JP2007172106A - Image inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable image inspection device capable of easily and efficiently determining the authenticity of a printed ID card or passport. <P>SOLUTION: The image inspection device comprises an optical system for taking in light while enlarging an image consisting of at least dots of a micro area of a printed image to a size equal to a light receiving part of an optical sensor, the optical sensor for receiving the light and converting it into voltage, a circuit for amplifying a voltage signal sensed by the optical sensor, and a speaker for outputting the amplified signal as a voice signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable image inspection apparatus for easily and efficiently determining the authenticity of a printed ID card or passport.

  Conventionally, an ID card such as an ID card or a passport is often pasted with a silver salt photograph. However, with the development of computers, printing by a printer has been increasingly used since about 1994. Similar to general printers, printing of ID identification cards such as ID cards and passports is performed by various methods.

  The printer prints individual data such as face photos and names, which are the main elements of personal identification, but there are no end to cases of unauthorized use by falsifying such data or forging the ID identification tag itself. . In order to combat such unauthorized use, printer developers have devised printing methods that are difficult to imitate by making full use of printing methods, dot arrangement, invisible information printing, and the like.

  In recent years, the technology of counterfeiters has improved, and the technology of anti-counterfeiting is also required to exceed those technologies. As a result, the means of judging counterfeiting has become more sophisticated and complex.

  The ID identification tag must have a property to protect against counterfeiting and tampering. An ID identification tag having a property that there is a difference between a regular product and an irregular product and the difference is easy to find is a good ID identification tag. Moreover, it is desirable that the determination is simple.

  Judgment of personal identification forms is often intensively checked at entry gates at airports. In general, the determination at the gate is performed by visually comparing the photograph of the face with the owner or comparing the data of the machine-readable character part. The face photograph can be checked by using a loupe to confirm the printed dots or a method for confirming invisible information through a filter.

  In addition to this, an OVD (Optical Variable Device) image such as a hologram or a crystalgram, a UV fluorescent ink image is a real image, or there is no evidence of falsification is performed by the eyes of the input manager.

  In addition to the gate, ID confirmation is necessary in every situation. A person who wants to confirm the ID must make a true / false determination on the road or in the vehicle.

  However, in such a current situation, the concentration check at the gate often involves visual confirmation, which places a burden on the eyes. Moreover, it takes time to perform many checks, and it is desired to perform many checks with as little operation and time as possible.

  Those who confirm ID cannot carry many judgment devices. The check becomes “sweet” except at the gate.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a portable image inspection apparatus that can easily and efficiently determine the authenticity of a printed ID card or passport. And

To achieve the above objectives, ie
The invention according to claim 1 is an optical system that captures light by enlarging an image composed of at least dots in a minute area of a printed image to a size equivalent to a light receiving portion of a photosensor, and light that receives light and converts it into a voltage. An image inspection apparatus comprising: a sensor; a circuit that amplifies a voltage signal sensed by the optical sensor; and a speaker that outputs the amplified signal as an audio signal.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image inspection apparatus includes a light source including a reference light lamp, and irradiates the printed image with the reference light. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the casing that constitutes the image inspection apparatus includes a hold mechanism that uses a spring, can be operated by a battery disposed in the casing, and can be carried by a weight. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image inspection apparatus has a size.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the light emitted from the optical system that captures light by enlarging an image composed of at least dots in the minute region of the printed image is incident on the half mirror, and one of the light is applied to the eyepiece. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the two is divided into the optical sensors.

  The invention according to claim 5 is an image inspection apparatus characterized by using the image inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in combination with an OCR character reader.

  According to the image inspection apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1, the image is used while being translated while being focused on the apparatus, and the characteristics of the density and outline of the printed dot at the focus are converted into electrical signals and output as sound. It is possible to judge the feature of the voice with human ears and determine the authenticity of the ID identification tag without causing eye fatigue.

  According to the image inspection apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, since the reference light is applied to the print image in the image inspection apparatus, it is not necessary to take in external light, and stable reference light can be applied. That is, it can be used easily even at night, and it is possible to make a stable voice that is easy to judge.

  In the image inspection apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the functions of the image inspection apparatuses according to the first and second aspects can be integrated and carried. Moreover, it becomes possible to fix to clothes etc. by the hold mechanism with a spring.

