JP4615476B2 - Image forming system and information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the image forming system and an information processing equipment, in particular, it relates to an image forming system and an information processing equipment for performing background pattern printing.

  In order to prevent unauthorized copying of a document, when a pattern (background pattern data) that is invisible or difficult to see from the printing paper is printed on the printing paper and the printing paper is copied, the pattern (background pattern data) is raised. An erasable tint block print that can be erased has been developed. This copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing is generally used to determine whether a document is an original document based on whether a pattern (background pattern data) is raised or disappeared in the document. According to this copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing, as shown in FIG. 14, a copy original obtained by copying a print sheet (original) on which a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern 900 consisting of the character string “COPY” and a gray copy-forgery-inhibited pattern 902 are printed is gray. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern 902 disappears, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern 900 consisting of the character string “COPY” remains. Accordingly, since the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing effect appears in the copy original, it can be determined that the copy original is not the original. Further, since it can be easily grasped that the copy original is not the original, unauthorized copying of the original by an unauthorized user can be suppressed.

  Conventionally, latent image area defining information (selector layer) that defines a latent image forming area for forming a latent image on printing paper is acquired, and is defined based on the acquired latent image area defining information (selector layer). A latent image (latent image data layer) is formed in the latent image forming area, a print image is formed by superimposing the print target image on the formed latent image, and the formed print image is sent to the printer. It was transmitted, and this print image was printed and output by a printer (Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-304597 A

  However, in the prior art, since the latent image (latent image data layer (mask)) is subjected to image processing together with the print target image, the latent image is not printed correctly and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function is correctly performed. There was a problem that it could not be demonstrated.

The present invention was made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming system and an information processing equipment capable of properly perform the function of the tint block printing.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus for forming a print image on a medium, and information that is communicably connected to the image forming apparatus via a transmission path. An image forming system comprising: a processing device, wherein the information processing device is means for generating print data including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data that appears upon copying and text data combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data. Print data comprising: paper information acquisition means for acquiring information on the paper size of the body data; and copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data generation means for generating the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data based on information on the paper size acquired by the paper information acquisition means a generation unit, a transmitting means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generation means to the image forming apparatus, acquired by the sheet information acquiring means And a paper size judging means for judging whether or not the information about the paper size of the text data of the previous page is the same for text data corresponding to the information and the information about the paper size, the print data generation When the determination result by the paper size determination unit is affirmative, the unit does not include the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and includes the same identification data as the identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data of the previous page. The image forming apparatus generates data, the receiving unit receiving print data transmitted from the transmission unit of the information processing apparatus, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and text data included in the print data received by the receiving unit. Data processing means for processing separately, and print image generation means for generating a print image by combining the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and text data separately processed by the data processing means; Characterized in that and an image forming means for forming on said medium a print image generated by the print image generating means.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the print data generating means further comprises a reversible compression means for reversibly compressing the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the data processing means stores the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data reversibly compressed by the lossless compression means. It is characterized by performing an expansion process.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the print data generation unit generates print data further including identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the image forming apparatus is received by the reception unit. The storage device further includes a storage unit that stores the identification data included in the print data and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the print image generation unit includes the same identification data as the identification data stored in the storage unit Is received by the receiving unit, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data corresponding to the identification data stored by the storing unit and the body data included in the print data are combined to generate a print image.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus communicably connected to an image forming apparatus for forming a print image on a medium via a transmission path, and , Print data including text data to be combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data , acquired by the paper information acquisition means for acquiring information relating to the paper size of the text data, and the paper information acquisition means A copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data generating unit that generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data based on information relating to a paper size; and a transmission unit that transmits the print data generated by the print data generating unit to the image forming apparatus. When the paper support of the text data of the previous page with respect to text data corresponding to the information and the information about the paper size acquired by the sheet information acquiring means And a paper size determination means for determining whether and are the same information about's, the print data generating unit, when the determination result in the paper size determination means is affirmative, the background pattern data Print data including the same identification data as the identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data of the previous page is generated .

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the print data generation means further comprises a reversible compression means for reversibly compressing the tint block data.

