PRINT CONTROL APPARATUS, PRINT CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM THEREFOR

• US 20090122351A1
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tsuchitoi, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 8,411,328 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/3.280
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/04 Preventing copies being made of an original
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00932 Security copies
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/18 Conditioning data for presenting it to the physical printing elements for data conditioning specific to a type of printer see subgroups G06K15/028 - G06K15/14; print job translation or parsing G06F3/1244
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00846 based on detection of a dedicated indication, e.g. marks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00848 by detecting a particular original
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00859 Issuing an alarm or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00875 Inhibiting reproduction, e.g. by disabling reading or reproduction apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32133 on the same paper sheet, e.g. a facsimile page header
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0091 Digital copier; digital 'photocopier' H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/323 for tracing or tracking, e.g. forensic tracing of unauthorized copies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs

Abstract

Conventionally, during a copy operation, certain advanced mode settings make the extraction of additional security information impossible. In order to solve this problem, the print control apparatus includes: determining unit for determining an interval between a pattern element and a pattern element adjacent to the pattern element from the received image data; and control unit for performing a control so as to scale the image at a magnification specified by a user and have the scaled image printed by a printing apparatus when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the interval determined by the determining unit falls within a predetermined range, and configured to terminate or interrupt the printing of the image by the printing apparatus when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the interval determined by the determining unit does not fall within the predetermined range.

Claims

1. A print controller configured to receive image data, the image data including additional security information, for copy tracking and/or copy restriction, the additional security information being in the form of a pattern of pattern elements, the print controller comprising:

a determining unit which determines an original pattern dimension from the pattern of pattern elements; and

a control unit which;

receives a user-specified print scaling factor;

determines a post-scaling pattern dimension from the product of the original pattern dimension and the print scaling factor; and

determines whether the post-scaling pattern dimension falls within a predetermined range.

2. A print controller according to claim 1, wherein the control unit issues a print instruction if the post-scaling pattern dimension falls within a predetermined range.

3. A print controller according to claim 1, wherein the control unit issues an instruction to abort or prevent printing when the post-scaling pattern dimension falls outside the predetermined range.

4. A print controller according to claim 1, wherein the original pattern dimension that the determining unit determines is the original pattern interval between a first pattern element and a second pattern element adjacent to the first pattern element and the control unit is configured to determine whether the post-scaling pattern interval falls within a first predetermined range.

5. A print controller according to claim 4, wherein the original pattern interval is obtained by determining a modal value for the pattern interval from a plurality of first and second pattern elements.

6. A print controller according to claim 1, wherein the original pattern dimension that the determining unit determines is an original average size of the pattern elements and the control means is configured to determine whether the average post-scaling pattern element size falls within a second predetermined range.

7. A print control method comprising:

receiving image data, the image data including additional security information for copy tracking and/or copy restriction, the additional security information being in the form of a pattern of pattern elements;

determining an original pattern dimension from the pattern of pattern elements;

receiving a user-specified print scaling factor;

determining a post-scaling pattern dimension from the product of the original pattern dimension and the print scaling factor; and

determining whether the post-scaling pattern dimension falls within a predetermined range.

8. A print control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

issuing a print instruction if the post-scaling pattern dimension interval falls within the predetermined range.

9. A print control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

issuing an instruction to abort or prevent printing when the post-scaling pattern dimension falls outside the predetermined range.

10. A print control method according to any of claim 7, wherein the original pattern dimension is the interval between a first pattern element and a second pattern element adjacent to the first pattern element.

11. A print control method according to claim 7, wherein the original pattern dimension is the average size of the pattern elements.

12. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program which when run on a computer causes the computer to:

receive image data, the image data including additional security information for copy tracking and/or copy restriction, the additional security information being in the form of a pattern of pattern elements;

determine an original pattern dimension from the pattern of pattern elements;

receive a user-specified print scaling factor;

determine a post-scaling pattern dimension from the product of the original pattern dimension and the print scaling factor; and

determine whether the post-scaling pattern dimension falls within a predetermined range.

13. A print controller for receiving image data, the image data including additional security information for copy tracking and/or copy restriction, the additional security information being in the form of pattern made up of a periodically repeated pattern component, the pattern component made up of pattern elements,

the print controller comprising a control unit, the control unit being configured to:

receive a user-specified move request and/or area specification;

apply the move request and/or area specification to the image data;

determine the number of pattern components remaining in the image after application of the move request and/or area specification;

determine whether the number of pattern components remaining exceeds a predetermined threshold.

14. A print controller according to claim 13, wherein the control unit is configured to:

issue a print instruction if the number of pattern components remaining exceeds or is equal to the predetermined threshold; and

/or

to issue a terminate print instruction if the number of pattern components remaining falls below the predetermined threshold.

15. A print controller for receiving image data, the print controller comprising:

a determining unit configured to determine whether the image data comprises additional security information, for copy tracking and/or copy restriction, the additional security information being in the form of a pattern made up of pattern elements;

a control unit configured to issue a terminate print instruction on both receiving a signal from the determining unit indicating the presence of additional security information and receiving a user request to perform a mirror-imaging or negative-positive reversal process on the image data.