JP2013123804A - Image inspection apparatus, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

The versatility of an image inspection apparatus is improved, and the size and cost are reduced.
An image inspection apparatus 100 that inspects an image formed on a sheet connected to the image forming apparatus, the communication unit 10 receiving print data from the image forming apparatus, and a sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus. Paper conveying means 40, an image reading unit 21 for reading an image formed on the paper during the conveyance of the paper by the paper conveying means 40, and the paper conveyed by the paper conveying means 40 are reversed and conveyed again. Paper reversing means 50 conveyed to the means 40, image processing means 20 for generating master data based on the print data, and performing image inspection by comparing the master data with the image data read by the image reading unit 21, and paper And a sheet conveyance control unit 30 that controls driving of the conveyance unit 40 and the sheet reversing unit 50.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image inspection apparatus and an image forming system. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image inspection apparatus that is connected in series on the downstream side of the conveyance path of an image forming apparatus and inspects a print result, and an image forming system including the image inspection apparatus.

  In the commercial printing industry, the printed matter (printing result) becomes a product as it is, so that the print data (referred to as print data that is sent to the image forming apparatus or is the basis of image formation generated by the image forming apparatus) and the image forming apparatus Therefore, it is necessary to inspect that the actual print result output from is consistent with the actual print result.

  Conventionally, human visual inspection has been common, but with the increase in scale and sophistication of printed materials, the need for automatic image inspection equipment has increased, and images of printed materials output from offset printing machines have been automatically generated. A device for inspecting (image inspection device) has been proposed.

  Since the printed matter handled by the offset printing machine is a non-variable (same for each page) image, no particular problem occurs in the image inspection by the off-line configuration. However, in image inspection of small lots and various types of variable prints (images change on each page) handled by image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic systems, a master created from image data and print data obtained by reading the print image It is necessary to compare data at high speed.

  Therefore, an inline configuration including a communication unit that performs communication such as print data and various types of print information (paper size, single-sided / double-sided printing) between the image forming apparatus and the image inspection apparatus that performs image inspection of printed matter There is a need to.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a master generated based on image data and print data acquired by an image reading unit for the purpose of checking that print data and an actual printed matter match. An image forming apparatus and a print inspection apparatus configured to detect image defects by comparing data are disclosed.

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the image inspection apparatus is incorporated into the image forming apparatus and configured as a single unit, and therefore cannot be used universally in combination with several types of image printing apparatuses. is there. Also, in the case of double-sided printing, the front surface is first inspected after front surface printing, and the back surface is inspected after back surface printing. .

  In addition, since the technique described in Patent Document 2 is configured to mount two image reading units for reading images, one for the front side and one for the back side, it is necessary to correct the characteristic variation between the two reading units. Further, there are problems that the manufacturing cost increases and the size of the apparatus increases. Furthermore, since there is no communication function with the host device, there is a problem that the image inspection of the printed matter that has been subjected to variable printing cannot be performed.

  Therefore, the present invention can be used in combination with a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses by receiving various data from the connected image forming apparatuses, and can also be used by inverting the recording medium in the apparatus. Provided is an image inspection apparatus having high versatility, which can be reduced in size and cost by reading images on both sides and performing image inspection by an image reading means, and an image forming system having the image inspection apparatus. With the goal.

  In order to achieve this object, an image inspection apparatus according to the present invention is an image inspection apparatus that is connected to an image forming apparatus and inspects an image formed on a recording medium, and that receives print data from the image forming apparatus. Means, a conveying means for conveying a recording medium conveyed from the image forming apparatus, an image reading means for reading an image formed on the recording medium during conveyance of the recording medium by the conveying means, and a recording medium conveyed by the conveying means Reversing means for reversing the image and conveying it again to the conveying means, image processing means for generating master data based on the print data, and performing image inspection by comparing the master data with the image data read by the image reading means And a conveyance control means for controlling driving of the conveyance means and the reversing means.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the versatility of an image inspection apparatus can be improved and size reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming system. It is a functional block diagram of an image inspection apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of a sheet conveyance path of the image inspection apparatus. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a print output from the image forming apparatus and a processing procedure in an image reading unit of the image inspection apparatus.