  According to the present invention, the information processing apparatus generates print data including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data that appears when copying and text data combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and transmits the generated print data to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus receives the print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus, processes the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and the text data included in the received print data separately, and separately processes the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and the text data. Are combined to generate a print image, and the generated print image is formed on the medium. Therefore, the deterioration of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data due to the processing of combining the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data with the text data is prevented, and the image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data is reduced. This is advantageous in that the tint block printing function can be exhibited correctly.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus acquires information related to the paper size of the text data and generates copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data based on the acquired information related to the paper size. The apparatus does not need to perform image processing such as scaling, can maintain the image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and has the effect that the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function can be exhibited correctly.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus performs reversible compression on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the image forming apparatus performs decompression processing on the reversibly-compressed copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data. Therefore, there is an effect that the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function can be exhibited correctly.

  According to the present invention, the information processing apparatus generates print data further including identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the image forming apparatus includes the identification data and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data included in the received print data. Are stored in association with each other, and when print data including the same identification data as the stored identification data is received, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data corresponding to the stored identification data and the body data included in the print data are Since the print image is generated by synthesizing, the image processing apparatus can omit the processing of the same copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and the image forming process can be performed quickly.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus determines whether or not the information regarding the acquired paper size and the information regarding the paper size of the body data of the previous page are the same as the body data corresponding to the information. If the determination result is affirmative, print data that does not include the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and includes the same identification data as the identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data of the previous page is generated. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data can be omitted from the print data, and the amount of transmission to the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus generates print data including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data that appears when copying, and text data that is combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data, and sends the generated print data to the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the image forming apparatus on the receiving side can prevent deterioration of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data by performing processing that combines the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data with the text data, and can maintain the image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data. There is an effect that it can be exhibited correctly.

  According to the present invention, the information processing apparatus reversibly compresses the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data. Therefore, the image forming apparatus on the receiving side performs the decompression process on the lossless-compressed copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data so that no copy of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data is generated. Can be combined with the text data, and the effect of correctly displaying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function can be achieved.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming system, an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a print data generating program, and an image forming program according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment includes a host apparatus 200 that is a transmission side of print data 500 and an image forming apparatus 300 that is a reception side of print data 500. Are connected to each other via the network 400 so that they can communicate with each other. Note that the host device 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are each configured as a single unit, but may be configured as a plurality. Note that the image forming apparatus 300 is, for example, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), and stores the functions of each apparatus such as a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and a scanner in a single casing. In the figure, the host apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are connected via the network 400, but both apparatuses may be directly connected.

  As shown in the figure, the host device 200 that is an information processing device connects a control unit 210 that controls each unit constituting the host device 200, a storage unit 220 that stores various data and various programs, and the host device 200 to a network. A communication interface unit 230 for connecting to the 400 and an input / output interface unit 240 for connecting the host device 200 to an external device, and these units are communicably connected via a bus.

  As shown in the figure, the control unit 210 includes a print condition selection unit 210a that selects a print condition, a background pattern condition selection unit 210b that selects a background pattern condition, and a print data generation unit 210c that generates print data 500. Furthermore, it is comprised.

  The print condition selection unit 210a displays a UI (User Interface) for selecting a print condition on the screen of the display device 260 connected to the host device 200, and allows the user to select the print condition. Here, the printing conditions include conditions such as the size of printing paper (A4 or B5) for forming a printing image by the image forming apparatus 300 and the printing surface (one side or both sides) for printing the printing image on the printing paper. Say.

  The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern condition selection unit 210b displays a UI for selecting a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern condition on the screen of the display device 260 connected to the host device 200, and allows the user to select the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern condition. Here, the tint block condition refers to conditions such as a tint block pattern, a character string, and a character size printed on the printing paper by the image forming apparatus 300.

  The print data generation unit 210c generates print data 500 including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that appears when copying and text data 510 such as characters and graphics. The print data generation unit 210c generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 based on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern pattern, the character string, the character size, and the like selected by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern condition selection unit 210a. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is generated in accordance with the paper size selected by the printing condition selection unit 210b. By generating the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 according to the paper size, the image forming apparatus 300 on the receiving side of the print data 500 including the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 does not need to perform image processing such as scaling processing of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504. The image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 can be maintained. The print data generation unit 210c reversibly compresses the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 using a reversible compression method. By compressing the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 with a reversible compression method, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 without data loss can be reproduced by the image forming apparatus 300, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing can be functioned correctly.

