JP4336977B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral.

  In recent years, document copying means have become highly functional. For example, the performance of copying machines has improved dramatically, making it difficult to distinguish between originals and copies. Therefore, in recent years, there is an image forming apparatus that prints a watermark image (a copy check pattern) that is inconspicuous on the background of a printed material in order to prevent falsification or copying of the document. This copy check pattern basically includes a remaining pattern remaining after copying (an image formed by a pattern made up of relatively large pixel blocks) and an erasure pattern lost by copying (a pattern of relatively small pixel blocks such as isolated dots). And an image formed by Specifically, an image in which the character “COPY” is outlined in the remaining pattern is generated, and the character portion “COPY” is filled in with the disappearance pattern. Then, the number of pixels per unit area of the remaining pattern and the disappearance pattern is made substantially the same so as to match the densities.

In this way, a gray background appears at first glance, but when copying, the character portion of “COPY” disappears and the character of “COPY” emerges (for example, regarding the digital watermark technique (Patent Document 1)). .
JP 2000-280569 A

  However, as the copy check pattern generation technology becomes widespread, for example, for image data generated by a personal computer and instructed to be printed, the copy check pattern is combined and printed by the personal computer, and the print instruction is accepted. In another printer, another copy check pattern may be combined and printed again. In this case, the two copy check patterns are doubled and the performance as the copy check pattern may deteriorate.

  This situation is the same for copying, for example. That is, when there is an instruction to synthesize a copy check pattern in the copy result when copying a manuscript, if the copy check pattern is included in the original document, the remaining pattern portion of the copy check pattern remains. This is because a copy check pattern is further synthesized.

  Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a copy check pattern is synthesized on the personal computer side, it may be considered to instruct the printer as an image forming apparatus to prohibit the synthesis of the copy check pattern. It is done.

  However, in this method, the image forming apparatus can accept an instruction for prohibiting the composition of the copy check pattern. If this instruction is abused, for example, the personal computer actually combines the copy check pattern. However, there is a possibility that the image data to be added with the copy check pattern is printed as it is, so that only the prohibition instruction is output.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus that prevents a copy check pattern from being combined in a multiple manner while preventing a misuse of processing and invalidating a part of the copy check pattern. One of its purposes is to do.

  The present invention for solving the problems of the above conventional example is an image forming apparatus, a first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in image data received as a processing target, and image formation Either one of the second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on the setting made on the apparatus side based on a predetermined selection rule, and the first process and the second process, The selected process is executed.

  Here, the selection rule may include a rule related to the user who has requested the process, or may include a rule related to the content of the requested image forming process. Further, the selection rule may include a rule based on security strength information regarding each copy check pattern.

  The image forming method according to one aspect of the present invention is based on a first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in image data received as a processing target, and a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. And selecting one of the second processes for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on a predetermined selection rule, and executing the selected process out of the first process and the second process. It is characterized by.

  Furthermore, a program according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern on the computer based on an instruction included in image data received as a processing target, and a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. And a second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on the selection process based on a predetermined selection rule, and the selected process among the first process and the second process. And a procedure for executing the process.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is realized as a multifunction machine, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, an image forming unit 16, and a scanner unit 17. It consists of

  The control unit 11 can be realized using a CPU or the like, and operates based on a program stored in the storage unit 12. The control unit 11 according to the present embodiment receives image data to be subjected to formation processing via the communication unit 13 and outputs the image data to the image forming unit 16 (print processing), or image data received from the scanner unit 17. Is basically executed as a target of the forming process (copy process).

  Also, in the present embodiment, the control unit 11 is based on the first processing for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on the instruction included in the image data received as the processing target, and the setting made on the image forming apparatus side. One of the second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern is selected based on a predetermined selection rule, and the process selected from the first process and the second process is executed. Details of the processing of the control unit 11 will be described later.

  The storage unit 12 is configured using a storage element such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or the like. The storage unit 12 stores a program executed by the control unit 11. The storage unit 12 also operates as a work memory that holds data required when the control unit 11 is executed. Further, the storage unit 12 includes a nonvolatile memory element and holds various settings.

  The communication unit 13 receives the image data that is the object of the formation process via the network and outputs it to the control unit 11. Further, the communication unit 13 transmits data to the instructed destination via the network according to the instruction input from the control unit 11. The operation unit 14 is a push button or the like, and accepts a user operation and outputs it to the control unit 11. The display unit 15 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays information according to an instruction input from the control unit 11.

  The image forming unit 16 is a printer or the like, and forms an image on a recording medium such as paper based on image data input from the control unit 11. The scanner unit 17 optically reads an image formed on a sheet and outputs it to the control unit 11 as image data.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, the target image data includes a header portion H, a copy check pattern portion P, and a data body portion B as shown in FIG. Here, the copy check pattern portion P includes a header portion PH and a data portion PD, and the data body portion B also includes a header portion BH and a data portion BD. Here, the data body B may include image data for a plurality of pages.