  Hereinafter, the configuration according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in FIGS. An image inspection apparatus (image inspection apparatus 100) according to the present embodiment is an image inspection apparatus that is connected to an image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus 200) and inspects an image formed on a recording medium (paper). A communication means (communication means 10) for receiving print data from the forming apparatus; a conveying means (paper conveying means 40) for conveying a recording medium conveyed from the image forming apparatus; and a recording medium during conveyance of the recording medium by the conveying means An image reading means (image reading unit 21) for reading the image formed on the paper, a reversing means (paper reversing means 50) for reversing the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means and conveying it again to the conveying means, and print data. Image processing means (image processing means 20) that generates master data based on the image data and performs image inspection by comparing the master data with the image data read by the image reading means; And conveyance control means for controlling the driving of the feeding means and inverting means (paper conveyance control unit 30), but with a.

(Image forming system)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming system including an image inspection apparatus.

  The image forming system includes an image inspection device 100, an image forming device 200, and a large-capacity paper feeding device 300. As the image forming apparatus 200, for example, an electrophotographic printing apparatus can be used. In addition, other types of printing apparatuses such as an inkjet method may be used.

  On the upstream side of the image forming apparatus 200, a large capacity sheet feeding apparatus 300 is connected inline. Further, in the example of FIG. 1, an example is shown in which one large-capacity paper feeding device 300 is provided. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 is connected inline on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus 200.

  In this image forming system, paper is fed from the large-capacity paper feeding device 300 to the image forming device 200, and after the image is formed on the paper in the image forming device 200, the paper is sent to the image inspection device 100 and sent to the image forming apparatus 200. A check is performed.

(Configuration of image inspection device)
Next, the image inspection apparatus 100 will be described in detail. A functional block diagram of the image inspection apparatus 100 is shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of the sheet conveyance path of the image inspection apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image inspection apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 10, an image processing unit 20, a sheet conveyance control unit 30, a sheet conveyance unit 40, a sheet reversing unit 50, and the like.

  The communication unit 10 includes a wired or wireless communication interface, and transmits and receives various types of information (print information) such as print data, paper size, presence / absence of double-sided printing, and printing speed with the communication unit of the image forming apparatus 200. Is possible.

  The image processing unit 20 includes master data generated based on print data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 (reference image when performing image inspection), and an image captured by the image reading unit 21 by the image forming apparatus 200. The image data of the formed paper is compared, the image defect is detected, and the detection result is output.

  The image processing unit 20 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect and output defects by comparing master data and imaging data, and a known or new image processing unit can be used. The configuration of the image reading unit 21 is not particularly limited as long as it can capture an image formed on a sheet and acquire imaging data, and a known or new image reading unit can be used.

  The sheet conveyance control unit 30 controls the sheet conveyance unit 40 and the sheet reversing unit 50 based on various information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200. For example, the paper transporting means 40 and the paper reversing means 50 are controlled based on information on whether single-sided printing or double-sided printing and paper size information of paper (described later). Further, the sheet conveyance speed is variably controlled according to the printing speed of the connected image forming apparatus 200.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the paper conveying means 40 and the paper reversing means 50 will be described.

  The sheet conveying means 40 of the image inspection apparatus 100 includes an entrance roller 41 that carries a sheet on which a predetermined image is formed in the image forming apparatus 200 to the image inspection apparatus 100, and a belt support roller 42 that stretches the electrostatic conveyance belt 45. , 43, a charging roller 44 for applying a high voltage to the electrostatic transport belt 45, and an endless belt stretched around the belt support rollers 42, 43. An electrostatic conveyance belt 45 that sucks and conveys, an exit roller 46 provided on the downstream side of the electrostatic conveyance belt 45, and a discharge roller 47 that discharges the inspected sheet to a discharge unit (discharge tray) (not shown), And a static elimination roller 48 for neutralizing the electrostatic conveyance belt 45.

  Further, the entrance roller 41, the exit roller 46, and the paper discharge roller 47 have a pair of drive shaft and driven shaft, and are driven by drive means (not shown). The belt supporting rollers 42 and 43 are also driven by driving means (not shown), so that the electrostatic conveyance belt rotates. The rollers of the paper transport unit 40 are driven and controlled by the paper transport control unit 30.

