Image processing apparatus, image processing system, computer readable medium, and image processing method

• US 7,965,400 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Ebitani, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins; Twyler L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beckley; Jonathan R
• Application Number:
  US11/503,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20070115495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,771 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.16, 358/403, 358/444, 358/1.14, 358/448, 358/518, 358/519, 358/1.9, 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 358/1.8, 358/1.12, 358/1.2
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32112 in a separate computer file, document page or paper sheet, e.g. a fax cover sheet H04N1/32122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3202 of communication or activity log or report
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3221 of a job number or identification, e.g. communication number
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes a job execution unit, a log generation unit, a log storage unit, a feature amount extraction unit and a replacement unit. The job execution unit executes a processing job of image data. Te log generation unit generates image log information for identifying the executed processing job and identifying the processed image data. The log storage unit stores the generated image log information. The feature amount extraction unit extracts a feature amount of the image data identified by the image log information. The identity determination unit compares feature amounts extracted from pieces of the image data identified by pieces of the image log information, to determine identity among the image data. The replacement unit replaces information to identify a piece of the image data, which are determined to be identical, with information to identify another piece of the image data.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a job execution unit that executes a processing job of image data;

a log generation unit that generates image log information for identifying the processing job executed by the job execution unit and identifying the image data processed in the processing job;

a log storage unit that stores the image log information generated by the log generation unit;

a feature amount extraction unit that extracts a feature amount of the image data identified by the image log information;

an identity determination unit that compares feature amounts, which are extracted by the feature amount extraction unit from plural pieces of the image data identified by plural pieces of the image log information, to determine identity among the plural pieces of image data; and

a replacement unit that replaces information to identify a piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other, with information to identify another piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other,

wherein the feature amount of the image data is obtained by using quantitative features of the image data when a size of the image data is normalized.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

when code information, which identifies an original image, is embedded in the original image to be processed by the job execution unit, the log generation unit generates the image log information so that the generated image log information further comprises the code information, which is obtained from the original image when the job execution unit executes the processing job, and

the identity determination unit determines the identity among the plural pieces of image data, based on the code information contained in the image log information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement unit performs the replacement processing at a predetermined timing, which is different from a log generation timing at which the log generation unit generates the image log information.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a log deletion unit that deletes the image log information from the log storage unit under a predetermined condition; and

a replacement determination unit that determines whether or not each information, which identifies the corresponding image data and is contained in the corresponding image log information, has been replaced by the replacement unit, wherein;

the log deletion unit deletes information, which identifies image data and is determined to have been replaced by the replacement determination unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data is divided into meshes and a feature amount of each mesh is calculated.

6. An image processing system comprising:

an image processing apparatus comprising;

a job execution unit that executes a processing job of image data; and

a server comprising;

a log storage unit that stores image log information for identifying the processing job executed by the job execution unit and identifying the image data processed in the processing job, wherein;

at least one of the image processing apparatus and the server comprises;

a log generation unit that generates the image log information;

a feature amount extraction unit that extracts a feature amount of the image data identified by the image log information;

an identity determination unit that compares feature amounts, which are extracted by the feature amount extraction unit from plural pieces of the image data identified by plural pieces of the image log information, to determine identity among the plural pieces of image data; and

a replacement unit that replaces information to identify a piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other, with information to identify another piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other,

wherein the feature amount of the image data is obtained by using quantitative features of the image data when a size of the image data is normalized.

7. The image processing system according to claim 6, wherein the image data is divided into meshes and a feature amount of each mesh is calculated.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for managing image log information, the process comprising:

generating the image log information for identifying an executed processing job and identifying image data processed in the processing job;

storing the generated image log information;

extracting a feature amount of the image data identified by the image log information;

comparing feature amounts extracted from plural pieces of image data identified by plural pieces of image log information, to determine identity among the plural pieces of image data; and

replacing information to identify a piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other, with information to identify another piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other,

wherein the feature amount of the image data is obtained by using quantitative features of the image data when a size of the image data is normalized.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for managing image log information according to claim 8, wherein the image data is divided into meshes and a feature amount of each mesh is calculated.

10. An image processing method comprising:

executing a processing job of image data;

generating image log information for identifying the executed processing job and identifying the image data processed in the processing job;

storing the generated image log information;

extracting a feature amount of the image data identified by the image log information;

comparing feature amounts, which are extracted from plural pieces of image data identified by plural pieces of image log information, to determine identity among the plural pieces of the image data; and

replacing information to identify a piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other, with information to identify another piece of the plural pieces of image data which are determined to be identical with each other,

wherein the feature amount of the image data is obtained by using quantitative features of the image data when a size of the image data is normalized.

11. The image processing method according to claim 10, wherein the image data is divided into meshes and a feature amount of each mesh is calculated.

12. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an execution unit that executes a job, which processes image data;

a generation unit that generates log information comprising identification information for each job, each identification information identifying image data processed in the corresponding job;

a storage unit that stores the log information generated by the generation unit;

an extraction unit that extracts a plurality of feature amounts from the plural pieces of image data identified by the respective pieces of identification information;

a determination unit that compares the feature amounts of the image data extracted by the extraction unit to determine whether or not at least two of the plural pieces of log information are identical to each other; and

a replacement unit, when the determination unit determines that at least two of the plural pieces of log information are identical to each other, the replacement unit replacing the at least two of the plural pieces of log information with any one of the at least two of the plural pieces of log information,

wherein the feature amount of the image data is obtained by using quantitative features of the image data when a size of the image data is normalized.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the image data is divided into meshes and a feature amount of each mesh is calculated.