JPH1132213A - Image-processing unit and image-processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize a specific image with high accuracy by discriminating whether or not a specific original is included in received image data and controlling image-forming on a recording medium according to the discriminated result. SOLUTION: In the case that a reference pattern A is included on a front side or a reference pattern D is included on a rear side, the image is filled solid unconditionally by specific toner in image forming. In the case that a reference pattern B is included on the front side and a reference pattern C is included on the rear side, the image is also filled solid unconditionally by specific toner in image forming. Two kinds of reference patterns are prepared on images on the front and rear sides respectively, and in the case that any one image of one side matches with a reference pattern with a narrower tolerance and images on both the front and rear sides match with respective reference patterns with a narrow allowable width respectively, it is recognized that an image recorded on recording paper is a specific image instead of merely comparing the image data to be printed on the front and rear sides.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for recognizing whether a specific original is included in an input image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of color copying machines and color printers, it has become easy to obtain high-quality full-color printed matter. Conventionally, anyone could easily obtain the required color printing by performing image processing using a high-performance color scanner and a computer, which would otherwise be impossible only with a specialized printing company.

However, with the widespread use of these devices, there is a social demand for a technology for preventing counterfeiting of bills and securities using a color copying machine or a color printer.

According to this technique, reference data is created in advance from image information of predetermined bills and securities, and the reference data is stored in a memory of a copying machine or a printer. Then, it is determined whether the image represented by the input image data is a bill or a securities.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a processing concept of an image forming apparatus including a conventional forgery prevention function.

In FIG. 7, an image data input unit 31 inputs digital image data and outputs the digital image data to a calculation unit 32. The operation unit 32 receives the digital image data, performs a blocking process, inputs a reference pattern from the reference pattern storage unit 33, compares the reference pattern with the input image data, and outputs a result of the comparison as a result. Output to the unit 34. Then, the result output unit 34 outputs the comparison result, that is, the recognition result input from the calculation unit 33.

First, the block processing of a digital image will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a digital image divided into blocks.

As shown in FIG. 8, for each block of a predetermined size (for example, a square having 256 pixels on each side), an average value of the density of the pixels in the block is obtained and used as a representative value of one block of the blocked image. . The value of each block shown in FIG.
The average density (hexadecimal representation) of the pixels in the block is shown. The example in FIG. 8 is image data divided into blocks of 5 × 5 blocks.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the structure of reference data registered in the reference pattern storage section 33.

One reference data for one specific image is obtained as follows. First, for example, the characteristic part is extracted from the image of the banknote,
The image of the characteristic portion is divided into blocks as in the case of the input digital image data, and the average density of each block is obtained. Then, a set of an upper limit value and a lower limit value having a predetermined width above and below the average density is used as reference data of each block.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the value after blocking is
Reference data is used using blocks of 5 rows × 5 columns.

Next, a comparison process between the input digital image data and the reference data, which is executed by the arithmetic unit 33, will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S611, it is checked whether or not comparison has been completed for all image data of one page of the image document. If the comparison processing has been completed, the processing is terminated. Proceed to S612.

In step S612, one line of the block of image data is read from the image data input unit 31. This is because the quantized image data, which is originally two-dimensional data, is processed line by line in order to be treated as serial data. Next, in step S613, it is determined whether or not a part of the reference pattern is already included in the input image data. Here, if it is determined that there is a reference pattern being checked, the process proceeds to step S614, and it is further determined whether or not the remaining part of the reference pattern also matches. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no reference pattern being checked, the process proceeds to step S619.

First, a case will be described in which the input image data so far does not include a portion (line matching) that matches the reference pattern.

In this case, in step S619, it is checked whether or not the pattern of the first line of the reference pattern is included in the read one-line block image data. A matching condition for checking is whether or not the average density of the input is between the upper limit and the lower limit of each block in the reference data. Here, if it is determined that the pattern of the first line of the reference pattern is included, the process proceeds to step S620, and the information indicating the type of the corresponding reference pattern and the location including the portion of the first line is included. It stores that there is a “reference pattern being confirmed”. Thereafter, the process returns to step S611. On the other hand, if it is determined that the pattern on the first line of the reference pattern is not included, the process returns to step S611. Then, in step S611, the next one line of image data is read.