  Further, the sheet reversing means 50 of the image inspection apparatus 100 is changed by the first branching claw 53 and the first branching claw 53 that change the sheet transported from the exit roller 46 to a transport path different from the paper discharge roller 47. The flip roller 51 provided on the transport path, the switchback roller 52 that transports the sheet transported from the flip roller 51 as it is, and then reversely rotates and discharges the transport path to the return roller 55 side at that time. The second branch claw 54 to be changed, and return rollers 55 to 59 provided in a conveyance path for conveying the sheet conveyed from the switchback roller 52 to the electrostatic conveyance belt 45 again are provided.

  In the image inspection apparatus 100, the sheet reversing unit 50 is provided above or below the sheet conveying unit 40 in the vertical direction, and the sheet conveying unit 40 and the sheet reversing unit 50 have a two-stage configuration (see FIG. 3 on the bottom). The rollers, separation claws, and the like of the sheet reversing unit 50 are driven and controlled by the sheet conveyance control unit 30.

(Reading / conveying control)
Next, an operation for reading an image printed on one side by the image reading unit 21, an operation for reading an image printed on both sides, and paper conveyance control by the paper conveyance control means 30 in each operation will be described.

  When reading an image printed on one side, the image reading unit 21 captures an image on the surface of the sheet while the sheet entering from the entrance roller 41 is attracted and conveyed by the electrostatic conveyance belt 45. During single-sided printing, the image forming surface of the sheet is a surface facing the reading unit 21.

  The captured image data is sent to the image processing means 20. In addition, by attracting and transporting by the electrostatic transport belt 45, it is possible to prevent the influence on the image inspection due to sheet floating and shock jitter (positional deviation that occurs when the sheet enters).

  The imaged paper is transported to the exit roller 46 by the electrostatic transport belt 45 and discharged through the paper discharge roller 47.

  On the other hand, when reading an image printed on both sides, an image on one side (front surface) is picked up by the reading unit 21 as in the case of single-sided printing. Here, by moving the tip position of the first branching claw 53 (to the upper side in FIG. 3), the sheet after passing through the exit roller 46 is conveyed to the flip roller 51 side.

  The tip position of the second branch claw 54 is controlled to wait to the right in the initial state, and the sheet is conveyed downward by the switchback roller 52. Next, when the sheet passes through the second branch claw 54, the switchback roller 52 is temporarily stopped, and the tip of the second branch claw 54 is controlled to move to the left.

  From this state, by rotating the switchback roller 52 in the reverse direction, the sheet is conveyed to the return roller 55 side. The sheet is conveyed on the reverse conveyance path constituted by the return rollers 55 to 59, and joins the single-side conveyance path again before the electrostatic conveyance belt 45. Since the paper is turned upside down by the above reversal control, the reading unit 21 reads the image on the other side (back side) during the suction conveyance on the electrostatic conveyance belt 45, and the imaging data of the double-sided image is acquired. Is done. The captured image data is sent to the image processing means 20.

  As described above, the image inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment is connected inline to the downstream side of the image forming apparatus, and receives print data and print information from a higher-level image forming apparatus, thereby obtaining a double-sided image of a printed matter that has been subjected to variable printing. It becomes possible to inspect. Further, based on the print information (single / double-sided), the single-sided inspection and the double-sided inspection can be switched and used.

  At this time, in order to read the back side image of the double-sided printed paper, without adding a reading unit for the back side image, by combining the reading unit used for reading the front image and the paper reversing means for turning the paper over, The back image can be read by one image reading unit, and the size and cost of the image inspection apparatus can be reduced.

  In other words, in an image inspection apparatus having front and back reading units, two reading units are mounted side by side in the paper transport direction (horizontal direction), so the apparatus size is increased in the paper transport direction. However, in the image inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment, the reversal conveyance path by the sheet reversing unit is configured to be two stages up and down with the conveyance path, so that the apparatus size is not increased in the paper conveyance direction, and the apparatus can be reduced in size. Can be planned.

  Further, the cost of the paper reversing means for turning the paper over can be configured at a low cost (about 2/3) compared to the cost of the image reading unit for reading the image. The image inspection apparatus can be manufactured at a lower cost than the image inspection apparatus having the image inspection apparatus. Further, the cost can be reduced in that no correction means for correcting the characteristic variation due to the difference between the image reading units required when two image reading units are installed is required. In addition, the inspection time can be shortened because there is no time for the machine difference correction process.

