Image processing apparatus and Image Processing method

• US 20110292439A1
• Filed: 05/03/2011
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Nagata, Tadashi, Shinchi, Yasuhito
• Granted Patent: US 8,749,822 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00864 Modifying the reproduction, e.g. outputting a modified copy of a scanned original details of composing or otherwise geometrically modifying originals H04N1/387
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00875 Inhibiting reproduction, e.g. by disabling reading or reproduction apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes a first determination part that determines whether an image in which a feature image is embedded is to be modified when the image is printed, based on the image and a state of the image processing apparatus; and a second determination part that determines a condition for avoiding the modification determined by the first determination part.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a first determination part that determines whether an image in which a feature image is embedded is to be modified when the image is printed, based on the image and a state of the image processing apparatus; and

a second determination part that determines a condition for avoiding the modification determined by the first determination part.

2. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a waiting part that causes the image processing apparatus to wait to print the image until the condition for avoiding the modification determined by the second determination part is satisfied.

3. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a third determination part that determines, based on the condition for avoiding the modification determined by the second determination part, whether the condition for avoiding the modification can be satisfied by a change of setting in the image processing apparatus.

4. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a notification and printing part that, when the third determination part determines that the condition for avoiding the modification cannot be satisfied by the change of setting in the image processing apparatus, reports that the appropriate feature image is not embedded, and causes the image processing apparatus to print the image.

5. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a fourth determination part that, when the third determination part determines that the condition for avoiding the modification can be satisfied by the change of setting in the image processing apparatus, determines according to a given instruction whether to print the image in which the feature image is inappropriate or wait to print the image until the image processing apparatus satisfies the condition for avoiding the modification.

6. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a feature image creation and embedding part that creates a feature image for the image on which the modification determined by the first determination part has been carried out and embeds the created feature image into the image on which the modification has been carried out.

7. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

a fifth determination part that determines, according to a given instruction, whether to cause the feature image creation and embedding part to create the feature image for the image on which the modification has been carried out and embed the created feature image into the image on which the modification has been carried out.

8. An image processing method comprising:

determining whether an image in which a feature image is embedded is to be modified when the image is printed by an image processing apparatus, based on the image and a state of the image processing apparatus; and

determining a condition for avoiding the determined modification.

9. The image processing method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

the image processing apparatus waiting to print the image until the determined condition for avoiding the modification is satisfied.

10. The image processing method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

determining based on the determined condition for avoiding the modification whether the condition for avoiding the modification can be satisfied by a change of setting in the image processing apparatus.

11. The image processing method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

when determining that the condition for avoiding the modification cannot be satisfied by the change of setting in the image processing apparatus, reporting that the appropriate feature image is not embedded, and printing the image.

12. The image processing method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

when determining that the condition for avoiding the modification can be satisfied by the change of setting in the image processing apparatus, determining according to a given instruction whether to print the image in which the feature image is inappropriate or wait to print the image until the image processing apparatus satisfies the condition for avoiding the modification.

13. The image processing method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

creating a feature image for the image on which the determined modification has been carried out and embedding the created feature image into the image on which the modification has been carried out.

14. The image processing method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

determining, according to a given instruction, whether to create the feature image for the image on which the modification has been carried out and embed the created feature image into the image on which the modification has been carried out.