  Here, the print data 500 generated by the print data generation unit 210c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the print data 500. As shown in the figure, the print data 500 includes identification data 502, composition method data 506, and paper size data 508 in addition to the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510. The identification data 502 is data for identifying the tint block data 504. The synthesis method data 506 is data relating to a synthesis method of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510, and describes AND and OR. The paper size data 508 is data relating to the size of the printing paper selected by the user on the screen of the display device 260 by the processing of the printing condition selection unit 210a. Note that data indicating the start of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the end of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 are added to the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 as shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the storage unit 220 stores various programs, files, and the like for controlling each unit constituting the host device 200, and specifically includes a RAM, a ROM, a HDD, an optical disk, a flexible disk, and a nonvolatile memory. Etc. can be realized.

  The communication interface unit 230 is an interface for performing communication between the host device 200 and the network 400 (or a communication device such as a router or a terminal adapter). That is, the communication interface unit 230 has a function of communicating various data with other devices via a communication line.

  The input / output interface unit 240 is an interface for connecting the input device 250 and the display device 260 to the host device 200. Here, as the input device 250, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, or the like can be used. As the display device 260, a monitor such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display can be used.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 will be described. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 300 includes a control unit 310 that controls each unit constituting the image forming apparatus 300, a storage unit 320 that stores various data and various programs, and the image forming apparatus 300 in a network 400. A communication interface unit 330 for connection and an image forming unit 340 for performing print processing are configured, and these units are communicably connected via a bus.

  As shown in the figure, the control unit 310 includes a print data analysis unit 310a that analyzes the print data 500, a tint block data processing unit 310b that processes the tint block data 504, and a text data processing unit 310c that processes the text data 510. The image processing unit 310d that performs image processing of the body data 510, and the print image generation unit 310e that combines the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510 to generate a print image.

  The print data analysis unit 310a analyzes the print data 500 transmitted from the host device 200, specifies the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the text data 510 included in the print data 500, and prints the specified copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the text data 510. Separate from the data 500.

  The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b processes the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 separated from the print data 500 by the print data analysis unit 310a. Specifically, decompression processing of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that is reversibly compressed is performed. In addition, the tint block data processing unit 310b stores the tint block data 504 that has been subjected to the decompression process and the identification data 502 for identifying the tint block data 504 in the storage unit 320 in association with each other.

  The body data processing unit 310c processes the body data 510 separated from the print data 500 by the print data analysis unit 310a. Specifically, characters and graphic data included in the text data 510 are used as image data for printing.

  The image processing unit 310d performs image processing on the body data 510 processed by the body data processing unit 310c. Specifically, scaling processing, gamma conversion processing, color conversion processing, and the like of the body data 510 are performed. It should be noted that the image processing unit 310d may invert the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 when the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is vertically and horizontally symmetrical image data. Further, a process may be performed in which the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is rotated in the same direction as the text data 510 in accordance with the final paper direction.

  The print image generation unit 310e generates a print image by combining the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been decompressed by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b and the text data 510 that has been processed by the image processing unit 310d. Specifically, based on a combining method such as AND or OR described in the combining method data 506 included in the print data 500, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510 are combined to generate a print image.

  The storage unit 320 stores various programs, files, and the like for controlling each unit constituting the image forming apparatus 300. Specifically, the storage unit 320 is realized by a RAM, a ROM, an HDD, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a nonvolatile memory, or the like. be able to.

  The communication interface unit 330 is an interface for performing communication between the image forming apparatus 300 and the network 400 (or a communication device such as a router or a terminal adapter). That is, the communication interface unit 330 has a function of communicating various data with other devices via a communication line.

  The image forming unit 340 prints the print image generated by the print image generation unit 310e on a print sheet. The printing paper may be any paper as long as the tint block printing can function correctly.

  The network 400 is configured by the Internet, an intranet, or a combination thereof, and may be anything as long as it can transmit and receive data between the host apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300.