  The header portion P of the copy check pattern portion P includes information (compositing target region designation information) instructing which region of the image data of which page included in the data body portion B is to be combined with the copy check pattern. The data portion PD of the copy check pattern portion P includes image data of the copy check pattern to be synthesized.

  Next, the content of the process of the control part 11 is demonstrated. In the present embodiment, the administrator sets in advance whether or not to perform the copy restraint pattern combining process on the image forming apparatus side, and stores the combined setting information in the storage unit 12.

  Further, the control unit 11 synthesizes the copy check pattern based on the setting made on the image forming apparatus side and the first process for combining the copy check pattern based on the instruction included in the image data received as the processing target. The selection rule setting indicating which of the second processing to be executed is accepted in advance from an administrator or the like, and is stored in the nonvolatile memory or the hard disk of the storage unit 12.

  Specifically, the above selection rule may be a rule related to a user who has become a processing request source (a transmission source of target image data), or may include a request for image forming processing content. It may be a related rule.

  For example, when a selection rule related to a user is used, the administrator of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment executes either the first process or the second process in association with information specifying the user. This setting is stored in a nonvolatile memory element, hard disk, or the like in the storage unit 12 (FIG. 2).

  In this case, when receiving the target image data, the control unit 11 acquires the information of the user who transmitted the target image data. Here, the user information may be acquired by authenticating the user, or the user information may be included in the target image data. The control unit 11 checks whether or not the setting related to the authenticated user is stored in the storage unit 12. If the setting is stored, the control unit 11 performs a selection process according to the setting. Further, in the present embodiment, the default setting is received from the administrator and stored in the storage unit 12, and the control unit 11 determines that the setting related to the user is not stored in the storage unit 12 or the user When the information for specifying is not acquired, the selection process is performed based on the default setting.

  Further, when a rule related to the content of the requested image forming process is used, for example, when the target image data is captured by a scanner (not shown) (when it is a copy process), the target image data is transmitted via the network. For each case of receiving (in the case of print processing), a setting indicating which one of the first processing and the second processing is executed is stored in a nonvolatile memory element or a hard disk of the storage unit 12. Store it.

  In this case, when the control unit 11 receives the target image data, the control unit 11 refers to the above setting according to whether the processing content is copy processing or print processing, and performs the first and second processing. Choose which one to run.

  In addition, as processing contents, for example, in the case of processing for forming image data generated by the control unit 11 (for example, when printing a setting report), either processing is set to be selectively executed. Even so, it may be controlled not to synthesize the copy check pattern.

  Furthermore, the selection rule of the present embodiment may be a rule based on security strength information regarding each copy check pattern. In this case, whether or not the copy check pattern based on the instruction included in the target image data (that is, the pattern synthesized based on the first process) has higher security strength than the copy check pattern synthesized by the second process. Therefore, security strength information is included in the target image data.

  Specifically, the security strength information can be numerical information in which the security strength information of the copy check pattern synthesized by the second process is “50”. When the client side apparatus (which can be realized by a personal computer or the like) that transmits an image formation request to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment generates target image data, a copy check pattern is included in the target image data. If included, numerical information indicating the security strength of the copy check pattern is generated and transmitted to the image forming apparatus side together with the target image data. In this case, the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus determines that the received security strength information of the copy check pattern based on the first process is larger than the default security strength information related to the copy check pattern based on the second process (that is, The first process is selectively executed when the security strength is high), and the second process is selectively executed otherwise.

  Specifically, when receiving the target image data, the control unit 11 starts the process shown in FIG. First, the control unit 11 checks whether or not an instruction for performing the first process (instruction for synthesizing a copy check pattern) is included in the target image data (S1). If there is such an instruction, it is determined which of the first and second processes is executed based on the selection rule (S2). When it is determined that the second process is to be executed, an image of each page is generated based on the data body B of the target image data (S3). Specifically, when the target image data is described in a page description language such as PostScript (registered trademark), a bitmap image of each page is generated here (so-called rendering processing).

  Next, the control unit 11 checks whether or not it is set to execute the second process (S4), and if it is set to execute the second process, that is, a copy check pattern is set on the image forming apparatus side. When an instruction to combine is set (in the case of Yes), a copy check pattern is internally generated (S5), and combined with the image of each page generated in process S3 (S6). Then, as a process of outputting the image of each page, the combined image is output to the image forming unit 16 (S7), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, when it is set to execute the first process in the process S2 and when it is not set to execute the second process in the process S4, that is, an instruction to combine a copy check pattern on the image forming apparatus side. Is not set (in the case of No), the first process is executed to generate a copy check pattern to be combined (S8). Next, as in the process S3, an image of each page is generated based on the data body B of the target image data (S9). Then, with reference to the compositing target area designation information included in the header part P of the copy check pattern part P, the copy check generated in step S8 for the image of the designated page is displayed to synthesize the copy check pattern. A pattern is synthesized (S10). In this process S10, when it is specified by the compositing target area designation information that a copy check pattern is to be synthesized not for the entire page image but for a partial area, the control unit 11 performs the designation. A copy check pattern is synthesized for the area.

