Here, if it is assumed that the operator operates the protection key to temporarily leave the seat, step A
In step 7, the flag indicating the input protection mode is turned on in the flag register 2-2 to enter the input protection mode. In this way, the input protection mode is started by key operation,
In some cases, it starts automatically. That is, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation in this case. In the key input waiting state, the CPU 1 executes the interrupt processing of FIG. 3 by interruption for a certain time and checks whether a certain time has elapsed since the last key input. (Step B1) If the elapse of the certain time is detected, the input protection mode is automatically started (Step B2). In this case, the fixed time can be arbitrarily set by the operator, and a time suitable for oneself can be set according to the skill level or the like.
In the state where the input protection mode is set, even if a character key or the like is operated, the protection mode is detected in step A17 and the process returns to step A6. It is forbidden.

If the release key for releasing the protection mode has been operated, the flow proceeds to step A8 to check whether the protection mode is currently in progress. If not, the flow proceeds to step A6 to invalidate the release key. Returning, if in the protection mode, the photographing process and the image analysis storing process are performed (steps A9 to A12). That is, steps A9 to A12
Performs the same processing as the above-described steps A1 to A5, captures a captured image captured by the CCD camera 8 (step A9), performs image analysis, and extracts the contour of the operator (step A10), It is checked whether or not the image has been normally captured based on the outline (step A1).
1), photographing is repeated until normal photographing is performed. If the photographing is normally performed, the color of each contour is detected, and the contour information and the color information are associated with each other and stored in the current protection image memory 2-3. (Step A12). Then, the image characteristic information in the protection image memory 2-3 for the current time and the image characteristic information in the protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time are read out and collated (step A).
13), it is determined whether they match (step A1)
4). In this case, when comparing the image feature information obtained by photographing the operator when the power is turned on with the image feature information obtained by photographing when the input protection is released, the overall size, the presence or absence of glasses, the clothing The color and the like are regarded as important, and a slight difference is ignored, and it is checked whether or not the two match. That is, it suffices if the identity of the operators can be confirmed, and does not require complete matching of the feature information. As a result, when the identity of the operators can be confirmed, the process proceeds to step A15, in which the mode flag in the flag register 2-2 is turned off to release the protection mode. Displays a message indicating that the protection mode cannot be released (step A16).
Then, the process returns to step A6 and waits for a key input.

As described above, in the data processing apparatus with the input protection function, when the power is turned on, the operator takes a picture, and the characteristic information of the image is registered and stored.
If the protection key is operated or if there is no input for a certain period of time from the previous input, the mode shifts to the input protection mode and the input operation is prohibited, but in this input protection mode, if the release key is operated, Since the photographing of the operator is performed and the characteristic information of the image is extracted, the characteristic information of the image registered and stored at the time of turning on the power is compared with the characteristic information of the image obtained by the current photographing, thereby identifying the operator. The input protection mode is released under the condition that the operator is the same, so that the input protection function for prohibiting the input operation can be reliably held, and even if the password is not input. The input protection function can be released. Therefore, the trouble of memorizing the password and the key input procedure for canceling the input protection mode can be relieved, and there is no problem even if the password is known to another person. Also,
The CCD camera 8 can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and the CCD camera 8 can be used as a paste image input device. Therefore, there is no need to provide a dedicated CCD camera 8 for input protection. CC
The D camera 8 can be used together. Further, since the input mode is automatically switched to the input protection mode when no input operation is performed for a certain period of time from the previous input, there is no need to operate the protection key every time the user leaves the seat, even if the operation is forgotten. Input protection becomes possible.

(Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the first
In the embodiment, the input protection is released by a key operation, but in the second embodiment, the presence or absence of an operator is confirmed and automatically performed. In addition, in the second embodiment, the transition to the input protection mode is automatically performed by confirming the presence or absence of an operator. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main operations in the second embodiment. First, when the power is turned on, the operator is photographed to analyze the image, and the analysis result is stored in the protection image memory 2 for the previous time.
-4 is registered (step C).
1), the photographing process and the image analysis storing process are the same as steps A1 to A5 in FIG. Next, the CCD camera 8
Activate the auto focus function (step C2),
The presence or absence of an operator is confirmed according to the focal length at that time (step C3). That is, the position of the operator who sits immediately before the data processing device with the input protection function is substantially constant, and it is possible to determine whether or not the operator is absent according to the distance from the CCD camera 8 to the operator. Here, when the absence of the operator is confirmed, the process proceeds to step C4 to check whether a certain time has elapsed after confirming the absence, and returns to step C2 until the certain time has elapsed. Thereafter, the absence confirmation is repeated. . As a result, if the absence of a certain time or more is confirmed, the flag register 2
Then, the mode flag in -2 is turned on to start the input protection mode (step C5). Then, step C2
To confirm the existence of the operator.