  With the above configuration, processing performed in the entire image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed in the entire image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment.

  First, the host device 200 generates print data 500 by the process of the control unit 210 (step SA-1). Next, the host device 200 transmits the print data 500 generated in step SA-1 to the image forming apparatus 300 by the processing of the communication interface unit 230 (step SA-2). Next, the image forming apparatus 300 receives the print data 500 transmitted from the image forming apparatus 300 in step SA-2 by the processing of the communication interface unit 330 (step SA-3). Next, the image forming apparatus 300 performs a printing process by the process of the control unit 310 (step SA-4).

  Here, the generation processing of the print data 500 performed in step SA-1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for generating print data 500 performed by the host device 200 according to the first embodiment.

  First, the printing condition selection unit 210a displays a UI for selecting a printing condition on the screen of the display device 260 connected to the communication interface unit 230 (step SA-101). Specifically, the printing condition selection screen 600 shown in FIG. 5A is displayed on the screen of the display device 260.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the paper size selection field 602, the paper feed tray selection field 604, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing application check field 606 on the printing condition selection screen 600, the paper size ( A4), the user is made to select whether or not the paper feed tray (Tray 1) and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing are applied (applicable) (step SA-102).

  Next, when the user presses the enter button 608 on the print condition selection screen 600, the background pattern condition selection unit 210b displays a UI for selecting a background pattern condition on the screen of the display device 260 (step SA). −103). Specifically, the tint block condition selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 6A is displayed on the screen of the display device 260.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, in the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern selection screen 700, input is performed in the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern selection column 702, character string selection column 704, character size selection column 706, character color selection column 708, and repeated application check column 710. Via the device 250, the user can select a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern pattern, a character string (COPY), a character size (80), a character color (yellow), and whether or not character repetition is applied (applicable). (Step SA-104).

  Next, when the user presses the determination button 712 on the background pattern condition selection screen 700, the print data generation unit 210c generates the background pattern data 504 based on the background pattern condition selected by the user in step SA-104. In addition, identification data 502 for identifying the tint block data 504 is generated (step SA-105). The print data generation unit 210c generates paper size data 508 based on the paper size selected by the user in step SA-102. In addition, the print data generation unit 210c further generates various data included in the print data 500 (the synthesis method data 506 and the body data 510).

  Next, the print data generation unit 210c generates the print data 500 including the identification data 502, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504, the paper size data 508, the body data 510 and the like generated in step SA-105 (step SA-106).

  Next, the printing process performed in step SA-4 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process performed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment.

  First, the print data analysis unit 310a analyzes the print data 500 transmitted from the host device 200 (step SA-401). Specifically, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the text data 510 included in the print data 500 are specified, and the specified copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the text data 510 are separated from the print data 500, respectively.

  Next, the tint block data processing unit 310b performs a decompression process on the tint block data 504 separated from the print data 500 in step SA-401 (step SA-402).

  Next, the text data processing unit 310c converts the text and graphic data of the text data 510 separated from the print data 500 in step SA-401 into image data for printing (step SA-403).

  Next, the image processing unit 310d performs image processing such as scaling processing, gamma conversion processing, and color conversion processing on the body data 510 processed in step SA-403 (step SA-404).

  Next, the print image generation unit 310e generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been decompressed in step SA-402 based on a composition method such as AND or OR described in the composition method data 506 included in the print data 500. Then, the print data is generated by combining the body data 510 subjected to the image processing in step SA-404 (step SA-405).

  Next, the image forming unit 340 prints the print image generated in step SA-405 on a print sheet (step SA-406).

  As described above, in the image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment, the paper size or tint block condition selection screen 700 selected on the print condition selection screen 600 by the host device 200 that is the transmission side of the print data 500. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is generated on the basis of the pattern of copy-forgery-inhibited pattern selected in the above, and the generated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is reversibly compressed by a reversible compression method. The print data 500 including the print data 500 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300, and the image forming apparatus 300 on the receiving side of the print data 500 receives the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 included in the print data 500. The body data 510 is specified, and the specified copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510 are separated from the print data 500. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 separated from the print data 500 is decompressed, the text and graphic data of the body data 510 separated from the print data 500 is converted into image data for printing, and further image processing is performed. Based on the synthesis method such as AND or OR described in the synthesis method data 506 included, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been subjected to the decompression process and the body data 510 that has undergone the image process are synthesized to generate a print image. The generated print image is printed on printing paper.

