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JP-7856414-B2 - Method and apparatus for inspecting printed materials

JP7856414B2JP 7856414 B2JP7856414 B2JP 7856414B2JP-7856414-B2

Inventors

  • 中村 峻

Assignees

  • キヤノン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20211202

Claims (14)

  1. An information processing device for inspecting images on printed paper, A registration means for registering a reference image used for inspecting the image on the aforementioned paper, The aforementioned reference image includes a region setting means for setting a data inspection area, A recognition means for recognizing the printed content of an image included in the area where the data inspection area is set , An acquisition means for acquiring attribute values that affect the inspection time of the printed content from the information recognized by the recognition means, A selection means that uses the attribute values obtained by the acquisition means to determine the time required for inspecting the printed contents of the paper, An information processing apparatus characterized by having a notification means for notifying the user of a warning before performing an inspection of the image on the paper if the required time determined by the identification means is longer than the time limit for inspecting the printed content.
  2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the warning includes information indicating that the required time has exceeded the time limit.
  3. The aforementioned time limit is The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the time limit is set in advance according to the size of the paper.
  4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the warning includes information about attribute values obtained by the acquisition means to ensure that the required time does not exceed the limit time.
  5. The aforementioned attribute values include: The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that it includes a two-dimensional code printed on the aforementioned paper or attribute values related to fonts.
  6. The information processing device according to claim 5, characterized in that the two-dimensional code includes a barcode or a QR code.
  7. The aforementioned reference image further includes a display means for displaying a settings screen that allows setting a data inspection area , The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , characterized in that the setting screen has an area for setting parameters of the inspection area selected as the target to be placed on the paper.
  8. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the data inspection area is an area designated for inspecting fonts, two-dimensional codes, and images printed on the paper.
  9. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the inspection of the printed contents of the aforementioned paper is performed in the inspection of the image of the aforementioned paper.
  10. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the inspection of the printed contents of the aforementioned paper is an inspection that compares the printed contents recognized by the recognition means with data contained in a pre-prepared reference data file.
  11. The system further includes a means for receiving instructions from the user to confirm the inspection time for the data inspection area, By accepting the aforementioned confirmation instruction, The recognition means recognizes the printed content, The acquisition means acquires the attribute value, The aforementioned identification means uses the attribute value to determine the required time, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the notification means notifies the user of the warning before performing the inspection of the image of the paper if the required time is longer than the time limit.
  12. The region setting means sets a plurality of data inspection regions in the reference image, The recognition means recognizes the printed content of the images contained in each of the plurality of data inspection areas. The acquisition means acquires the attribute values of each of the respective regions, The aforementioned identification means uses the attribute values of each of the respective regions to determine the required time for each of the respective regions. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the notification means notifies the user of the warning before performing the inspection of the image on the paper if the sum of the required times for each of the areas is longer than the time limit.
  13. A control method for an information processing device that inspects an image on a printed sheet of paper, A registration step for registering a reference image used for inspecting the image on the aforementioned paper, A region setting step in which a data inspection area is set on the aforementioned reference image, A recognition step of recognizing the print content of an image included in the area where the data inspection area is set , An acquisition step is to obtain attribute values that affect the inspection time of the printed content from the information recognized in the recognition step, A selection step involves using the attribute values obtained in the acquisition step to determine the time required for inspecting the printed contents of the paper, If the time required determined by the specified step is longer than the time limit for inspecting the printed content, a notification step is made to notify the user of the warning before performing the inspection . A method for controlling an information processing device.
  14. A program to function as an information processing device for inspecting images on printed paper, A registration means for registering a reference image used for inspecting the image on the aforementioned paper, The aforementioned reference image includes a region setting means for setting a data inspection area, A recognition means for recognizing the printed content of an image included in the area where the data inspection area is set , An acquisition means for acquiring attribute values that affect the inspection time of the printed content from the information recognized by the recognition means, A selection means that uses the attribute values obtained by the acquisition means to determine the time required for inspecting the printed contents of the paper, If the required time determined by the specified means is longer than the time limit for inspecting the printed content, a notification means provides a warning to the user before performing the inspection of the image on the paper . A program to cause an information processing device to function as such.

Description

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for inspecting the print quality of printed materials. In recent years, printing systems have been developed that allow printed sheets to be inspected by an inspection device while they are being transported. During inspection, the inspection device reads an image of the transported printed sheet and determines whether the printed content is normal through image analysis of the read image. Specifically, the inspection device can detect defects such as missing text or barcodes, missing images, printing errors, missing pages, color misalignment, and incorrect text or barcodes. If a printed sheet is determined to be defective, it is discharged to a separate output location from normal sheets. This prevents defective sheets from being mixed with normal sheets and allows operators to discard defective sheets. Furthermore, in systems like the one described above, methods are known to improve the accuracy of detecting defective printed sheets by using optical character recognition (OCR) or barcode recognition to read the text or barcode to be inspected and comparing it with pre-prepared correct values. In printing systems requiring inspection, the inspection of the printed sheets must be completed while they are being transported and passing through the inspection device. If the inspection is not completed within the time limit, subsequent sheets cannot be inspected in time, leading to inconsistencies in the inspection results and ultimately preventing accurate results. Therefore, operators of such printing systems must configure the inspection settings to minimize the time required for inspection, which is time-consuming. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for calculating the priority of inspection targets based on their printed object information (object type, color, and size) prior to inspection, and controlling the inspection process to perform only as much inspection as possible within a predetermined time limit, according to the priority. This control method reduces the difficulty of setting up inspections while efficiently inspecting only high-priority targets. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-003335 A schematic diagram showing the configuration of an information processing device, an inspection device, and a printing device.Block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device, inspection device, and printing device.Diagram showing the internal configuration of the information processing unit, inspection unit, printing device, and high-capacity stacker.Flowchart of the entire inspection processDiagram showing the inspection settings screen.Diagram showing the inspection settings screen.Diagram showing the inspection settings screen.Diagram showing the inspection settings screen.Diagram showing the list of inspection areas.Flowchart for test settingsFlowchart for the test durationThis diagram shows an example of a warning screen displayed when the required time for the test exceeds the test time limit.Flowchart for the test duration The embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. (First embodiment) Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 0109, inspection device 0108, and image forming apparatus 0101 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 0101 is described using an electrophotographic image forming apparatus 0101, but the image forming apparatus 0101 in this embodiment may be an image forming apparatus using a different image forming method, such as an inkjet method or an offset method. The image forming apparatus 0101 is connected to the information processing apparatus 0109 via cable 0112. The information processing apparatus 0109 is connected to the client computer 0110 and the inspection apparatus 0108 via network 0113. The image forming apparatus 0101 includes a UI panel 0102, a paper feed deck 0103, and a paper feed deck 0104. Furthermore, an optional deck 0105 consisting of three paper feed decks is connected. The image forming apparatus 0101 is, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The UI panel 0102 is a user interface, for example, a capacitive touch panel. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 0101 includes an inspection unit 0106 and a high-capacity stacker 0107. The inspection unit is connected to the inspection apparatus 0108 via a cable 0114. The high-capacity stacker 0107 has a main tray and a top tray, and the main tray can hold several thousand sheets of paper at once. The print job is generated on the client computer 0110, transmitted to the information processing device 0109 via the network 0113, and managed by t