Printing device, information processing device, control method, and program

Abstract

To eliminate waste of used ink and enable information protection for confidential documents other than personal information.SOLUTION: A printing device includes: acquisition means which acquires image data representing an image of a document; extraction means which extracts at least one group containing text from the image data; display means which displays the image data in such a manner that the extracted group is visible; reception means which receives manual selection of a group to be concealed from the visibly displayed groups; generation means which generates a concealment mask pattern to conceal the manually selected group; and image data output means which outputs image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the manually selected group in the image data of the document.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for information hiding. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a technique for preventing leakage of personal information to third parties by using a shredder or a security stamp on documents or direct mail containing personal information.

[0003] Furthermore, there is a method of printing over the personal information on a sheet of paper using a printing device. For example, Patent Document 1 shown below proposes a printing control method and a program thereof that automatically identifies the type of information for a character string of personal information and prints over the information with excellent concealment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-195286 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the device shown in the above Patent Document 1 performs printing with high concealment for text that contains personal information. In other words, since the objects of concealment are addresses, names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses, character strings related to personal information other than these are not concealed, and there is a problem in protecting confidential documents that contain personal information other than these.

[0006] The present disclosure enables a user to select the target of information protection and output a mask pattern overlaid on the required area, thereby eliminating waste of ink and enabling information protection for confidential documents. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A printing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that it comprises an acquisition means for acquiring image data indicating an image of a document, an extraction means for extracting at least one group containing characters from the image data, a display means for displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible, a reception means for accepting manual selection of a group to be concealed from among the visibly displayed groups, a generation means for generating a concealment mask pattern for concealing the manually selected group, and an image data output means for outputting image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the selected group of the image data of the document. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, a user can select the target of information protection and output a mask pattern over the required area, thereby eliminating waste of ink and enabling information protection for confidential documents. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a software configuration of a printing apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the appearance of a printing apparatus. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the printing device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying candidates for information protection targets. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a result of mask printing. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by a printing device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mask pattern at the time of automatic selection. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding components, devices, and parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. It goes without saying that the configuration that characterizes the present disclosure is not limited to the form of the printing device described below. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the matters disclosed herein, and all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution of the present disclosure.

[0011] <First embodiment> In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a printing device having a scanner function will be described as an example. The printing device is a device that prints characters and / or images on a recording medium such as paper by discharging ink while moving an ink head in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the recording medium is transported. The scanner is a device that moves a sensor horizontally relative to the surface of the original document to read the original document and generate image data of the original document.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing device according to the present disclosure. The configuration of the printing device will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The printing device has a control unit 100, a ROM (Read only memory) 101, a RAM (Random access memory) 102, an image data memory 103, and an image data control unit 104. The printing device has a key input unit 105, a touch panel 106, a print control unit 107, an ink head 108, a print data memory 109, a character data memory 110, a block information memory 111, and a scanner 112.

[0013] The control unit 100 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which expands a program stored in a ROM 101 into a RAM 102, reads it out, and executes various controls. The ROM 101 is a non-volatile storage medium, and stores a program for executing a print process and a document reading process as a scanner function. The ROM 101 also stores concealment mask data of the smallest unit. The concealment mask data is mask data for the control unit 100 to conceal characters and / or images formed on a recording medium. The RAM 102 is a system memory of the CPU, and is used as a storage area such as a work area. The image data memory 103 is a storage area for storing image data of a document. The image data memory 103 is used as a work area for extracting characters and / or images formed on a document in groups (hereinafter referred to as information protection targets or groups). Note that, although the information protection targets are described in this embodiment, a group of characters and / or images formed on a document may be handwritten. The image data control unit 104 extracts information protection targets from image data of a document acquired from the scanner 112 under the control of the control unit 100. The key input unit 105 is a key that accepts user operations. The key input unit 105 may include a color copy start key for executing color printing, a monochrome copy start key for executing monochrome printing, a stop key for stopping a process underway, and arrow keys for selecting information protection targets. The key input unit 105 may include a power button for turning on and off the power of the printing device, and a decision key for deciding information protection targets. The touch panel 106 is a display device that outputs image data such as candidates for information protection targets. In addition, the touch panel 106 may accept the selection of information protection targets by a user's touch operation. The print control unit 107 converts data stored in the print data memory 109 into data for ejecting ink under the control of the control unit 100, and ejects ink from the ink head 108 to perform printing. The ink head 108 includes an ink tank and a nozzle for ejecting ink. The print data memory 109 stores data for printing.Character fonts used for nozzle check printing to check whether ink is ejected normally are stored in the character data memory 110. The block information memory 111 stores position information of information protection targets (positions to start and end generation of concealment mask data, which will be described later) and the like.