  Therefore, according to the image forming system 100 of the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus 300 analyzes the print data 500 received from the host apparatus 200 by the print data analysis unit 310a and generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510. The specified copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the specified text data 510 are separated from the print data 500, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data separated from the print data 500 is expanded by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b. The data 510 is converted into image data by the body data processing unit 310c, and further image processing such as gamma conversion and color conversion is performed by the image processing unit 310d, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510 are combined by the print image generation unit 310e. A print image is generated, and the generated print image is printed by the image forming unit 340. Since printing is performed, deterioration of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 due to the processing of combining the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 with the text data 510 can be prevented, the image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 can be maintained, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function can be exhibited correctly. it can.

  Further, the host device 200 causes the print condition selection unit 210a to select the paper size of the body data 510 and generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 based on the selected paper size. Therefore, the image forming apparatus on the receiving side of the print data 500 300 does not need to perform image processing such as scaling of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504, can maintain the image quality of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504, and can correctly exhibit the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function.

  In addition, the host device 200 that is the transmission side of the print data 500 generates the print data 500 including the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been reversibly compressed by the reversible compression method using the print data generation unit 210c, and the reception side of the print data 500 Since an image forming apparatus 300 decompresses the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 included in the print data 500, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 with no data loss can be combined with the headquarters data, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing function can be performed correctly. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an image forming system 100 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the second embodiment, the description overlapping the description of the image forming system 100 of the first embodiment described above may be omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming system 100 according to the second embodiment. The control unit 210 of the host device 200 according to the second embodiment further includes a paper size determination unit 210d in addition to the configuration of the control unit 210 of the host device 200 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 310 of the image forming apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment further includes a paper size determination unit 310f in addition to the configuration of the control unit 310 of the image forming apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment. Is done.

  The paper size determination unit 210d of the control unit 210 determines whether or not a plurality of pages of print data 500 is the same as the paper size of the previous page when the print data generation unit 210c generates the print data 500. When the print data 500 relates to a plurality of pages, transmitting the print data 500 including the plurality of identical copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 to the image forming apparatus 300 wastes the amount of data to be transmitted. Therefore, the print data generation unit 210c according to the second embodiment is configured to generate the print data 500 from which the duplicate copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is omitted when the determination result by the paper size determination unit 210d is affirmative. ing.

  The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310 b of the control unit 310 causes the storage unit 320 to store the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has undergone the decompression process in association with the identification data 502 included in the print data 500.

  When the print data 500 transmitted from the host device 200 relates to a plurality of pages, the paper size determination unit 310f of the control unit 310 determines whether or not it is the same as the paper size of the previous page. If the processing of the same copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 can be omitted in the image forming apparatus 300 on the receiving side of the print data 500 of a plurality of pages, the time required for the printing process can be shortened. Therefore, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b according to the second embodiment is configured not to perform the expansion process for the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 when the paper size of the text data of the previous page is the same.

  The storage unit 320 stores a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern identification table 800 shown in FIG. 9 for storing the identification data 502 and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been decompressed by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b in association with each other.

  In the above configuration, the print data 500 generation process performed by the host device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. With reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a generation process of the print data 500 performed by the host device 200 according to the second embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the print data 500 for the three pages shown in FIG. 11 is generated, and the print data 500a, the print data 500b, and the print data 500c are the print data for the first page, the second page, and the third page, respectively. It is assumed that the print data 500a has already been generated. The paper size of the first page is assumed to be A4 size, and the paper sizes of the second page and third page are assumed to be B5 size. In addition, it is assumed that the user has already selected the printing conditions and the tint block conditions for three pages by the processing of the printing condition selection unit 210a and the tint block condition selection unit 210b.

