Electrophotography – Document handling – Original
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-14
2003-01-28
Braun, Fred L. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Document handling
Original
C705S059000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06512915
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium outputting method, a database server, a recording medium outputting apparatus, and a recording medium outputting system. More particularly, the invention relates to a recording medium outputting method, a database server, a recording medium outputting apparatus, and a recording medium outputting system for obtaining data of a copy-forgery-inhibited secret document such as a certificate of residence, securities via a communication network such as the Internet, intranet, or computer network, merging the obtained data with a copy forgery preventing image capable of preventing forgery by copying, and outputting a recording medium on which printing is made according to the merged data directly from a printer.
2. Related Background Art
A virtual shop for selling commodities on a computer network such as the Internet or intranet has the convenience that the user can purchase various commodities by accessing the shop from a terminal. The contents dealt by the virtual shops are rapidly increasing to tours, music, books, insurance, and the like. Through a virtual shop, various commodities can be sold without displaying the commodities in an actual shop. Consequently, in many convenience stores, multimedia terminals are installed.
In recent years, by providing or connecting a color printer in/to the multimedia terminal, real-time on-demand output service such as sales of a picture of a star is becoming available. Since the convenience of the virtual shop further increases by such real-time on-demand output service, expansion of the contents, for example, issuance of securities such as a gift certificate, various tickets such as airline ticket and show ticket, a certificate of residence, and the like is expected.
In spite of the fact that a picture of a star or the like can be copied by a color copier, under present circumstances, no measure of protecting the copyright and the rights to one's portrait is taken. There is also the possibility that a secret document such as a certificate of residence related to the privacy of an individual, securities and a ticket are forged or counterfeited by being copied. When a measure of preventing illegal copying is not taken, such a secret document cannot be directly outputted from a printer by operating, for example, the multimedia terminal installed in a convenience store.
Conventionally, to prevent illegal copying of a secret document, a special sheet called a copy forgery prevention sheet is used. The copy forgery prevention sheet is a sheet on which a special pattern of characters of warning or the like which is not easily seen by the eyes of a human but appears when the sheet is copied by a copier is printed in advance. When a document printed on the copy forgery prevention sheet is copied by a copier, letters of warning such as “copy prohibited” appear conspicuously on a copy. An illegal act of copying can be psychologically suppressed, and the original and a copy can be discriminated from each other by the characters of warning.
When such copy forgery prevention sheets are loaded in a printer installed in a convenience store or the like and document data read from a database by operating the multimedia terminal is printed on the copy forgery prevention sheet, a secret document such as certificate of residence, securities and a ticket can be directly outputted from the printer.
Since special printing has to be performed in advance, the copy forgery prevention sheet has a problem such its cost is higher than a sheet used by an ordinary copier or printer. In the case of changing a design of a background pattern, a logo, a symbol mark, or the like, printing on sheets has to be newly performed. Consequently, it is not easy to change something in the sheet. In the case of a certificate of residence as an example, the user has to manage different copy forgery prevention sheets according to municipalities. The management cost is also a burden on the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been achieved in consideration of the problems of the conventional techniques and provides a recording medium outputting method, a database server, a recording medium outputting apparatus, and a recording medium outputting system capable of outputting a recording medium without using a copy forgery prevention sheet by merging copy-forgery-inhibited data inhibited by being forged by copying with corresponding copy forgery preventing image data capable of preventing forgery by copying and outputting a recording medium on which printing is made according to the merged data.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording medium outputting method of outputting a recording medium on which printing is made according to copy-forgery-inhibited data inhibited to be forged by copying, including the steps of: retrieving a piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data according to information inputted through a terminal from a storing part in which plural pieces of copy-forgery-inhibited data inhibited to be forged by copying and plural pieces of copy forgery preventing image data of various kinds for preventing forgery by copying are stored, and selecting a piece of copy forgery preventing image data according to the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data; and outputting a recording medium on which printing is made according to data obtained by merging the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data with the selected piece of copy forgery preventing image data.
In the storing part, plural pieces of copy-forgery-inhibited data inhibited to be forged by copying and plural pieces of copy forgery preventing image data of various kinds for preventing forgery by copying are stored. From the storing part, copy-forgery-inhibited data according to the information inputted from the terminal is retrieved, and copy forgery preventing image data according to the retrieved copy-forgery-inhibited data is selected. A recording medium on which printing is made according to data obtained by merging the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data with the selected piece of copy forgery preventing image data is outputted.
As described above, since the recording medium on which printing is made according to the data obtained by merging the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data with the selected piece of copy forgery preventing image data is outputted, the recording medium can be outputted without using a copy forgery preventing sheet. Moreover, since the copy forgery preventing image data preliminarily generated and stored in the storing part is selected, a time required to output the recording medium can be short.
It is also possible to store the copy forgery preventing image data in the storing part in which the copy-forgery-inhibited data is stored, dispose the storing part on the retrieval side (for example, database server side), and select the copy forgery preventing image data on the retrieval side. It is also possible to store the copy forgery preventing image data in the storing part disposed on the retrieval side, store the copy-forgery-inhibited data in the storing part disposed on the output side (for example, print server side), and select the copy forgery preventing image data on the output side.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a database server including: a database for storing plural pieces of copy-forgery-inhibited data inhibited to be forged by copying and plural pieces of copy forgery preventing image data of various kinds for preventing forgery by copying; a retrieving and selecting part for retrieving a piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data according to information inputted through a terminal from the database, and selecting a piece of copy forgery preventing image data according to the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data; and an outputting part for outputting the retrieved piece of copy-forgery-inhibited data and the selected piece of copy forgery preventing image data.
Accor
Kameda Koji
Kawano Hiroyuki
Matsunoshita Junichi
Shinozaki Kengo
Braun Fred L.
Fuji 'Xerox Co., Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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