[0014] Here, the extraction of the information protection target will be explained. The image data control unit 104 cuts out the entire information protection target from the image data of the document stored in the image data memory 103. In other words, the image data control unit 104 extracts the information protection target from the difference between the value read when scanning the margin part and the value read when scanning the part where the characters and / or images are formed, in the entire information protection target.

[0015] Next, extraction of position information of information protection target will be described. A user specifies an area (hereinafter referred to as a protection area) in which information is to be protected in the image data of a document. Specifically, the user specifies a protection area for an area in which information is to be protected by operating the key input unit 105 and / or the touch panel 106 in the image data of the document displayed on the touch panel 106 of the printing device. For example, the user may specify a protection area by inputting the range of the protection area in the image data of the document by the key input unit 105. The user may also specify a protection area in the image data of the document by touching and dragging the touch panel 106. The image data control unit 104 reads the protection area specified by the user and stores the read value in the RAM 102. Next, the image data control unit 104 reads the entire image data of the document to obtain position information of information protection target. The image data control unit 104 uses an arbitrary threshold value that can determine the difference between a margin part and a part where characters and / or images are formed, determines whether or not the area is a part where characters and / or images are formed, and updates the values ​​of the left and right ends and the top and bottom ends of the position information. For example, the image data control unit 104 converts the RGB value of each pixel of the image data of the document using a predetermined conversion formula, and compares the converted value with a preset threshold value. The image data control unit 104 performs binarization processing based on the comparison, and determines the area to be protected from the result. Then, the image data control unit 104 updates the read value of the protection area designated by the user to the value of the position information (position information of the left and right ends and the top and bottom ends) of the area to be protected. After that, the image data control unit 104 determines the position information of the top left, bottom left, top right, and bottom right from the maximum and minimum values ​​of the left and right ends and the top and bottom ends. Then, the image data control unit 104 stores the value of the position information in the block information memory 111, thereby extracting the position information of all rectangles to be protected from the image data of the document.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a control program for controlling each hardware module in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The software configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The software of the control program has an operating system (OS) 200 that manages the overall control of the printing device, a middleware layer 210 for controlling the printing device via various I / Fs, and an application layer 220 that manages applications.

[0017] The OS (Operating System) 200 provides basic functions for executing a control program in the control unit 100. The middleware layer 210 is composed of a group of software that controls an I / F (Interface, not shown) of the printing device. Specifically, the middleware layer 210 has a printer control module 211, a scanner control module 212, an operation unit control module 213, and an image processing module 214. The printer control module 211 controls printing operations. The scanner control module 212 controls scanner operations. The operation unit control module 213 controls the key input unit 105 and the touch panel 106 (hereinafter referred to as an operation unit 301). The image processing module 214 controls the processing of image data. Functions such as copying are realized by the image processing module 214 reading image data from the image data memory 103 in which the scanned image is stored, and passing it to the print control unit 107. In the present disclosure, the scanner 112 captures image data of an original, generates mask data for concealing information protection targets selected by the user, and issues an instruction to the print control unit 107. Functions such as printing provided to the user by the printing device are realized by the application layer 220 by operating each device via each module. Specifically, when the operation unit control module 213 detects that the user has executed printing via the operation unit 301, the application layer 220 is notified of the fact. In response to the detection, the application layer 220 executes printing using a job management application 221 for printing. The job management application 221 executes a printing operation using the ink head 108 using the printer control module 211 of the middleware layer 210. The job management application 221 controls the display content to be displayed on the touch panel 106 via the operation unit control module 213 as necessary, and controls the operation of the print control unit 107 via the printer control module 211.