  Then, the control unit 11 proceeds to the process S7, and outputs the image of each page after performing the synthesis process in the process S10 to the image forming unit 16.

  On the other hand, when the instruction to synthesize the copy check pattern is not included in the target image data in the process S1 (in the case of No), each process is performed based on the data main body B of the target image data as in the process S3. An image of the page is generated (S11). Then, it is checked whether or not the second process is set to be executed (S12). If the second process is set to be executed, that is, an instruction to synthesize a copy check pattern is set on the image forming apparatus side. If yes (Yes), the process proceeds to step S5 to continue the process. As a result, when there is no instruction for the first process and there is an instruction for the second process, the second process is executed.

  In addition, when the control unit 11 is not set to execute the second process in step S12, that is, when the instruction to synthesize the copy check pattern is not set on the image forming apparatus side (in the case of No), Then, the process proceeds to step S7, and the image of each page generated in step S11 is output as it is.

  Here, the composition processing is performed by the control unit 11. However, when the composition processing is performed by the image forming unit 16, each copy check pattern is generated based on the first processing and the second processing. Stored in the storage unit 12, and when the image forming unit 16 receives an instruction indicating which of the first and second processes is selected, the copy check pattern stored in the storage unit 12 is stored. Either may be selectively synthesized.

  In addition, for each copy check pattern generated by the first and second processes, when a composition target area is set and they do not overlap with each other, they may be combined. For example, the first page has a designation to synthesize a copy check pattern by the first processing, but if the second page image does not have this designation, the second page image A copy check pattern by the process 2 may be synthesized. Further, even in an image of one page, an area for combining a copy check pattern by the first process and an area for combining a copy check pattern by the second process (these areas are set as rectangular areas, for example). May be combined in a designated area.

  According to the present embodiment, a part of the copy check pattern is invalidated to prevent multiple copy check patterns from being combined, and the image forming apparatus can accept an instruction for prohibiting the composition of the copy check pattern. And misuse of the process is prevented.

  Note that the selection rules are not limited to those described so far. For example, information specifying the application (application software) that generated the target image data and information indicating which process is selectively executed are stored in association with each other, and the selection is made based on the stored contents. You may go. According to this, for example, it is assumed that a malicious user has developed an application that includes an instruction dummy for generating a copy check pattern (actually nothing is combined) in image data. At this time, if an instruction to execute the second process is associated with an unknown application so as to preferentially synthesize the copy check pattern generated by the image forming apparatus, the application was developed maliciously. Since the instruction for synthesizing the dummy copy check pattern included in the image data from the application becomes invalid and the copy check pattern on the image forming apparatus side is combined, the security effect can be maintained.

  Furthermore, as a selection rule, the copy check pattern image generated in the first process may be inspected, and it may be determined whether to execute the first process or the second process based on the result of the inspection. Here, the inspection can be, for example, a process of checking whether an image is prepared so that a pattern having a predetermined area or more emerges based on the size of the pixel block.

  Furthermore, although the case where the copy check pattern is synthesized is described as an example here, the same processing can be performed on the synthesized image (for example, a form) with respect to the base image.

  Further, the first process included in the target image data may be a process for synthesizing a composite image stored in advance in the image forming apparatus with respect to the image forming apparatus. Also in this case, a process based on an instruction included in the target image data and a second process (a process set in advance on the image forming apparatus side) are selected based on a selection rule.

1 is a configuration block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the content of the image data used as a process target. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Control part, 12 Memory | storage part, 13 Communication part, 14 Operation part, 15 Display part, 16 Image formation part, 17 Scanner part.

Claims (6)

A first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in image data received as a processing target, and a second process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. Select either one based on pre-defined selection rules, including rules related to the user who requested the process ,
An image forming apparatus that executes the selected process out of the first process and the second process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection rule includes a rule based on security strength information regarding each copy check pattern. A first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in the image data received as a processing target, and a second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. Either one is selected based on a predetermined selection rule including a rule based on security strength information regarding each copy check pattern,
An image forming apparatus that executes the selected process out of the first process and the second process. A first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in the image data received as a processing target, and a second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. Select either one based on pre-defined selection rules, including rules related to the user who requested the process ,
An image forming method, wherein the selected process is executed out of the first process and the second process. The computer,
A first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in image data received as a processing target, and a second process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. Means for selecting either one based on a predetermined selection rule including a rule related to the user who has requested the process ;
Means for executing the selected process of the first process and the second process;
A program characterized by functioning as Computer
A first process for synthesizing a copy check pattern based on an instruction included in the image data received as a processing target, and a second process for synthesizing the copy check pattern based on a setting made on the image forming apparatus side. Means for selecting either one based on a predetermined selection rule, including a rule based on security strength information regarding each copy check pattern;
Means for executing the selected process of the first process and the second process;
A program characterized by functioning as

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