Image Processing System for Decryption Quality Restoration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Images printed on mediums can degrade due to copying or deterioration, leading to noise and quality issues when read by scanners or cameras, which affects the decryption process and results in low-quality decrypted images.

Innovation Solution

An image processing system that detects specific patterns on the encrypted image, measures the degree of degradation, and applies correction techniques such as erosion or dilation to restore the original image quality before decryption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the encrypted image is printed on a medium and then read by a reading device, then the image can be decrypted and restored, but the medium may deteriorate or be copied leading to noise and degradation of the captured image

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedecryption accuracyVSAvoidimage degradation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing image correction before decryption. The correction unit corrects the captured image based on the degree of degradation detected from check patterns, restoring the image quality before it undergoes decryption. This ensures that even if the medium deteriorates or is copied multiple times, the decryption process receives a corrected image that maintains sufficient quality for accurate restoration of the original image.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If the captured image is directly decrypted without correction, then the decryption process is simple and fast, but the decrypted image quality degrades when the medium has deteriorated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedecrypted image qualityVSAvoidimage processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary image correction by detecting the degree of degradation from check patterns and applying appropriate correction processing before decryption. This preliminary action improves decrypted image quality without significantly increasing overall system complexity, as the correction is based on simple pattern recognition and predetermined correction algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces check patterns as an intermediary element that enables degradation detection and correction. These check patterns serve as a mediator between the captured image and the decryption process, providing information about image quality and guiding the correction process without interfering with the core encryption/decryption functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Manufacturing precision

If correction processing is applied to degraded images, then the decrypted image quality improves, but the processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedecrypted image qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies partial correction by focusing only on the essential degradation aspects detected from check patterns. Rather than performing comprehensive image restoration, it applies targeted correction processing that addresses the specific degradation level, achieving sufficient quality improvement without excessive processing time. The correction is proportional to the detected degradation degree.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2372996B1Image processing system, image processing device, and image processing method
Publication Date: 2018.10.03 FUJITSU LTD
  • EP2372996B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2372996B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2C
  • EP2372996B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

An image processing system includes: an image input unit which reads an image printed on a medium and generates electronic data representing the image; and a processing unit which corrects the image represented by the electronic data. The processing unit implements the functions of: detecting, from the image represented by the electronic data, a first pattern having a first size and shape that is attached to the image; measuring a degree of degradation by measuring an amount of displacement of the size of the detected first pattern from the first size; and correcting the image represented by the electronic data to reduce the degree of degradation.