Next, a case will be described in which the input image data so far has a portion that matches the reference pattern.

In this case, in step S614, it is checked whether or not the remaining part of the reference pattern having a part that has already been matched is included at an appropriate position (as two-dimensional data). The matching condition when checking is that the average density of the block image data input between the upper limit and the lower limit of each block in the reference data is included, and the position has been confirmed so far. Whether it is just below the position. If the input block image data satisfies the matching condition, the process proceeds to step S615
Then, it is checked whether or not blocks in five consecutive rows are included in the upper and lower limits of the reference pattern to be checked. On the other hand, when the matching condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S618.

In step S618, it is further checked whether there is a "reference pattern being checked". If there is such a pattern, the process returns to step S614 to check for a match with the pattern. If not, the process proceeds to step S619.

Now, the process proceeds to step S615.
If it is determined that the input block image data matches all the blocks (here, five rows) constituting the reference pattern, the process proceeds to step S616, where it is determined that the reference pattern has been detected, and that fact is subsequently determined. Is notified to the result processing unit 34, and then the processing is terminated. On the other hand, if all blocks (here, five rows) constituting the reference pattern have not been matched, the process proceeds to step S617, in which the stored “reference pattern under confirmation” is stored. Updates information about the detection position. Thereafter, processing proceeds to step S617.

By the processing described above, it is possible to determine whether or not the digital image contains the pattern of the specific image.

[0023]

However, in the above-described conventional example, there is a problem that an image similar to a specific image is erroneously recognized or a specific image cannot be recognized. In general, if the width of the allowable density value of the reference pattern is widened, an image similar to the specific image is often erroneously recognized, and if the width of the density value of the reference pattern is narrow, the specific image cannot be recognized. Increase.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of both forgery prevention and faithful image reproduction, it is always required that an image which is not a specific image has a lower probability of erroneous recognition and a specific image can be recognized with a higher probability. I have.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of recognizing a specific image with higher accuracy and preventing forgery.

[0026]

In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement.

That is, an image processing apparatus for processing input image data and forming and outputting an image on both sides of a recording medium, comprising: an image forming means capable of forming an image on both sides of the recording medium;
First and second reference data relating to the characteristic image on the front surface of the specific document, and third reference data relating to the characteristic image on the back surface of the specific document.
Storage means for storing the first and second reference data, and storage means for storing the first and second reference data, and storage means for storing the first and second reference data. Second comparing means for comparing input image data corresponding to image formation on the back surface of the medium with the third and fourth reference data, and the input image data according to a comparison result by the first and second comparing means A determination unit that determines whether or not the specific document is included in the image forming apparatus; and an image forming control unit that controls the image forming unit to control image formation on a recording medium in accordance with a determination result by the determination unit. An image processing apparatus is provided.

Here, the first and second reference data are respectively obtained by averaging density image data generated based on a characteristic image on the surface of a specific document in blocks of a predetermined size.
The averaged density data is data configured to have first and second allowable ranges for each block unit, and the third and fourth reference data are the characteristics of the back surface of the specific document, respectively. The density image data generated based on the image is averaged in block units of a predetermined size, and the averaged density data is data configured to have third and fourth allowable ranges in each block unit. Preferably, there is. Then, the first allowable range is narrower than the second allowable range, while the third allowable range is preferably narrower than the fourth allowable range.

Further, it is preferable to have a notifying means such as an LCD for notifying the apparatus user of the discrimination result in accordance with the discrimination result.

Further, the image forming means includes a laser beam printer for forming an image in accordance with an electrophotographic method, and the image forming control means determines whether or not the input image data includes a specific original. It is preferable to use a laser beam printer to control the recording medium to be filled with a specific color toner.

Note that, when the first or third reference data is included in the input image data, the discriminating means further includes the second and fourth reference data in the input image data. In this case, it is desirable to determine that the specific image is included in the input image data.