In the state in which the input protection mode is set as described above, the input operation is prohibited as in the first embodiment described above. Since the confirmation has been repeated, it is determined in step C3 that the operator has returned to the seat.
Is detected, the process proceeds to step C6, where the photographing process and the image analysis storing process are performed on condition that the protection mode is set (step C7). That is, the same processing as steps A9 to A12 in FIG. 2 is executed without operating the release key, and the processing of analyzing the photographed image of the operator and storing it in the current protection image memory 2-3 is performed. . Then, a process of collating the image feature information in the flag register 2-2 and the current protection image memory 2-3 is performed (step C8), and the collation process in this case is the same as that of step A13 in FIG. is there. As a result, if the identity of the operator can be confirmed by matching the characteristic portions of the two images, the input protection mode is released (step C1).
0), if the identity could not be confirmed, a message indicating that the release and disapproval are impossible is displayed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (step C11). In the second embodiment configured as described above, the first embodiment described above is also used.
In addition to the same effects as those of the embodiment, the transition / cancellation to the input protection mode is fully automated, so that it has excellent effects in terms of operability and safety.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the operator is photographed when the power is turned on, the image is analyzed, and the image is registered and stored in the protection image memory 2-4 for the previous time. The photographing process and the image analysis storing process may be executed and registered and stored in response to a key operation for declaring the start. Furthermore, the image to be registered and stored is not limited to the time of power-on or the operation of the protection key, but can be arbitrarily taken and registered and stored, so that use by others can be prohibited. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, one CCD camera 8 is used. However, if two CCD cameras 8 are installed on the left and right, three-dimensional image processing becomes possible, and when judging the identity of the operator, , More secure.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the input protection function for prohibiting the input operation can be reliably held, and the input protection function can be released without inputting the password, thereby reducing the burden on the operator. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a data processing device with an input protection function, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of a RAM 2;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overall operation executed when the power is turned on.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an interrupt process that is started by interruption every predetermined time.

FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing characteristic information of a captured image.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a characteristic portion of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 CPU 2 RAM 2-1 Document memory 2-2 Flag register 2-3 Current protection image memory 2-4 Previous protection image memory 3 Storage device 4 Storage medium 5 Input device 8 CCD camera

Claims (5)

[Claims] A setting means for setting an input protection state for prohibiting an input operation according to a predetermined condition; an image input means for photographing an operator; and an image storage means for storing a photographed image photographed by the image input means. And comparing the captured image captured by the image input unit with the captured image stored in the image storage unit when the input protection state is set by the setting unit, and determining whether the operator matches. Data having an input protection function, characterized by comprising: a determination means for determining whether or not an operator match is determined by the determination means; Processing equipment. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image input means is detachably attached to a front portion of the apparatus main body, and takes an image of an operator under predetermined conditions when said image input means is mounted on said apparatus main body. The data processing device with an input protection function according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A time measuring means for detecting whether or not a fixed time has elapsed from a previous input operation, wherein said setting means sets an input protection state when a certain time has passed by said time measuring means. The data processing device with an input protection function according to claim 1, wherein 4. A monitoring means for monitoring the presence or absence of an operator by an auto-focus function of the image input means, wherein the image input means photographs the operator when the presence of the operator is confirmed by the monitoring means. 2. The data processing device with an input protection function according to claim 1, wherein: 5. A function for setting an input protection state for prohibiting an input operation according to a predetermined condition to a computer, and a photographed image obtained by photographing an operator when the input protection state is set. A recording medium for recording a program for realizing a function of comparing the captured image with the operator to determine the match of the operator and a function of releasing the input protection state and permitting the input operation when the match of the operator is determined .