[0018] Fig. 3 is an external perspective view showing an example of a printing device in an embodiment. The structure of the printing device will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The printing device has an operation unit 301 and a scanner 112. When using the printing device, a user operates the printing device from a direction facing the operation unit 301. The operation unit 301 has a key input unit 105 and a touch panel 106.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a mask printing process executed by the printing device of the present disclosure. The process of the printing device will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Here, mask printing is a printing process that outputs image data on which a concealment mask pattern, which will be described later, is superimposed on an information protection target. In other words, mask printing is not a process of forming a concealment mask pattern on the original itself (original) read by a scanner, but a process of superimposing and printing a concealment mask pattern on a copy of a document read by a scanner. In addition, the original may be any type of document on which characters and / or images are formed. For example, the original is not limited to a printed matter output from a printing device, but may be a handwritten document. The process shown in FIG. 4 is realized by a CPU (control unit 100) reading a program stored in ROM 101 into RAM 102 and executing the program by the CPU. Note that some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 4 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or an electronic circuit. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means that it is a step in the flowchart diagram (the same applies to the flowchart diagrams in the following specification). When the scanner 112 of the printing device is used, the control unit 100 starts the process of FIG.

[0020] In S401, the control unit 100 executes reading of the document set in the scanner. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to processing of S402. In S402, the control unit 100 detects candidates for information protection targets from the image data control unit 104. That is, the control unit 100 detects candidates for information protection targets by the extraction of information protection targets by the image data control unit 104 described above. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to processing of S403. In S403, the control unit 100 displays candidates for information protection targets visibly on the touch panel 106 of the printing device (hereinafter, displaying visibly will be referred to as "display"). Specifically, the control unit 100 displays a screen 600 of FIG. 6, which will be described later, on the touch panel 106. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to processing of S404. In S404, the control unit 100 performs a reception process for receiving a selection of information protection targets by the user. When an information protection target is selected, the control unit 100 stores position information and size information of the selected information protection target in the block information memory 111. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to the process of S405. In S405, the control unit 100 reads the position information and size information of the information protection target selected by the user from the block information memory 111, and generates a rectangular concealment mask pattern.

[0021] Here, a specific method of generating a concealment mask pattern will be described. The control unit 100 generates a rectangular concealment mask pattern by repeating the minimum unit of concealment mask data in the horizontal direction in the range from the position of the leftmost top row to the rightmost top row of the position information of the selected information protection object. When the control unit 100 completes the generation of the concealment mask pattern in the range from the leftmost top position to the rightmost top position, it shifts the generation position of the concealment mask pattern downward by the height of the minimum unit of concealment mask data from the leftmost top position. Then, the control unit 100 generates a rectangular concealment mask pattern by repeating the above generation operation in the horizontal direction in the range from the leftmost end to the rightmost end of the shifted position. The control unit 100 generates concealment mask patterns for all selected information protection objects by repeating the above generation operation until it reaches the leftmost bottom row included in the position information of the selected information protection object. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to the process of S406.

[0022] In S406, the control unit 100 determines mask printing of the information protection target selected by the user in S404. That is, the control unit 100 places the image data of the document, on which the concealment mask pattern generated in S405 is superimposed, in the print data memory 109, so that mask printing can be performed. Thereafter, the control unit 100 proceeds to the process of S407. In S407, the control unit 100 executes image data output processing when the mask printing operation is kicked off. The control unit 100 drives the ink head on the recording medium to perform mask printing, and then ends the process of FIG. 4.

[0023] The above describes the process executed by the control unit 100 of the printing device when the scanner 112 is used, but the process is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when an original is photographed using a camera of an information processing device such as a smartphone, the following process may be performed in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device. The configuration of the information processing device will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The information processing device has a CPU 500, a ROM 501, a RAM 502, an image data memory 503, an image data control unit 504, a key input unit 505, a touch panel 506, and a camera 507.

[0024] The CPU 500, the ROM 501, the RAM 502, and the image data memory 503 have the same functions as the control unit 100, the ROM 101, the RAM 102, and the image data memory 103, respectively, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. The image data control unit 504, the key input unit 505, and the touch panel 506 have the same functions as the image data control unit 104, the key input unit 105, and the touch panel 106, respectively, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. The camera 507 is realized by an image sensor, and outputs a photographed subject such as a document as image data. The process of FIG. 4 by the information processing device will be described on the assumption that an application (not shown) for performing a process of extracting information protection targets from image data of a document is installed in the information processing device. The following process is realized by the CPU 500 of the information processing device reading a program stored in the ROM 501 into the RAM 502 and executing the program.