The specific manuscript includes bills, securities, and the like.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for processing input image data to form an image on both sides of a recording medium and outputting the image, wherein the first method relates to a characteristic image on a front surface of a specific document.
Storing the second reference data and third and fourth reference data relating to the characteristic image on the back surface of the specific document in a storage medium, and input image data corresponding to image formation on the front surface of the recording medium A first comparing step of comparing the first and second reference data with the first and second reference data; and a second comparing step of comparing input image data corresponding to image formation on the back surface of the recording medium with the third and fourth reference data. A comparing step, a discriminating step of discriminating whether or not the input image data includes the specific document in accordance with the comparison results in the first and second comparing steps, and And an image forming control step of controlling image formation on the image forming apparatus.

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the first and second reference data relating to the characteristic image on the front side of the specific document and the third and fourth reference data relating to the characteristic image on the back side of the specific document are provided. The input image data corresponding to the image formation on the front surface of the recording medium is compared with the first and second reference data, and the input data corresponding to the image formation on the back surface of the recording medium is stored. The image data is compared with the third and fourth reference data, and it is determined whether or not the input image data includes a specific document according to the comparison result. According to the determination result, image formation on a recording medium is performed. Control.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the processing concept of an image processing apparatus which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes an image data input unit for inputting image data representing an image to be printed on the front and back surfaces of the recording paper, and 12 denotes a feature of a plurality of specific images constituted by a ROM. A reference pattern storage unit 13 for storing the pattern of each unit (reference pattern) as reference data, comparing the input image data with a plurality of reference patterns, and calculating the recognition result of the specific image based on the comparison result; An operation unit 14 is a storage unit for temporarily storing the result of the comparison, and 15 is an image forming unit (printer engine) for forming an image based on the recognition result.

The configuration of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment includes a color copier in which a scanner (not shown) and a printer are integrated, a scanner for reading an image original, and a host computer (not shown: A print system includes a host and a color printer, or a print system including a host that generates image data and a color printer. Regardless of the configuration, the generated color image data is input to a color printer, subjected to image processing, and printed on recording paper.

FIG. 2 shows an image formed in the order of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and BK (black) according to the electrophotographic method, and the image of each color is formed on one sheet of recording paper. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a configuration of a color printer that forms a superimposed full-color image. It is assumed that color image data composed of RGB color components is sent from the host to this printer.

The controller 100 having received the RGB image data from the host generates a density signal of each of the YMCBk components as an image signal based on the received image data, and executes an image forming process.

When an image signal is output from the controller 100 and a semiconductor laser (not shown) is driven, the semiconductor laser emits a laser beam toward the polygon mirror 101. At this time, the photosensitive drum 105 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charger 104. The laser beam L reflected by the polygon mirror 101 scans the photosensitive drum 105 via the lens 102 and the mirror 103 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 105 based on, for example, a Y component density signal. I do. Next, a predetermined developing bias voltage is applied to the yellow developing device Dy to develop the latent image, and a yellow toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 105. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 105 is directly transferred to the transfer drum 106.

Next, a latent image based on the density signal of the M component is formed on the photosensitive drum 105 by the laser beam L, and then the photosensitive drum 1 is
The magenta toner image is formed by developing the latent image on the toner image 05 and transferred to the transfer drum 106.

Subsequently, similarly, cyan and black toner images are transferred to the transfer drum 106, and as a result, four color toner images are formed on the transfer drum.

On the other hand, at a predetermined timing,
07, the recording paper P is fed, and is guided to the transfer drum 105 via the paper feed roller 108, where the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper P. At the same time, the cleaner 106f
As a result, the toner remaining on the transfer drum 106 is removed, and the apparatus is prepared for the next image forming process. Subsequently, the fixing device 1
In step 09, the toner image on the sheet P is fixed, and then the recording sheet P is discharged to the sheet discharge units 110 and 111.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 112 denotes an operation panel for setting various printing conditions relating to the apparatus by the user or displaying that the input image includes a specific image. , LED lamps and the like.

This color printer can print another image on the back side of the recording paper printed by reversing the conveying direction of the recording paper.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller 100.

