Image analysis – Applications – Reading paper currency
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-16
2004-10-19
Johns, Andrew W. (Department: 2621)
Image analysis
Applications
Reading paper currency
Reexamination Certificate
active
06807294
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image capturing device, and in particular, to an image capturing device, such as a digital still camera or digital video camera, provided with an image capturing means for photographing an optical image and converting the optical image into image information.
In recent years, a digital still camera which has become popular very rapidly, is provided with an image capturing device such as a CCD, and is adapted to photograph an optical image with the image capturing device, and convert an analog image signal obtained by photographing into a digital image data, before storing the digital image data in an information storage medium (memory card) such as a smart medium. It is possible for the user to obtain a photographic print having high image quality by sending an image data obtained by photographing to a lab in order for the photographic print to be prepared or a user can easily record an image represented by the image data on paper and the like using his/her own printer.
In the image capturing device such as a digital still camera or digital video camera, the image quality of a photographed image has been improving over the years due to increased resolution and the like. However, as the image quality of a photographed image increases, there is an increased possibility that image capturing device will be used wrongly by using an image data obtained by photographing to print counterfeit paper money or counterfeit securities.
To prevent such use of an image capturing device, each time a photographing is carried out, a determination is made as to whether or not the subject whose image is captured based on image data obtained from the captured image, includes a subject which corresponds to paper money or a security. If a determination is made that a subject corresponding to a paper money or a security certificate is included an alert is given.
However a complicated image processing is necessary to make an automatic determination as to whether or not a subject corresponding to a paper money or security is included in a photographed optical image. If the determination is made each time an image is captured by a digital still camera for example, there occurs a problem of great degradation of performance of the image capturing device, due to, for example, a great increase in the interval between a time a photographing is carried out to a time when the camera is ready for a subsequent photographing.
The problem of great degradation in performance of image capturing device is not limited to the problem of determining whether or not a subject corresponding to a paper money or security is contained in a photographed optical image.
That is, a method for image capturing devices such a digital still camera is being researched in which selected information is input by using the image capturing device to photograph a medium having displayed thereon a bar-code as the selected information, and by the image capturing device analyzing the bar code based on the image data obtained from the photographing, the information represented by the bar code is input into the image capturing apparatus. However, for a determination to be automatically made as to whether or not a photographed optical image contains a subject corresponding to the medium with the bar code recorded thereon, it is necessary to perform a complicated image processing like in the case of making a decision as to whether a subject includes paper money or a security or the like. As a result the performance of the image capturing device may greatly deteriorate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made with such points in view. It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide an image capturing device in which a determination as to whether a predetermined subject is photographed or not can be implemented without great deterioration of performance.
To achieve the object, a first aspect of the invention provides an image capturing device comprising: an image capturing portion which photographs an optical image and converts the optical image into image information; a determination portion for deciding whether or not an image represented by image information obtained by photographing by the image capturing portion includes a predetermined pattern; a processing portion for performing a predetermined process in a case where a determination that the image includes the predetermined pattern is made by the determination portion; and a prohibiting portion which prohibits the determination by the determination portion in any case other than a case where photographing of an optical image is performed in at least one of a particular photographing mode and a particular image capturing condition suitable for photographing a subject corresponding to the predetermined pattern.
The first aspect of the invention includes a determination portion for determining whether or not an image represented by image information obtained by a photographing by the image capturing portion includes a predetermined pattern (a pattern corresponding to a subject for which whether it is to photographed or not is determined). The predetermined pattern according to the invention may for example be a pattern corresponding to a pattern of paper money or a security or may be a pattern corresponding to a bar code. A pattern corresponding to any of various documents (public document or private document) whose forgery constitutes a crime may be used as the predetermined pattern.
The determination as to whether or not an image represented by image information obtained by photographing includes a predetermined pattern may, for example, be made by a pattern matching between the image information obtained by photographing and image information representing the predetermined pattern, or by a comparison between an image characteristic amount calculated by performing a predetermined calculation (image processing) for the image information obtained by photographing and an image characteristic amount obtained by performing a predetermined calculation (image processing) for the image information representing the predetermined pattern.
The first aspect of the invention includes a processing portion for performing a predetermined process in a case a determination that the image includes the predetermined pattern is made by the determination portion.
In a second aspect of the invention, in a case where the predetermined pattern is a pattern corresponding to a paper money or a security, the processing portion performs, as the predetermined process, a process for preventing use of image information obtained by a photographing.
Thereby, image information obtained by photographing a paper money or security by an image capturing device according to the invention can be prevented from being used for a wrong practices such as making counterfeit paper money or a security.
The process for preventing use of image information may be performed, more specifically, by issuing an alert for example. A third aspect of the invention, however, performs a deletion of the image information or a processing of the image information (such as by overwriting a predetermined image on part of or the entire area of a region corresponding to the predetermined pattern in an image, for example).
Thereby, image information obtained by photographing a paper money or a security by an image capturing device according to the invention can be prevented from being used for a wrong practice such as for making counterfeit paper money or securities.
In a case where the predetermined pattern is a pattern corresponding to a bar code, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, the processing portion performs, as the predetermined process, recognition of information represented by the bar code and storing of the information in a memory.
Thereby, in a state in which information to be input to an image capturing device according to the invention is shown on a medium (paper or other recording medium, or medium such as a display), if the medium is photogr
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Johns Andrew W.
Nakhjavan Shervin
LandOfFree
Image capturing device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Image capturing device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Image capturing device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3309951