Image processing apparatus, image processing method and non-transitory computer-readable medium

• US 8,363,890 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Ihara, Fujio
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Claire X
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONNER, SEAN M
• Application Number:
  US12/894,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20110206233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes an image acquiring unit, a partial information detecting unit and an embedding unit. The image acquiring unit acquires an image in which first additional information is embedded so that pieces of first partial information obtained by dividing the first additional information are coded and embedded in respective unit areas obtained by dividing the image. The partial information detecting unit detects the pieces of first partial information, which are embedded in the respective unit areas of the image acquired by the image acquiring unit. The embedding unit codes and embeds, in the respective unit areas, pieces of second partial information obtained by dividing second additional information which is different from the first additional information so that a sum of differences between corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of detected first partial information and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an image acquiring unit that acquires an image in which first additional information is embedded in such a manner that pieces of first partial information obtained by dividing the first additional information are coded and embedded in respective unit areas obtained by dividing the image;

a partial information detecting unit that detects the pieces of first partial information, which are embedded in the respective unit areas of the image acquired by the image acquiring unit; and

an embedding unit that codes and embeds, in the respective unit areas, pieces of second partial information obtained by dividing second additional information which is different from the first additional information so that a sum of differences between corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of first partial information detected by the partial information detecting unit and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the embedding unit embeds the pieces of second partial information in the respective unit areas with switching embedding destinations of at least a part of the pieces of second partial information with embedding destinations of other pieces of second partial information so that the sum of differences between the corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of first partial information detected by the partial information detecting unit and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a rearranging unit that rearranges the pieces of second partial information so that the sum of the differences between the corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of first partial information detected by the partial information detecting unit and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum when the pieces of second partial information are embedded in the respective unit areas, wherein

the embedding unit generates an image in which the second additional information is embedded by coding and embedding the pieces of second partial information as rearranged by the rearranging unit in the respective unit areas.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the pieces of second partial information are added with respective pieces of identification information that enable identification of positions of the pieces of second partial information in the second additional information, and

the rearranging unit rearranges the pieces of second partial information so that the sum of the differences between the corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of first partial information embedded in the respective unit areas and (ii) the pieces of second partial information, which are added with the respective pieces of identification information become minimum.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

in detecting the pieces of first partial information, the partial information detecting unit determines restricted portions, where a change should be restricted, of the respective pieces of first partial information;

and

the rearranging unit rearranges the pieces of second partial information so as to reduce the number of restricted portions where a change is to be made even though the change should be restricted there.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

in detecting the pieces of first partial information, the partial information detecting unit determines restricted portions, where a change should be restricted, of the respective pieces of first partial information, and

the rearranging unit rearranges the pieces of second partial information so as to reduce the number of restricted portions where a change is to be made even though the change should be restricted.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the pieces of second partial information contain respective error correction codes to be used in detecting the pieces of second partial information, and

the rearranging unit rearranges the pieces of second partial information so that the number of the restricted portions where the change is to be made even though the change should be restricted becomes smaller than a number that is determined according to an information amount within which information can be corrected by the error correction code.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the pieces of second partial information contain respective error correction codes to be used in detecting the pieces of second partial information, and

the rearranging unit rearranges the pieces of second partial information so that the number of the restricted portions where the change is to be made even though the change should be restricted but becomes smaller than a number that is determined according to an information amount within which information can be corrected by the error correction code.

9. An image processing method comprising:

acquiring an image in which first additional information is embedded in such a manner that pieces of first partial information obtained by dividing the first additional information are coded and embedded in respective unit areas obtained by dividing the image;

detecting the pieces of first partial information, which are embedded in the respective unit areas of the acquired image; and

coding and embedding, in the respective unit areas, pieces of second partial information obtained by dividing second additional information which is different from the first additional information so that a sum of differences between corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of detected first partial information and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute image processing, the image processing comprising:

acquiring an image in which first additional information is embedded in such a manner that pieces of first partial information obtained by dividing the first additional information are coded and embedded in respective unit areas obtained by dividing the image;

detecting the pieces of first partial information, which are embedded in the respective unit areas of the acquired image; and

coding and embedding, in the respective unit areas, pieces of second partial information obtained by dividing second additional information which is different from the first additional information so that a sum of differences between corresponding pairs of (i) the pieces of detected first partial information and (ii) the newly embedded pieces of second partial information become minimum.