First, the color processing unit 301 receives RGB color image data 317 of 8 bits per pixel and a color designation signal (ICLR) 315 for each color component from the host. As described above, the color image processing apparatus according to this embodiment forms a yellow (Y) image, a magenta (M) image, a cyan (C) image, and a black (Bk) image in a frame-sequential manner. , Y data of one screen (one sheet of recording paper),
M data for one screen, C data for one screen, B for one screen
The density image data is output in the order of k data. For this reason,
The color processing unit 301 converts the RGB color image data for one screen one pixel at a time, and first, an 8-bit V representing the Y data.
The signal is converted to a DO (video) signal and output. Then, an 8-bit VDO (video) signal representing M data, an 8-bit VDO (video) signal representing C data, and an 8-bit VDO (video) signal representing Bk data are output.

At the time of this conversion, masking and UCR processing are executed. The color processing unit 301 determines which color of Y, M, C, or Bk the input RGB color image data should be converted into a color designation signal (ICL) sent from the host.
R) Select by 315. In this embodiment, the color designation signal (ICLR) 316 first designates M, and thereafter, every time image data for one screen is output, the designation changes in the order of C, Y, and Bk.

The density correction unit 302 includes a color processing unit 301.
For each component of YMCBk output from the device, a density image signal of 8 bits per pixel is input, and density correction is performed according to the output characteristics of the apparatus. The corrected density image signal output from the density correction unit 302 is output to the image formation control unit 303.

The ROM 304 constituting the reference pattern storage unit 12 stores reference data representing a characteristic portion of a specific image such as a bill or a securities, and stores the image data input unit 11 and the operation unit 13. The reference data signal (REF) 306 is output to the pattern matching unit 308 to be configured.

The reference data includes data on characteristic images (characteristic portions) of the front and back surfaces of each specific image generated by the method described in the conventional example. Two for the surface of the image,
It has two reference data for the back side.
The two data on each of the front and back surfaces are data expressing the same characteristic portion, but the density width of each block is different. In other words, of the two reference data, one has a narrow allowable width but the other has a wide allowable width. In the following description,
Regarding the reference data of one specific image, the reference data A having a narrow allowable width relating to the surface feature portion is referred to as reference pattern A (this pattern is a reference pattern A), and the reference data having a wide allowable width is reference data B (this pattern is referred to as a reference pattern B). The one having a wide allowable width with respect to the feature on the back surface is referred to as reference data C (this pattern is a reference pattern C), and the one having a narrow allowable width is referred to as reference data D (this pattern is a reference pattern D).

The pattern matching unit 308 blocks the density image signal as described in the
Reference data signal (REF) input from 304
A pattern recognition process is performed by comparing 306 with the block image signal to determine whether or not the input image includes a specific image. Then, the determination result is output to the image formation control unit 303. Pattern matching unit 308
The execution of the pattern recognition process by is controlled by the CPU 200. The details of this determination processing will be described later.

When it is determined that the input signal contains the specific image according to the determination result by the pattern recognition, the image forming control unit 303 transfers the toner of the specific color to the entire surface of the recording paper. Control. On the other hand, when it is determined that the specific image is not included in the input signal as a result of the determination, control is performed so that the normal image forming process is performed as it is.

Each color component video signal (VDO) on which such processing has been performed is output to a PWM (pulse width modulation) unit 309. In the PWM unit 309, the density image signal of 8 bits per pixel is latched by the latch circuit 310 into an image clock (PCL).
K) Latch in synchronization with the rise of 316, further convert the density image signal into an analog voltage corresponding to the signal value by a D / A converter 311 and input the analog voltage to one input terminal of an analog comparator 312. On the other hand, the triangular wave generator 314 generates a triangular wave based on the image clock (PCLK) 316 and inputs the triangular wave to the other input terminal of the analog comparator 312. The analog comparator 312 compares the two input signals of the analog voltage and the triangular wave, outputs a PWM signal, and inverts the signal by the inverter 313 to finally obtain a PWM signal. This PWM signal is input to a laser driving unit (not shown) and drives a semiconductor laser.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire controller 100;
That stores programs required for control executed by
M and 202 execute the CPU 2 to execute the program.
Reference numeral 00 denotes a RAM used as a work area.