  First, the paper size determination unit 210d refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500a and the paper size of the main page (second page) selected by the user in the print condition selection unit 210a. It is determined whether or not the paper size of the second page is the same as the paper size of the previous page (first page) (step SB-1). According to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500a, the paper size of the previous page (first page) is A4, and the paper size of the current page (second page) is B5, so step SB-1 The determination result at is negative (step SB-2: No). Therefore, the print data generation unit 210c generates the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 based on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern pattern or character string selected by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern condition selection unit 210b, and uses identification data 502 for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504. Generate (step SB-3). Next, the print data generation unit 210c generates print data 500b including the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 generated in step SB-3 and the identification data 502 (step SB-4). Here, the print data 500 for three pages is generated. Since this page is the second page and not the last page (step SB-6: No), the procedure is to generate the third page of print data 500c. The process proceeds to step SB-1.

  Again, the paper size determination unit 210d refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500b and the paper size of the main page (third page) selected by the user in the print condition selection unit 210a. It is determined whether the paper size of the third page is the same as the paper size of the previous page (second page) (step SB-1). According to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500b, the paper size of the previous page (second page) is B5, and the paper size of this page (third page) is also B5, so step SB-1 The determination result is positive (step SB-2: Yes). Therefore, the print data generation unit 210c generates print data 500c from which the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is omitted (step SB-5). Note that the print data generation unit 210c generates print data 500c that includes the same identification data 502 as the identification data 502 included in the print data 500b. Since this page (third page) is the last page (step SB-6: Yes), the communication interface unit 230 uses the generated print data 500 (print data 500a, print data 500b, and print data 500c) as an image forming apparatus. It transmits with respect to 300 (step SB-7).

  Next, a printing process performed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a print processing procedure performed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment. Note that the print data 500 (print data 500a, print data 500b, and print data 500c) transmitted from the host device 200 has already been received, and the print image relating to the first page (print data 500a) has already been generated. To do.

  First, the paper size determination unit 310f refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500b and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500a, and determines the paper size of the page (second page) of the print data 500b. It is determined whether or not the paper size of the page (first page) of the print data 500a is the same (step SC-1). According to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500a and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500b, the paper size of the page (first page) of the print data 500a is A4, and the page (2 of the print data 500b Since the paper size of the (page) is B5, the determination result in step SC-1 is negative (step SC-2: No). Therefore, the tint block data processing unit 310b performs decompression processing on the tint block data 504 included in the print data 500b (step SC-3), and further performs decompression processing on the identification data 502 included in the print data 500b and step SC-3. The performed background pattern data 504 is associated with each other and stored in the background pattern identification table 800 (step SC-4). Next, the body data processing unit 310c processes the body data 510 included in the print data 500b to convert the body data 510 into image data (step SC-6). Next, the image processing unit 310d performs image processing on the body data 510 processed in step SC-6 (step SC-7). Next, the print image generation unit 310e combines the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 that has been decompressed in step SC-3 with the body data 510 that has undergone image processing in step SC-7, and relates to the print data 500b. A print image is generated (step SC-8). Here, when print images for three pages are generated, the print data 500b is related to the second page, not the print data 500 of the final page (step SC-9: No), so the print data 500c is printed. In order to generate an image, the procedure proceeds to step SC-1.

  Again, the paper size determination unit 310f refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500c and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500c, and determines the paper size of the page (third page) of the print data 500c. It is determined whether or not the paper size of the page (second page) of the print data 500b is the same (step SC-1). According to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500b and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500c, the paper size of the page (second page) of the print data 500b is B5, and the page (3 of the print data 500c Since the paper size of the (page) is also B5, the determination result in step SC-1 is affirmative (step SC-2: Yes). Therefore, the tint block data processing unit 310b refers to the tint block identification table 800, searches the identification data 502 identical to the identification data 502 included in the print data 500c, and identifies the tint block data 504 corresponding to the retrieved identification data 502. Obtained from the table 800 (step SC-5). Next, the body data processing unit 310c processes the body data 510 included in the print data 500c to convert the body data 510 into image data (step SC-6), and the image processing unit 310d performs processing in step SC-6. The image processing of the text data 510 performed is performed (step SC-7), and the print image generation unit 310e performs the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 acquired in step SC-5 and the text subjected to the image processing in step SC-7. The data 510 is combined with the print data 500b to generate a print image (step SC-8). Since the print data 500c relates to the last page (step SC-9: Yes), the image forming unit 340 prints the generated print images of a plurality of pages on the printing paper (step SC-10).

