Print control apparatus, print control method, and program therefor

• US 8,922,807 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2013
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• 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:
  US13/768,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20130155424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• 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 copier comprising:

a setting unit configured to set a copy ratio;

a scanning unit configured to scan a document in response to a user instruction to copy the document using the set copy ratio;

a detecting unit configured to detect a two-dimensional code in an image of the scanned document;

a printing unit; and

a control unit configured to control the printing unit not to print the image, regardless of any information included in the detected two-dimensional code, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image and the set copy ratio is not 1, and

configured to control the printing unit to print the image, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image and the set copy ratio is 1.

2. The copier according to claim 1, wherein the copy ratio is a ratio of a document to be obtained by printing an image of the scanned document to the scanned document.

3. A copier comprising:

a setting unit configured to set a copy ratio;

a scanning unit configured to scan a document in response to a user instruction to copy the document using the set copy ratio;

a detecting unit configured to detect a two-dimensional code in an image of a scanned document;

a printing unit; and

a control unit configured to control the printing unit not to print the image, regardless of any information included in the detected two-dimensional code, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image and the set copy ratio is not 1,

configured to control the printing unit not to print the image, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image, condition information included in the detected two-dimensional code is not satisfied, and the set copy ratio is 1, and

configured to control the printing unit to print the image, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image, condition information included in the detected two-dimensional code is satisfied, and the set copy ratio is 1.

4. The copier according to claim 3, wherein a copy ratio is the ratio of a document to be obtained by printing an image of the scanned document to the scanned document.

5. A method of controlling a copier, said method comprising:

setting a copy ratio;

scanning a document in response to a user instruction to copy the document using the set copy ratio;

detecting a two-dimensional code in an image of a scanned document; and

controlling a printing unit,

wherein the controlling step controls the printing unit not to print the image, regardless of any information included in the detected two-dimensional code, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image and the set copy ratio is not 1,

wherein the controlling step controls the printing unit not to print the image, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image, condition information included in the detected two-dimensional code is not satisfied, and the set copy ratio is 1, and

wherein the controlling step controls the printing unit to print the image, in a case where a two-dimensional code is detected in the image, condition information included in the detected two-dimensional code is satisfied, and the set copy ratio is 1.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a copy ratio is the ratio of a document to be obtained by printing an image of the scanned document to the scanned document.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program codes for causing a copier to execute the method of claim 5.

8. The medium according to claim 7, wherein a copy ratio is the ratio of a document to be obtained by printing an image of the scanned document to the scanned document.