Next, a specific image recognition process in an image processing apparatus having a color printer having such a configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

Note that the block image data (signal) and reference data described below are generated by the same method as that described in the conventional example. In the following image processing, a case will be described in which an image is printed on each of the front and back surfaces of one recording sheet (double-sided printing).

First, in step S401, RGB image data representing an image (front image) to be printed on the surface of recording paper is input, converted into YMCK density data, density corrected, and block processing is performed. Next, step S402
Then, the reference data A is read from the ROM 306, and is compared with the block image data corresponding to the front image. The details of this comparison processing are executed in the same manner as described in the conventional example.

As a result of the comparison processing, if it is determined that the reference image A represented by the reference data A is included in the front image, the process proceeds to step S410, and the image forming control unit 303 determines that Is controlled to transfer a toner of a specific color. Thereafter, the process ends. On the other hand, reference data A
If it is determined that the reference pattern A expressed by is not included, the process proceeds to step S403,
The reference data B is read from the ROM 306,
This is compared with the block image data corresponding to the front image. The details of this comparison processing are executed in the same manner as described in the conventional example.

As a result of the comparison processing, if it is determined that the reference image B represented by the reference data B is included in the front image, the process proceeds to step S404, and the input image includes the specific image. It is considered that there is a possibility, and the fact is stored in the RAM 320. afterwards,
The process advances to step S405 to input RGB image data representing an image (back image) to be printed on the back surface of the recording paper, convert the image data to YMCK density data, perform density correction, and perform block processing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reference pattern B represented by the reference data B is not included in the front image, the process proceeds to step S411, and the input process for the data representing the back image is performed as in step S405. Do.

Now, the process proceeds to step S406.
The reference data D is read from the ROM 306, and is compared with the block image data corresponding to the back image. The details of this comparison processing are executed in the same manner as described in the conventional example. As a result of the comparison processing, if it is determined that the reference pattern D represented by the reference data D is included in the back image, the process proceeds to step S410, whereas the reference data D is represented in the back image. If it is determined that the reference pattern D is not included, the process proceeds to step S407, where R
The reference data C is read from the OM 306 and is compared with the block image data corresponding to the back image. The details of this comparison processing are executed in the same manner as described in the conventional example.

If it is determined in step S407 that the back image includes the reference pattern C represented by the reference data C, the process proceeds to step S4.
In step 08, the comparison result of the previous front image is read from the RAM 320. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S409,
It is checked whether the reference image B is included in the front image. Here, if the reference image B is included in the front image, it means that an image suspected of being a specific image is included in both the front and the back, and the process proceeds to step S410.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S407 that the reference image C is not included in the back image, it means that only the front surface contains an image suspected of being a specific image. Step S409
In the case where the reference pattern B is not included in the front image, it means that the image suspected of being the specific image is included only on the back surface, so that the processing is performed in step S41.
Then, control is performed so that normal image forming processing is performed as it is. Thereafter, the process ends.

Now, the process proceeds to step S411.
After performing input processing for data representing the back image in the same manner as in step S405, the processing reads the reference data D from the ROM 306 in step S412 as in step S406, and stores the read reference data D in the block image data corresponding to the back image. Compare with As a result of the comparison processing, if it is determined that the reference pattern D is included in the back image, at least the back side includes the specific image, and the process proceeds to step S410. If it is determined that the reference pattern D is not included in the back image, the process proceeds to step S413.

The above processing can be summarized as follows: the reference pattern A on the front surface, or the reference pattern D on the back surface.
Is included, the image is unconditionally filled with the toner of the specific color in the image formation, and even when the reference pattern B is on the front surface and the reference pattern C is on the rear surface, the image is also filled with the toner of the specific color. Control to fill.

Table 1 is a list summarizing this control.

[0068]

[Table 1]

[0069] Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, two types of reference patterns are prepared for each of the front and back images, instead of simply comparing the image data of the front and back surfaces to be printed with the reference patterns separately. However, when one of the images on one side matches the reference pattern with a narrow allowable width, and when both the front and back images match the reference pattern with a wide allowable width, the image recorded on the recording paper is a specific image. Since the control is performed so that the image is recognized as being filled with the toner of the specific color, the determination of the specific image can be performed with higher accuracy, thereby making it possible to more accurately prevent counterfeiting.

