JPS63212275A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clealy express the outline of an original such as the type of the received original and to effectively maintain the secrecy of contents desired to maintain the secrecy by encoding only a part of the original and outputting the encoded part as it is when a cancellation key is not applied in a receiving side. CONSTITUTION:A writing is executed on the transmitting original 1 with a marker (ink of prescribed color or magnetic ink) to designate an area to be coded. In the receiving side, the receiving original 2 at the time of applying no code cancellation key has the are of a coded picture part with an edge indicated, the pattern of the information of a coding key is included in the edge and they are outputted together with other picture. When the code cancellation key inputted in the receiving side coincides with the coding key, a code is cancelled to output the original 3. Thereby, the outline of the original such as the type of the original received in the receiving side is expressed and the secrecy of the contents desired to maintain the secrecy can be effectively maintained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a facsimile machine that maintains confidentiality of image contents by data encryption.

[Prior Art] When maintaining confidentiality in a conventional facsimile machine, all images are encrypted and sent to the receiving side, and then output on recording paper. All images on the document are encrypted and output. Ru.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In conventional facsimile machines, when maintaining confidentiality, all images on a document are output encrypted, and the type of the received document itself is unknown.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention encrypts only a portion of the document, and if the receiving side does not provide the deactivation key, that portion will be output as encrypted, and if the deactivation key is provided, the entire document will be output. It is restored and output.

[Function 1] The present invention encrypts only a portion of a document, and if the receiving side does not provide a decryption key, that portion is output as encrypted, and if the deactivation key is provided, the entire document is restored and output. Therefore, while clearly indicating the outline of the manuscript, such as the type of the received manuscript, the content to be kept confidential can be securely kept confidential.

[Example 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a crystal oscillator l generates a reference clock for the entire device, and this clock is given as a reference clock to a CPU (central processing unit) 2 comprised of a desired microprocessor or the like. The CPU 2 uses the data bus and the address bus to access the ROM 3. RAM4, timer5. PPI (propramable parallel l10) 6.7
．． 1O2UPI (peripheral CPU) 9.11% Connected to 12. The CPU 2 controls the entire facsimile machine and also encodes and decodes image data.

The DMA controller 3 controls memories such as ROM 3 and RAM 4, and the UPI 9 controls the drive of B''A documents and recording paper.
II controls the recording system of the parallel-serial converter 25 and the thermal head, and UP 112 displays the key λ key switch 31 and the liquid crystal display LCD 32.

The modem 14 modulates and demodulates image data and transmits and receives procedure signals for facsimile communication procedures, and the network control unit (NCU) 15 switches the connection of one line to the telephone 34 side or the modem 14 side. .

The dialer 16 sends a dial signal to the line in accordance with the telephone number data of the communication device output from CPtJ2 via PPl7.

In addition, a relay 8, a speaker drive circuit 1B, a speaker 19, and an analog-to-digital converter 21 are provided.

FIG. 5 illustrates the state of a document processed by the above embodiment.

FIG. 5(1) is a diagram showing a transmission document in which an area to be encrypted is specified by writing with a marker (ink of a predetermined color or magnetic ink) on the transmission document. Same figure (2
), the decryption key is not provided at the receiving end (
is a diagram showing a border in the area of the image part that was encrypted for (or given but was inappropriate), and the border includes:
This is an example of a received document that includes a pattern of encryption key information and is output together with other images.

FIG. 3(3) shows a document outputted after the decryption key inputted by the operator on the receiving side matches the encryption key, and the decryption key is decrypted. Even when the document shown in (2) of the same figure is read, the operator on the receiving side gives an appropriate decryption key to decrypt it, and the document is output, the output is the same as that shown in (3) of the same figure.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the facsimile machine on the sending side.

First, dial the destination number (31), and if transmission is possible (S2), determine whether or not to encrypt it (5).
3) Turn off the encryption flag when not encrypting (3)
4) When encrypting, use the key manually by an operator.

Set the encryption key (35) and turn on the encryption flag (S6).

Then, send the set encryption flag57),
Informs the receiving side whether or not the transmitted original includes an i-coded area, and if there is no transmitted original.

Hang up the line (S l 3).

If there is a document to be sent (Sa), scan one page of the document (S9), and determine whether the encryption flag is on.
310), if it is on, recognizes the area surrounded by the marker, encrypts the area using the 1wI encryption key, adds a border around the area, and includes the information pattern of the encryption key in the border. (S12).

If the encrypted area is one page long, image compression is performed on that area as well, and the image signal is converted into an image signal for transmission and transmitted (S11).The same process as above is also applied to the primary manuscript. Repeat the process.

In the above embodiment, the IX draft is read and encrypted for each page, but the reading and encrypted transmission may be performed for every few lines or pages.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the facsimile machine on the receiving side.