  As described above, the image forming system 100 according to the second embodiment determines whether or not the host device 200 on the transmission side of the print data 500 is the same as the paper size of the previous page. If the result is affirmative, print data 500 including the same identification data 502 as that of the previous page is generated, and the generated print data 500 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus 300 on the receiving side, the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 of the previous page are referred to and the same as the paper size of the previous page. If the determination result is negative, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 included in the print data 500 is decompressed and decompressed. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is stored in the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern identification table 800 in association with the identification data 502. If the determination result is affirmative, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is searched for the same identification data 502 as the identification data 502 The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 corresponding to the identification data 502 is acquired from the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern identification table 800, the acquired copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the body data 510 are combined to generate a print image, and the generated print image is printed on a print sheet. .

  Therefore, according to the image forming system 100 of the second embodiment, the host device 200 determines whether the paper size is the same as that of the previous page by the paper size determination unit 210d, and the determination result is affirmative. In some cases, the print data 500 including the same identification data 502 as the identification data 502 of the previous page is generated by the print data generation unit 210c, and the generated print data 500 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300. Excess copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 can be omitted from the print data 500, and the amount of print data 500 transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300 can be reduced.

  Also, the image forming apparatus 300 refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 of the previous page, and determines whether the image size is the same as the paper size of the previous page. If the determination result is affirmative and the determination result is affirmative, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern identification table 800 is referred to, the identification data 502 identical to the identification data 502 is searched, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern corresponding to the searched identification data 502 is searched. Since the data 504 is acquired from the ground pattern identification table 800 by the ground pattern data processing unit 310b, the expansion process of the ground pattern data 504 can be omitted, and the time required for the printing process can be shortened.

  Also, the image forming apparatus 300 refers to the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 and the paper size data 508 included in the print data 500 of the previous page, and determines whether the image size is the same as the paper size of the previous page. If the determination result is negative and the determination result is negative, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 is expanded by the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit 310b, and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 and the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 are extracted. Since the identification data 502 for identification is associated with each other and stored in the background pattern identification table 800, the stored background pattern data 504 is stored in the background pattern identification table 800 from the background pattern identification table 800 when the paper sizes of the front and back pages are the same. Since it can be acquired by the data processing unit 310b, the time required for the decompression process of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data 504 can be saved. Can, it is possible to shorten the time required for printing.

  The host device 200 of this embodiment includes a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD and a CD drive device, and a display device 260 such as a display device. And an input device 270 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  The print data generation program executed by the host device 200 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). It is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  The print data generation program executed by the host device 200 according to the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. . Further, the print data generation program executed by the host device 200 according to the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  In addition, the print data generation program executed by the host device 200 of the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The print data generation program executed by the host device 200 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (print condition selection unit, tint block condition selection unit, print data generation unit, paper size determination unit). As actual hardware, a CPU (processor) reads out and executes a print data generation program from the storage medium, and the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device. The print condition selection unit, the tint block condition selection unit, and the print data A generation unit and a paper size determination unit are generated on the main storage device.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 300. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 300 has a configuration in which the controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 10 corresponds to the control unit 310 and the storage unit 320. The FCU 30, USB 40, and IEEE 1394 correspond to the communication interface unit 330. The Engine 60 corresponds to the image forming unit 340.

  The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire image forming apparatus 300 and controls drawing, communication, and input from an operation unit (not shown). Reference numeral 60 denotes a printer engine that can be connected to the PCI bus, such as a monochrome plotter, a 1-drum color plotter, a 4-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. MEM-P12 is a ROM
(Read Only Memory) 12a and RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 300, has a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 12b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, or the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

The ASIC 16 is an IC for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing.
(Integrated Circuit) and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, the PCI bus, the HDD 18, and the MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that rotate image data using hardware logic. (Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. The ASIC 16 is connected to an FCU (Fax Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical Engineers 50) via a PCI bus.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. It is.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphics processing, and speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

  Note that the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus 300 of the present embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). For example, the program may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. . Further, the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment includes the above-described units (print data analysis unit, copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit, forming device determination unit, text data processing unit, image processing unit, and print image generation unit). ), And the actual hardware includes a CPU (processor) that reads out and executes the image forming program from the ROM, and loads the above-described units onto the main storage device. A tint block data processing unit, a text data processing unit, an image processing unit, a print image generation unit, and a paper size determination unit are generated on the main storage device.