[0025] In S401, the CPU 500 controls the camera 507 to perform a photographing process of the document. After that, the CPU 500 proceeds to the process of S402. In S402, the CPU 500 detects candidates for information protection targets by an application installed in the information processing device. The application detects candidates for information protection targets by extraction of information protection targets by the image data control unit 504. After that, the CPU 500 proceeds to the process of S403. In S403, the CPU 500 displays the candidates for information protection targets acquired in S402 on the touch panel 506. After that, the CPU 500 proceeds to the process of S404. In S404, the CPU 500 accepts the selection of the information protection target displayed in S403. Then, when the information protection target is selected, the CPU 500 saves position information and size information of the selected information protection target in a memory (not shown) of the information processing device. When the user selects an information protection target, the CPU 500 transmits the image data of the photographed document, the selected information protection target, and the position information and size information of the selected information protection target to the printing device. The subsequent processing from S405 to S407 executed by the control unit 100 is the same as described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. In this way, by displaying candidates for information protection targets by the information processing device and accepting the user's selection of the information protection target, mask printing can be performed without operating the operation unit 301 of the printing device.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the touch panel 106 or 506. The displayed information protection target will be described with reference to FIG. 6. A screen 600 in FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the touch panel 106 or 506 in S403. The screen 600 displays image data of a scanned or photographed document. The dotted rectangular area is an information protection target extracted by the image data control unit 104 or 504 before S402. Two information protection targets are displayed on the screen 600. However, the number of information protection targets extracted from the image data of the document is not limited to two. For example, the number of information protection targets may be one, or three or more. That is, the number displayed varies depending on the number of information protection targets extracted by the image data control unit 104 or 504.

[0027] Screen 601 in FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on touch panel 106 or 506 before S404. Screen 601 displays a dotted rectangular area and a thick rectangular area that is not displayed on screen 600. The thick rectangular area indicates an information protection target selected by the user. The user can select the information protection target by operating key input unit 105 or 505 and / or operating touch panel 106 or 506. In addition, in screen 601, one information protection target is selected by the user, but this is not limited thereto. For example, when multiple candidates for information protection targets are displayed, the user may select two or more information protection targets.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a mask printing result of an information protection target selected on the screen 601 of FIG. 6. The mask printing result of the information protection target will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The print result 700 of FIG. 7 is printed so that a concealment mask pattern overlaps the selected information protection target. In the print result 700, the information protection target is printed as a concealment mask pattern by painting it black, but is not limited to this. For example, the concealment mask pattern may be a regular pattern, an irregular pattern, a pattern that combines character strings and / or figures, or any other pattern that makes the information protection target invisible.

[0029] <Second embodiment> Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed by the printing device when the information to be protected is contained in multiple pages in the image data of a document. The processing executed by the printing device will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The processing shown in Fig. 8 is realized by the CPU (controller 100) reading a program stored in ROM 101 into RAM 102 and executing the program by the CPU. When the scanner 112 of the printing device is used, the printing device starts the processing of Fig. 8.

[0030] The processes of S801, S802, S809, S810, S811, S812, and S813 are similar to the processes of S401 to S407 in FIG. 4, respectively, and therefore the description will be omitted. In S803, the control unit 100 controls the image data control unit 104 to determine whether the detected information protection target is present on multiple pages in the image data of the document. If the control unit 100 determines that the detected information protection target is present on multiple pages (Yes), it proceeds to the process of S804, and if it determines that the detected information protection target is not present on multiple pages (No), it proceeds to the process of S809. In S804, the control unit 100 displays a display screen on the touch panel 106 that allows the user to select automatic selection or manual selection, and determines whether automatic selection has been selected by the user's operation. If the control unit 100 determines that automatic selection has been selected (Yes), it proceeds to the process of S805, and if it determines that manual selection has been selected (No), it proceeds to the process of S809. The manual selection is a process that involves a user's operation to select information protection targets, as described in Fig. 4. On the other hand, the automatic selection is a process that involves the selection of either a time priority mode that specifies an information protection area within each page of image data of a document, which will be described later, or an ink saving priority mode that automatically selects all information protection targets.