Receive the call (S14), and if it is possible to receive the call (S14)
t S) Receive the encryption flag S16), judge whether this encryption flag is on (the image to be received from now on includes an encrypted area) S17), and if it is on, decrypt it. Determine whether or not the key is set (S19). This determination is made a predetermined time after confirming that the encryption flag is on. During this time, the receiving side issues the decryption key. If this decryption key has been set, the decryption flag may be turned on (320).

Turn off the decryption flag if it is not set (
318).

Next, try to receive the image signal of the transmitted original (321), and when the reception of the image signal is finished (S22), disconnect the line (S2
9) If the signal is an image to be output, demodulate the image signal that has been converted for transmission (323), and if the decryption flag is on (S24), the encrypted area (designated area) A pattern included in the edge of is detected, information on the encryption key is extracted based on the pattern, and it is determined whether or not it matches the set decryption key (326).

If the encryption key and decryption key match, use the encryption key to decrypt the encrypted area (52g)
, if they do not match, turn off the decryption flag52
7) Output the image on output paper (S25), in this case,
If the decryption key is not set (or is not appropriate), the encrypted area designated by the sending side is output as an encrypted image, and areas other than the encrypted area are restored.

Then, the same process as above is repeated for the next received image (321-528).The image to be processed in one cycle of S21 to S325 may be for each page or every few lines.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the receiving side determines whether or not the received document contains a code based on the received encryption flag, but the step of checking the encryption flag on the sending and receiving side (
57, 316), and whether the decryption flag is turned on or off may be determined only by determining whether or not the decryption key is set (S19).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation in which a document including an encrypted image is read on the receiving side, decrypted, and output.

First, it is determined whether or not to perform decryption (S30
), if decryption is to be performed, the decryption key should be set by input by the operator on the receiving side 332),
The decryption flag is turned on (333), and if decryption is not to be performed, the decryption flag is turned off (531).

Then, if there is a manuscript to be read (334).

scan (335), determine whether the decryption flag is on (536), and if the decryption flag is on, determine whether the decryption key matches the encryption key (338); If not, the decryption flag is turned off (539), and if they match, the encrypted area is decrypted (S40), and the image is output on output paper (S37).

At this time, if it is determined not to perform decryption (S30) or if it is determined that the decryption keys do not match (338), the same result as a normal copy is output. . If there is a document that has not been scanned yet, it is scanned and the same process as above is repeated (S34 to 337).

Note that the image processed in the cycle from 534 to S37 is
It may be done every t or every few lines.

Furthermore, if a step is provided to clear the encryption key or the decryption key immediately before the end of the flowcharts in FIGS. 2 to 4, further security can be maintained.

Furthermore, in an embodiment where the entire image is restored by giving an appropriate decryption key after reading the output paper on the receiving side, the entire received document can be completely restored even without memory. be able to. On the other hand, even if the device has a memory, the entire received document can be restored without storing the received document that should be kept confidential in the memory, thereby freeing up memory space.

Also, when reading output paper with part of the image encrypted as described above, read it in copy mode, and when the encryption key and decryption key match, the entire image is restored. You can do it like this.

The encrypted area may be specified by writing on the document itself with a marker, or a position specifying means such as a digitizer may be used.

Furthermore, when a CRT is used, the encrypted image area is displayed encrypted on the CRT screen, and by providing a decryption key, the original image is restored and displayed. Good too.

Alternatively, the edge pattern of the encrypted image may not include the encryption key information, and the edge pattern may indicate only the edge of the encrypted area. In this case, the decryption key cannot be extracted from the output document. 1 Confidentiality becomes even stricter. In other words, if the decryption key is incorrectly set at the time of reception, the encrypted image will be output as a confused image that cannot be decrypted.

[Effect of the invention 1] According to the present invention, when an image is transmitted, the receiving side can clearly indicate the outline of the manuscript, such as the type of manuscript received, while ensuring that the contents that should be kept confidential can be kept a'f. has.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the facsimile machine on the sending side in the above embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the facsimile machine on the receiving side in the above embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation in which a document containing an encrypted image is read on the receiving side, decrypted, and output in the above embodiment. FIG. 5(1) is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission document surrounding the embossed area in the above embodiment. FIG. 5(2) is a diagram illustrating an example of a received document that is output as encrypted. FIG. 5(3) is a diagram showing an example of a decrypted and outputted document. l・-CPU & 4...RAM% Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. Agent Arata Yokubo - Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] Only a designated area that is a part of the transmission document is converted into an encrypted image that cannot be read by humans, and the image signal of the area other than the designated area, the signal of the encrypted image, and the encryption according to the encrypted image are performed. When a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key is not provided on the receiving side, areas other than the specified area are restored to the output paper, and the specified area is treated as an image that cannot be read by humans. The data is output on the output paper, and when a receiving side gives a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key, the specified area and other areas are restored and output on the output paper. facsimile machine.