As described above, the image forming system and an information processing equipment according to the present invention is useful when performing the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system 100 according to a first embodiment. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of print data 500. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed in the entire image forming system 100 according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print data 500 generation processing performed by the host device 200 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing condition selection screen 600. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing condition selection screen 600. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a tint block condition selection screen 700. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a tint block condition selection screen 700. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print processing performed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system 100 according to a second embodiment. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a background pattern identification table 800. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print data 500 generation processing performed by the host device 200 according to the second embodiment. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of print data 500 of a plurality of pages. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processing performed by the image forming apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 300. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing.

Explanation of symbols

100 Image forming system
200 Host device
210 control unit
210a Print condition selection section
210b Ground pattern condition selection part
210c Print data generation unit
210d Paper size determination unit
220 Storage unit
230 Communication interface
240 Input / output interface
250 input device
260 Display device
300 Image forming apparatus
310 Control unit
310a Print data analysis unit
310b Copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data processing unit
310c Body data processing unit
310d Image processing unit
310e Print image generation unit
310f Paper size determination unit
320 storage unit
330 Communication interface
340 Image forming unit
400 network
500 print data
502 Identification data
504 Background pattern data
506 Synthesis method data
508 Paper size data
510 Text data
800 Background pattern identification table

Claims (5)

An image forming system comprising: an image forming apparatus for forming a print image on a medium; and an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to the image forming apparatus via a transmission path.
The information processing apparatus includes:
Means for generating print data including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data appearing upon copying and text data to be combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data; paper information acquisition means for acquiring information relating to a paper size of the text data; and the paper A print data generation unit comprising:
Transmitting means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generating means to the image forming apparatus;
Paper size determination means for determining whether the information regarding the paper size acquired by the paper information acquisition means and the information regarding the paper size of the body data of the previous page are the same as the body data corresponding to the information And comprising
The print data generation unit includes the same identification data as the identification data for identifying the background pattern data of the previous page and not including the background pattern data when the determination result by the paper size determination unit is affirmative Generate print data including data,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving print data transmitted from the transmitting means of the information processing apparatus;
Data processing means for separately processing copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and text data included in the print data received by the receiving means;
Print image generation means for generating a print image by combining the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and the text data separately processed by the data processing means;
Image forming means for forming a print image generated by the print image generating means on the medium;
An image forming system comprising: The print data generation means further comprises a reversible compression means for reversibly compressing the tint block data,
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit decompresses the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data that has been reversibly compressed by the reversible compression unit. The print data generation means generates print data further including identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data,
The image forming apparatus further includes a storing unit that stores the identification data included in the print data received by the receiving unit and the tint block data in association with each other,
The print image generation means is a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data corresponding to the identification data stored in the storage means when print data including the same identification data as the identification data stored in the storage means is received by the reception means. the image forming system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to generate the composite to print image and text data included in the print data. An information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to an image forming apparatus for forming a print image on a medium via a transmission path,
Means for generating print data including copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data appearing upon copying and text data to be combined with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data; paper information acquisition means for acquiring information relating to a paper size of the text data; and the paper A print data generation unit comprising:
Transmitting means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generating means to the image forming apparatus;
Paper size determination means for determining whether the information on the paper size acquired by the paper information acquisition means and the information on the paper size of the body data of the previous page are the same as the body data corresponding to the information And comprising
The print data generation unit does not include the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data and has the same identification data as the identification data for identifying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern data of the previous page when the determination result by the paper size determination unit is affirmative An information processing apparatus that generates print data including data . The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the print data generation unit further includes a reversible compression unit that reversibly compresses the tint block data.

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