[0031] In S805, the control unit 100 displays a display screen for selecting the time priority mode or the ink saving priority mode on the touch panel 106, and performs a mode reception process to receive either mode. The control unit 100 then determines whether the time priority mode has been selected by a user operation. If the control unit 100 determines that the time priority mode has been selected (Yes), the process proceeds to S806, and if the control unit 100 determines that the ink saving priority mode has been selected (No), the process proceeds to S807.

[0032] In S806, the control unit 100 accepts the designation of an information protection area in the page of the image data of the document by the user's operation. The information protection area is an area in the page of the image data of the document that is mask-printed by overlapping a mask pattern for concealment. The control unit 100 displays the image data of the document including the information protection target on the touch panel 106. Then, the user designates any one of the upper half, lower half, right half, or left half of the page of the image data of the document displayed as the information protection area by operating the key input unit 105 and / or the touch panel 106. Here, the upper half, lower half, right half, or left half of the page will be described as an example of the information protection area, but is not limited thereto. In other words, the information protection area may be at least a part of the page, such as the upper third of the page or the right three-quarters of the page. After that, the control unit 100 accepts the designation of the information protection area by the user's designation operation. After that, the control unit 100 generates a mask pattern for concealment as follows. Specifically, the control unit 100 repeats the minimum unit of concealment mask data horizontally in the range from the top left position to the top right position of the specified information protection area to generate a rectangular concealment mask pattern. When the control unit 100 completes the generation of the concealment mask pattern, it shifts the generation position of the concealment mask pattern downward from the top left position by the height of the minimum unit of mask data. Then, the control unit 100 repeats horizontally in the range from the leftmost end to the rightmost end of the shifted position to generate a rectangular concealment mask pattern. The control unit 100 repeats until it reaches the bottom left line of the specified information protection area, thereby generating a similar concealment mask pattern in the specified information protection area on multiple pages of the image data of the document. For example, when the user specifies the upper half of the page of the image data of the document as the information protection area, the control unit 100 generates a concealment mask pattern as shown in a mask pattern 900 in FIG. 9 described later. After that, the control unit 100 proceeds to the process of S808.

[0033] In S807, the control unit 100 automatically generates concealment mask patterns for all information protection targets detected in S802. Specifically, the control unit 100 stores position information and size information for all information protection targets in the block information memory 111. Then, the control unit 100 reads out position information and size information for all information protection targets from the block information memory 111. The control unit 100 horizontally repeats the minimum unit of concealment mask data stored in the ROM 101 in the range from the position of the leftmost top row to the rightmost top row of all detected information protection targets to generate a rectangular concealment mask pattern. When the generation of the concealment mask pattern is completed, the control unit 100 shifts the generation position of the concealment mask pattern downward by the height of the minimum unit of mask data from the leftmost top position. Then, the control unit 100 creates a rectangular concealment mask pattern by repeating the horizontal direction in the range from the leftmost end to the rightmost end of the shifted position. The control unit 100 generates a concealment mask pattern by repeating the process until the leftmost and bottommost lines are reached in all rectangular regions to be protected. For example, the control unit 100 generates a concealment mask pattern as shown in a mask pattern 901 in FIG. 9, which will be described later. Thereafter, the control unit 100 proceeds to processing of S808. In S808, the control unit 100 determines mask printing in the case of automatic selection. That is, the control unit 100 places the image data of the document, on which the concealment mask pattern generated in S806 or S807 is superimposed, in the print data memory 109, so that mask printing can be performed. Thereafter, the control unit 100 proceeds to processing of S813.

[0034] When the time priority mode is selected, the control unit 100 generates similar concealment mask patterns in the information protection areas within multiple pages of the image data of the document, so the generation processing time for the concealment mask patterns is shortened. If there are multiple information protection targets in multiple pages of the image data of the document, and concealment mask patterns are generated for all of the information protection targets, the generation processing time will be longer in proportion to the number of information protection targets. On the other hand, in the time priority mode, it is only necessary to generate a concealment mask pattern in a specified information protection area, so the generation processing time for the concealment mask pattern is shortened.

