Print control apparatus, print control method, and program therefor

• US 8,411,328 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Issued: 04/02/2013
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Madelein A
• Application Number:
  US12/265,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20090122351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: 358/3.28, 358/3.22, 358/1.14, 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/539, 358/116, 382/112, 382/276, 382/111, 382/149, 382/217, 382/170, 713/176, 713/161, 713/168, 713/170, 283/113, 282/113, 726/1, 726/26
• US Class Current: 358/3.28
• 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 control apparatus for receiving an image including a two-dimensional code expressing additional information by an arrangement of dots associated with grid points, the print control apparatus comprising:

a determining unit configured to determine from the received image an interval between a grid point and a grid point adjacent thereto; and

a control unit configured to control so as to scale the image at a magnification specified by a user and have the scaled image printed by a print unit 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 control so as to terminate or interrupt the printing of the image by the print unit 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.

2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is conditional copy restricting information.

3. A program stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for causing a computer to perform the print control apparatus according to claim 1.

4. A print control apparatus for receiving an image including a two-dimensional code expressing additional information by an arrangement of dots, the print control apparatus comprising:

a determining unit configured to determine sizes of the dots from the received image; and

a control unit configured to control so as to scale the image at a magnification specified by a user and have the scaled image printed by a print unit when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the sizes of the dots determined by the determining unit falls within a predetermined range, and configured to control so as to terminate or interrupt the printing of the image by the print unit when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the sizes of the dots determined by the determining unit does not fall within the predetermined range.

5. A print control method in a print control apparatus for receiving an image including a two-dimensional code expressing additional information by an arrangement of dots associated with grid points, the print control method comprising the steps of:

determining from the received image an interval between grid point and a grid point adjacent thereto; and

controlling so as to scale the image at a magnification specified by a user and have the scaled image printed by a printing step when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the interval determined by the determining step falls within a predetermined range, and controlling so as to terminate or interrupt the printing of the image by the printing step when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the interval determined by the determining step does not fall within the predetermined range.

6. The print control method according to claim 5, wherein the additional information is conditional copy restricting information.

7. A print control method in a print control apparatus for receiving an image including a two-dimensional code expressing additional information by an arrangement of dots, the print control method comprising the steps of:

determining sizes of the dots from the received image; and

controlling so as to scale the image at a magnification specified by a user and have the scaled image printed by a printing step when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the sizes of the dots determined by the determining step falls within a predetermined range, and controlling so as to terminate or interrupt the printing of the image by the printing step when the product of the magnification specified by the user and the sizes of the dots determined by the determining step does not fall within the predetermined range.