Inspection apparatus and inspection program

• US 10,726,556 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2018
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: Oki, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso, Jose L
• Application Number:
  US15/935,317
• Publication Number:
  US 20180293732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10008 from scanner, fax or copier
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30144 Printing quality
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/001 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00063 using at least a part of the apparatus itself, e.g. self-testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00092 relating to the original or to the reproducing medium, e.g. imperfections or dirt detecting properties of a sheet H04N1/00681

Abstract

An inspection apparatus for inspecting printed matter on which an image is formed, includes: a region extractor that extracts a first region, in which a character is formed, and a second region, in which the character is not formed, with reference to image forming image data used to form the image; and a defect detector that detects a defect in the first region and a defect in the second region in read image data obtained by reading the printed matter on which the image is formed by the image forming image data, wherein the defect detector includes: a first region defect detector that detects loss of a dot in the first region in the read image data; and a second region defect detector that detects presence of a dot with a density equal to or greater than a predetermined density in the second region in the read image data.

Claims

1. An inspection apparatus for inspecting printed matter on which an image is formed, comprising:

at least one hardware processor configured to;

extract a first region, in which a character is formed, and a second region, in which the character is not formed, with reference to image data used to form the image; and

detect a defect in the first region and a defect in the second region in read image data obtained by reading the printed matter on which the image is formed by the image data,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to;

detect loss of a dot in only the first region in the read image data; and

detect presence of a dot in only the second region in the read image data.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to extract a region, in which a pixel whose pixel value of at least one color constituting the image forming image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is present, as the first region.

3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to extract a region, in which a pixel whose pixel values of all colors constituting the image forming image data are 0 is present, as the second region.

4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to extract a region, in which a marked pixel has pixel values of 0 for all the colors constituting the image forming image data and peripheral pixels of the marked pixel also have pixel values of 0 for all the colors, as the second region.

5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to detect, in the first region, a pixel with a density equal to a density of the second region in the read image data as the defect due to the loss.

6. The inspection apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the loss of a predetermined number or more of consecutive dots as the defect in the first region.

7. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in the second region, a pixel, which has a density greater than a paper average density obtained from the read image data as the defect.

8. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to extract divides the image forming image data into division regions each with N pixels×

N pixels, determines a predetermined pixel value in each of the division regions as a representative value of each of the division regions, collects the representative value of each of the division regions to generate reduced image forming image data in which the image forming image data is reduced to 1/N in length and width, and extracts the first region and the second region with reference to the reduced image forming image data.

9. An inspection apparatus for inspecting printed matter on which an image is formed, comprising:

at least one hardware processor configured to;

set a fixed region, in which the image is formed on a plurality of sheets with same contents by using same image data, and a variable region, in which the image is formed on the plurality of the sheets with different contents by using different image data, and

detect a defect by comparing read image data of the plurality of the sheets with the image data or detect the defect by comparing the read image data of the plurality of the sheets with reference read image data prepared in advance in the fixed region, and detect the defect by loss of a dot or presence of a dot in the read image data of the plurality of the sheets in the variable region.

10. A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable inspection program that controls an inspection apparatus for inspecting printed matter on which an image is formed and including:

a region extractor that extracts a first region, in which a character is formed, and a second region, in which the character is not formed, with reference to image data used to form the image; and

a defect detector that detects a defect in the first region and a defect in the second region in read image data obtained by reading the printed matter on which the image is formed by the image data,

the program causing a computer of the inspection apparatus to function such that the defect detector detects loss of a dot in only the first region in the read image data as the defect, and detects presence of a dot in only the second region in the read image data as the defect.

11. An inspection apparatus for inspecting printed matter, the inspection apparatus comprising:

a hardware processor configured to detect a defect within read data obtained by reading the printed matter,

wherein the hardware processor is configured to;

detect the defect based on the fact that a pixel value of the read data is smaller than a first threshold, in a first region in which a character is formed; and

detect the defect based on the fact that a pixel value of the read data is larger than a second threshold, in a second region in which a character is not formed.

12. A nontransitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer readable inspection program, the inspection program comprising:

detecting a defect within read data obtained by reading the printed matter,

detecting the defect based on the fact that a pixel value of the read data is smaller than a first threshold, in a first region in which a character is formed; and

detecting the defect based on the fact that a pixel value of the read data is larger than a second threshold, in a second region in which a character is not formed.