[0035] When the ink saving mode is selected, all detected information protection objects are mask-printed by overlapping with a concealment mask pattern, thereby reducing ink consumption. For example, if the information protection object is in part of the lower half of a page of image data, when the lower half of the image data is designated as the information protection area, the concealment mask pattern is mask-printed by overlapping with the marginal portion where there is no information protection object. In other words, the amount of ink required to print the concealment mask pattern in this marginal portion increases in proportion to the number of pages of the image data. On the other hand, in the ink saving mode, it is only necessary to generate a concealment mask pattern for the selected information protection object, thereby reducing ink consumption.

[0036] As described above, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, when the information protection target is on multiple pages in the image data of the document and automatic selection is selected, the time priority mode or the ink saving mode can be selected, but this is not limited to this. For example, even when the information protection target is not on multiple pages or manual selection is selected in S804, the control unit 100 may accept and execute the process of S806.

[0037] The above describes the processing executed by the control unit 100 of the printing device when the scanner 112 is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the camera of the information processing device is used to photograph an original, the following processing may be executed in FIG. 8. The following processing is realized by the CPU 500 of the information processing device reading a program stored in the ROM 501 into the RAM 502 and executing the program. Note that, as with the processing of the control unit 100, the description of the processing of S801, S802, S809, S810, S811, S812, and S813 will be omitted.

[0038] In S803, the CPU 500 controls the image data control unit 504 to determine whether the information protection target is present on multiple pages in the image data of the document. If the CPU 500 determines that the information protection target is present on multiple pages (Yes), the process proceeds to S804, and if the CPU 500 determines that the information protection target is not present on multiple pages (No), the process proceeds to S809. In S804, the CPU 500 displays a display screen on the touch panel 506 that allows the user to select automatic selection or manual selection, and determines whether automatic selection has been selected by the user's operation. If the CPU 500 determines that automatic selection has been selected (Yes), the process proceeds to S805, and if the CPU 500 determines that manual selection has been selected (No), the process proceeds to S809.

[0039] In S805, the CPU 500 displays a display screen for selecting the time priority mode or the ink saving priority mode on the touch panel 506, and determines whether the time priority mode has been selected by a user operation. If the CPU 500 determines that the time priority mode has been selected (Yes), the process proceeds to S806, and if the CPU 500 determines that the ink saving priority mode has been selected (No), the process proceeds to S807. Thereafter, the CPU 500 transmits information indicating that the time priority mode or the ink saving priority mode has been selected to the printing device. The CPU 500 also transmits to the printing device the image data of the document, candidates for information protection targets, and position information and size information of the information protection targets. If the time priority mode has been selected, the CPU 500 also transmits to the printing device information indicating the designation of an information protection area within a page of the image data of the document.

[0040] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a concealment mask pattern when the time priority mode or the ink saving priority mode is selected in S805. The concealment mask pattern will be described with reference to FIG. 9. A mask pattern 900 in FIG. 9(a) is a diagram showing a concealment mask pattern generated when the time priority mode is selected in S805 and the upper half is selected as the information protection area by a user operation. In the mask pattern 900, an information protection target indicated by aaa·bbb·ccc·aaa and a grayed-out information protection area arranged so as to overlap the information protection target are shown. The user can look at the image data of the document including the information protection target displayed on the touch panel 106 or 506 in S806 and specify the information protection area so that the information protection target overlaps the information protection area. Similarly, the user can check whether the information protection target overlaps the information protection area on the other pages of the image data of the document by the touch panel 106 or 506. Mask pattern 901 in Fig. 9(b) is a diagram showing a concealment mask pattern when ink saving mode is selected in S805. Mask pattern 901 shows information protection targets indicated by aaa.bbb.ccc.aaa, and a grayed-out information protection area arranged so as to overlap with the information protection targets. In this way, when ink saving mode is selected, a concealment mask pattern is automatically generated.

[0041] As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit 100 executes mask printing in which the concealment mask pattern is superimposed on the image data of the document and output, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 100 may print the concealment mask pattern on a scanned or photographed document. In this way, if the document contains information to be protected that the user wants to conceal, the concealment mask pattern can be printed on the information to be protected, thereby reducing the risk that personal information printed on the document will be seen by others when the document is discarded. In order to execute such processing, the control unit 100 generates a concealment mask pattern, and then places the data of the concealment mask pattern in the print data memory 109, thereby enabling printing to be executed.

[0042] <Other embodiments> In addition, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a printing device has been described in which the device body is automatically moved to print on a document, but the present disclosure can also be applied to a scanning type printing device in which the printing device body is moved manually to print on a document.