  Further, since the image inspection apparatus is configured to inspect the image after completion of double-sided printing in the image forming apparatus, paper damage or dirt occurs after the inspection is completed, compared to a configuration in which image inspection is performed every time printing on one side is completed. Less risk.

  Next, an example of a print output from the image forming apparatus 200 and an example of a processing procedure in the image reading unit 21 of the image inspection apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When single-sided inspection is performed on a single-sided printed material, as shown in FIG. 4A, images may be read by the image inspection apparatus 100 in the order of printing output by the image forming apparatus 200. At this time, it is preferable that the sheet conveyance control unit 30 sets the sheet conveyance speed in the sheet conveyance unit 40 together with the printing speed of the image forming apparatus 200. As a result, image inspection can be performed in accordance with print output by a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses 200 having different printing speeds, and the image inspection apparatus 100 can be used for general purposes.

  On the other hand, when double-sided inspection is performed on a continuous printed matter that has been printed on both sides, as shown in FIG. 4B, image inspection may be performed alternately on the front and back sides in order to prevent the order of the printed matter from being switched. preferable.

  Here, if the sheet reversing unit 50 having a long conveyance distance is conveyed at the same speed as the sheet conveying unit 40, the order of the printed materials may be changed.

  Therefore, the conveyance speed of the sheet reversing unit 50 is set to be higher (for example, about twice) than the conveyance speed of the sheet conveyance unit 40, and the order of the printed matter is prevented from being changed, and the image forming apparatus The image inspection combined with the print output at 200 is possible. Note that the general image forming apparatus 200 has an image forming unit for only one side. 2, no. 4, no. No print output exists in FIG.

  As described above, by appropriately controlling the reading speed (conveyance speed) in the image inspection apparatus 100 in accordance with the printing output speed in the image forming apparatus 200, several types of image forming apparatuses having different printing speeds are necessary. It can be combined and used for general purposes.

  In addition, when double-sided inspection is performed on a double-sided printed material, the order of the print media printed on both sides is not changed after the image inspection is completed by increasing the conveyance speed of the paper reversing unit 50. Is possible.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Communication means 20 Image processing means 21 Image reading unit 30 Paper conveyance control means 40 Paper conveyance means 41 Entrance roller 42, 43 Belt support roller 44 Charging roller 45 Electrostatic conveyance belt 46 Exit roller 47 Paper discharge roller 48 Static elimination roller 50 Paper reversal Means 51 Flip roller 52 Switchback roller 53 First branching claw 54 Second branching claw 55 to 59 Return roller 100 Image inspection apparatus 200 Image forming apparatus 300 Large capacity sheet feeding apparatus

JP 2010-169958 A JP 2009-157861 A

Claims (5)

An image inspection apparatus for inspecting an image formed on a recording medium connected to an image forming apparatus,
Communication means for receiving print data from the image forming apparatus;
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium conveyed from the image forming apparatus;
Image reading means for reading an image formed on the recording medium during conveyance of the recording medium by the conveying means;
A reversing unit that reverses the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit and conveys the recording medium to the conveying unit again;
Image processing means for generating master data based on the print data, and performing image inspection by comparing the master data with imaging data read by the image reading means;
A transport control means for controlling driving of the transport means and the reversing means;
An image inspection apparatus comprising: The transport control means includes
When the recording medium is printed on one side, the recording medium is transported by the transporting means, and after the image on the surface is read by the image reading means, the paper is discharged,
When the recording medium is printed on both sides, the recording medium is transported by the transporting means, and after the image on the surface is read by the image reading means, the recording medium is guided to the reversing means, and again The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image inspection apparatus is transported to the transport unit and discharged after the image on the back side is read by the image reading unit. The transport control means includes
According to the printing speed in the image forming apparatus received by the communication unit,
The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a conveyance speed of the recording medium by the conveyance unit is variably controlled. The transport control means includes
The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a conveyance speed of the recording medium in the reversing unit is higher than a conveyance speed in the conveyance unit.   An image forming system comprising at least the image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 and the image forming apparatus that provides the recording medium to the image inspection apparatus.