In the above embodiment, when the specific image is determined, the toner of the specific color is transferred to the entire surface of the recording paper. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in addition to these processes, the operation panel 1
A message may be displayed on the LCD 12 indicating that printing cannot be performed because the input image is a specific image.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a modification of the processing concept of the image processing apparatus.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 16 denotes a user interface unit for displaying the result based on the determination result of the specific image. The LCD of the operation panel 112 corresponds to this.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a modification of the specific image recognition process. 6, the same processing steps as those described in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same processing step reference numbers. According to the processing shown in FIG. 6, after controlling the image to be filled with the toner of the specific color in step S410, the user displays a message indicating that the input image is the specific image on the LCD in step S415. To inform.

In this manner, not only the image formation when the specific image is recognized but also the recognition of the specific image is notified to the user, which also serves as a warning to the user.

The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but can be applied to a single device (for example, a copier, a facsimile). Device).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be variously modified based on the gist of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to comprehensively determine whether an image to be recorded on both sides of a recording medium is a specific image. This has the effect that counterfeiting can be more reliably prevented.

[0083]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a processing concept of an image processing apparatus according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a configuration of a color printer that forms a full-color image according to an electrophotographic method.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific image recognition process.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a modification of the processing concept of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a modified example of a specific image recognition process.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a processing concept of an image forming apparatus including a conventional forgery prevention function.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a digital image that is divided into blocks.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a structure of reference data registered in a reference pattern storage unit 33;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a comparison process between input digital image data and reference data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Image Data Input Unit 12 Reference Pattern Storage Unit 13 Operation Unit 14 Comparison Temporary Storage Unit 15 Image Forming Unit 16 User Interface Unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for processing input image data to form and output an image on both sides of a recording medium, comprising: an image forming means capable of forming images on both sides of the recording medium; First and second reference data relating to the characteristic image, and third reference data relating to the characteristic image on the back side of the specific document.
Storage means for storing the first and second reference data; and first storage means for storing input image data corresponding to image formation on the surface of a recording medium and the first and second reference data; A second comparing the input image data corresponding to the image formation on the back surface of the medium with the third and fourth reference data;
Comparing means; determining means for determining whether or not the input image data includes the specific document in accordance with a comparison result by the first and second comparing means; and image forming means in accordance with the determination result by the determining means And an image forming control means for controlling image formation on a recording medium by controlling the image forming apparatus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second reference data are:
Averaging density image data generated based on the characteristic image of the surface of the specific document in block units of a predetermined size,
The averaged density data is data configured to have first and second allowable ranges for each block unit, and the third and fourth reference data are respectively provided on the back surface of the specific document. Data configured such that density image data generated based on the characteristic image is averaged in block units of a predetermined size, and the averaged density data has third and fourth allowable ranges in each block unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The image according to claim 2, wherein the first allowable range is narrower than the second allowable range, and the third allowable range is narrower than the fourth allowable range. Processing equipment. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies the apparatus user of the determination result according to the determination result. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the notification unit includes an LCD. 6. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image forming means includes a laser beam printer for forming an image according to an electrophotographic method. 7. The image forming control unit, when the determination unit determines that the input image data includes the specific document, uses the laser beam printer to store the recording medium with toner of a specific color. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein control is performed so as to fill the area. 8. When the first or third reference data is included in the input image data, the determining unit determines whether the first or third reference data is included in the input image data.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining that the specific document is included in the input image data when the second and fourth reference data are included in the input image data. Image processing device. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific document includes bills and securities. 10. An image processing method for processing input image data to form and output an image on both sides of a recording medium, comprising: first and second reference data relating to a characteristic image on a front surface of a specific document; Of the feature image on the back
And a first comparing step of comparing input image data corresponding to image formation on the surface of the recording medium with the first and second reference data. A second comparing the input image data corresponding to the image formation on the back surface of the recording medium with the third and fourth reference data;
A comparing step, and according to a comparison result in the first and second comparing steps,
A determination step of determining whether the specific image is included in the input image data; andan image formation control step of controlling image formation on a recording medium according to a determination result in the determination step. Image processing method.