[0043] The present disclosure provides a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium. The present disclosure can also be implemented by a process in which one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present disclosure can also be implemented by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0044] The disclosure of the present embodiment includes configurations typified by the following printing device example, information processing device example, printing device control method example, and program example. <Configuration 1> An acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image of a document; an extracting means for extracting at least one group including a character from the image data; a display means for displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; a receiving means for receiving a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; a generating means for generating a mask pattern for hiding the manually selected group; an image data output means for outputting image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the manually selected group of image data of the document; A printing device comprising: <Configuration 2> The printing device according to configuration 1, further comprising a determination unit that, when the extraction unit extracts the group from a plurality of pages of the image data, determines whether or not to accept the manual selection. <Configuration 3> 3. The printing device according to configuration 2, wherein when the determining means determines that the manual selection is accepted, the display means performs the display. <Configuration 4> The printing device described in configuration 2 is further characterized in that, when the determination means determines that the manual selection is not accepted, it further comprises a mode accepting means for accepting a mode selection of either a time priority mode for specifying an information protection area for generating a concealment mask pattern in at least a portion of each of the plurality of pages, or an ink saving mode for generating a concealment mask pattern in the group. <Component 5> 5. The printing device according to claim 4, wherein the display means displays the mode selection. <Component 6> The printing device according to configuration 4 or 5, wherein when the mode receiving means receives the time priority mode, the generating means generates a concealment mask pattern for concealing a designated area. <Component 7> The printing device according to configuration 4 or 5, wherein when the mode receiving means receives the ink saving mode, the generating means generates a concealment mask pattern for concealing the extracted group. <Component 8> 8. The printing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 7, wherein the image data output means outputs the image data so as to form the concealment mask pattern on the document. <Component 9> An information processing device, An acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image of a document; an extracting means for extracting at least one group including a character from the image data; a display means for displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; a receiving means for receiving a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; a transmitting means for transmitting information including the image data and the manually selected group to a printing device; An information processing device comprising: <Component 10> acquiring image data indicative of an image of an original document; Extracting at least one group including characters from the image data; displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; and accepting a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; generating an obscuration mask pattern for obscuring the manually selected group; outputting image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the manually selected group of image data of the original; 13. A method for controlling a printing device, comprising: <Component 11> A program for causing a computer to execute the printing device control method according to configuration 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 100 Control section 107 Printing control unit 112 Scanner

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image of a document; an extracting means for extracting at least one group including characters from the image data; a display means for displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; a receiving means for receiving a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; a generating means for generating a mask pattern for hiding the manually selected group; an image data output means for outputting image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the manually selected group of image data of the document; A printing device comprising:

2. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that, when the extraction unit extracts the group from a plurality of pages of the image data, determines whether or not to accept the manual selection.

3. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the determining means determines that the manual selection is accepted, the display means performs the display.

4. The printing device described in claim 2, further comprising a mode accepting means for accepting a mode selection of either a time priority mode for specifying an information protection area for generating a concealment mask pattern in at least a portion of each of the plurality of pages, or an ink saving mode for generating a concealment mask pattern in the group, when the determination means determines that the manual selection is not accepted.

5. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said display means displays said mode selection.

6. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the mode receiving means receives the time priority mode, the generating means generates a concealment mask pattern for concealing a designated area.

7. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the mode receiving means receives the ink saving mode, the generating means generates a concealment mask pattern for concealing the extracted group.

8. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image data output means outputs said image data so as to form said concealment mask pattern on said document.

9. An information processing device, An acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image of a document; an extracting means for extracting at least one group including characters from the image data; a display means for displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; a receiving means for receiving a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; a transmitting means for transmitting information including the image data and the manually selected group to a printing device; An information processing device comprising:

10. acquiring image data indicative of an image of an original document; Extracting at least one group including characters from the image data; displaying the image data so that the extracted group is visible; and accepting a manual selection of a group to be hidden from among the visibly displayed groups; generating an obscuration mask pattern for obscuring the manually selected group; outputting image data in which the concealment mask pattern overlaps the manually selected group of image data of the original; 13. A method for controlling a printing device, comprising:

11. 11. A program for causing a computer to execute the printing device control method according to claim 10.

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