Image processing apparatus

• US 8,031,376 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2008
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Shimmoto, Takafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins; Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): REINIER, BARBARA DIANE
• Application Number:
  US12/028,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20080231906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,334 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 358/3.28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00838 Preventing unauthorised reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00848 by detecting a particular original
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0087 with hidden additional data, e.g. data invisible to the human eye
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3242 of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence

Abstract

A disclosed image processing apparatus enables input of various documents, addition of various types of embedded information, and implementation of various behaviors associated with embedded information detection results. Information embedded in input document data is detected, and an image processing associated with a detection result is carried out. The image processing apparatus includes a document input mechanism, an embedded information analysis mechanism, a behavior determination mechanism, a document output mechanism, and an image management mechanism. In one embodiment, an interface via which the document input mechanism and the embedded information analysis mechanism are connected, and another interface via which the document input mechanism and the image management mechanism are connected are fixed, so that the document input mechanism can be replaced with a new document input mechanism that inherits from those fixed interfaces, without affecting the other mechanisms.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus in which embedded information in input document data is detected and an image processing is carried out in accordance with a result of detection of the embedded information, the image processing apparatus comprising:

a CPU; and

a non-transitory storage medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the CPU to configure the CPU to include;

a document input mechanism configured to receive input document data including image data, the document input mechanism comprising

a fixed portion consisting of an extraction of common control portions for plural input document types including scanned document, stored/read document, received document from an arbitrary input source and media document specialized for a particular client, wherein the document input mechanism inherits from the fixed portion, and is developed such that the document input mechanism inheriting from the fixed portion is dynamically added;

an embedded information analysis mechanism connected to the document input mechanism via a first interface, and configured to analyze embedded information in the received input document data, to determine an analysis result;

a behavior determination mechanism connected to the embedded information analysis mechanism via a second interface, and configured to determine a behavior rule based on the analysis result and output behavior rule information;

a document output mechanism connected to the behavior determination mechanism via a third interface, and configured to determine, based on the behavior rule information received from the behavior determination mechanism, a processing to be applied to the input document data; and

an image management mechanism connected to the document output mechanism via a fourth interface and to the document input mechanism via a fifth interface to receive the input document data, and configured to manage the input document data in accordance with instruction received from the document output mechanism, wherein

the document output mechanism determines the instruction to output to the image management mechanism based on the processing to be applied to the input document data;

wherein two of the first through fifth interfaces associated with any one of the mechanisms, including the document input mechanism, embedded information analysis mechanism, behavior determination mechanism, document output mechanism and image management mechanism, are fixed and are not changed even when said one of the mechanisms connected to the two interfaces is replaced by a substitute mechanism.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and fifth interfaces are fixed, and when the document input mechanism is replaced with another document input mechanism that conforms to the first and fifth interfaces during image processing, the other mechanisms, including the embedded information analysis mechanism, behavior determination mechanism, document output mechanism and image management mechanism, are not affected.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second interfaces are fixed, and when the embedded information analysis mechanism is replaced with another embedded information analysis mechanism that conforms to the first and second interfaces during image processing, the other mechanisms, including the document input mechanism, behavior determination mechanism, document output mechanism and image management mechanism, are not affected.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second and third interfaces are fixed, and when the behavior determination mechanism is replaced with another behavior determination mechanism that conforms to the second and third interfaces during image processing, the other mechanisms, including the document input mechanism, embedded information analysis mechanism, document output mechanism and image management mechanism, are not affected.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third and fourth interfaces are fixed, and when the document output mechanism is replaced with another document output mechanism that conforms to the third and fourth interfaces, the other mechanisms, including the document input mechanism, embedded information analysis mechanism, behavior determination mechanism and image management mechanism, are not affected.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the embedded information analysis mechanism comprises a fixed portion consisting of an extraction of common control portions for various information embedding techniques, whereby a program that is developed such that the program inherits from the fixed portion is dynamically added.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the behavior determination mechanism comprises a fixed portion consisting of an extraction of common control portions for various behaviors associated with various embedded information detection results, and a program that is developed such that the program inherits from the fixed portion is dynamically added.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the document output mechanism comprises a fixed portion consisting of an extraction of common control portions for various document outputs to various output destinations, and a program that is developed such that the program inherits from the fixed portion is dynamically added.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a program that is utilized upon application of a behavior associated with an embedded information detection result, or a program that is utilized upon document output to an output destination is dynamically and individually added.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a program for a behavior associated with an embedded information detection result and a program that is utilized upon application of said behavior, or a program for a document output to an output destination and a program that is utilized upon such document output are individually and dynamically added at once.