  In the image inspection apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to visually check the printed dots by using a half mirror in the optical system and guiding one to the eyepiece.

  In the image inspection apparatus of the present invention according to claim 5, the OCR character reading means, that is, a so-called OCR reader is provided with the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and simultaneously with the operation of reading the OCR character, You can check the print dots.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of an image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an image inspection apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an image inspection apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an image inspection apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram in the case of checking the face photograph part in the image inspection apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a determination example of a difference depending on a usage method and a printing method. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the difference in dots according to the printing method. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a difference in signal due to a difference in printing method.

  As an example of the basic structure of the image inspection apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, an image composed of at least dots in a minute area of a target print image is inserted from the lower light receiving port, and is equivalent to the light receiving portion of the optical sensor. The received light is magnified by a magnifying lens up to the size of, and the received light is converted into a voltage signal by a sensor. The voltage signal sensed by the optical sensor is amplified by an amplifier (amplifier) to become an audio signal, which is an image inspection apparatus configured to be transmitted to a speaker.

  In the image inspection apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a light source including a reference light lamp that is irradiated onto a target image is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image inspection apparatus of the present invention is formed into a cylindrical component, and the entire apparatus can be fixed by being held between clothes by a hold mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 4, light emitted from an optical system that captures light by enlarging a minute area of the printed image is incident on a half mirror, and one is divided into an eyepiece and the other is divided into a photosensor. It is possible not only to output only sound but also to observe an enlarged image as it is by eyepiece.

An example in which the image inspection apparatus of the present invention is incorporated into another inspection apparatus is shown in FIG. For example, it is provided in a machine reading zone (MRZ) reader for a passport, and at the same time as MRZ reading, the print dot characteristic sound can be checked.
FIG. 6 shows an example in which the image inspection apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 is incorporated in another inspection apparatus and used when the booklet is translated to the left. Are checked, OCR characters are encoded, the correctness of characters is confirmed, and data is inquired and verified. At the same time, the image inspection apparatus hits the face photograph part and utters the dot characteristics of the image and outputs it to a speaker (not shown).

  An example in which the image inspection apparatus of the present invention is used without being incorporated into another inspection apparatus is shown in FIG. This is an example of voice characteristics with respect to actual dot characteristics. The voice characteristics are easier to check with eyes and less likely to miss.

  FIG. 8 shows the dot shape by the printing method. The dot edge by the pigment ink thermal transfer method is sharp, but the dot edge by the sublimation ink thermal transfer method is dull. For example, in thermal transfer printing with pigment ink, gradation is expressed by dots of about 0 to 120 μm. The pigment thermal transfer system is a system in which ink of an ink ribbon is transferred to a transfer object with a minute thermal resistor by heat, but is expressed by dots of about 64 μm in a halftone.

  Dots are formed as dots become smaller as highlighting occurs, and dots are not generated when expressing the brightest color. On the contrary, the dark part increases the dot diameter and eventually connects to adjacent dots, and if the gradation is higher, the white background between the dots becomes smaller and the background is all at the highest gradation. Covered with ink. The portion to which the ink has been transferred has an ink layer having a substantially uniform thickness and has a uniform density.

  On the other hand, in the thermal transfer of sublimation ink, the size of the dots is substantially uniform, and the density near the dots is increased as the gradation is increased.

  Further, FIG. 9 shows the characteristics of the dot signal by the printing method. The edge of the dot by the pigment ink thermal transfer method is sharp, but the edge of the dot by the sublimation ink thermal transfer method is dull, so the sound of the pigment ink thermal transfer method has a sound and a loud volume, but the sublimation ink thermal transfer method has no beat sound The sound is low. When an image is enlarged with an actual printed matter and the position of the image is moved, a waveform signal as shown in the figure can be obtained. In the pigment printed matter, a square wave with a large amplitude is obtained and can be converted into a sound close to a loud buzzer sound. In sublimation prints, a sine wave with a small amplitude can be obtained and converted into a sound like a time signal sound with a low volume.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of a structure inside the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 1 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 1 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 2 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 3 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 5 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram in the case of checking a face photograph part in the image inspection apparatus which concerns on Claim 5 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the determination example of the difference by a usage method and a printing system. It is explanatory drawing explaining the difference of the dot by a printing system. It is explanatory drawing explaining the difference of the signal by the difference in a printing system.

Claims (5)

  An optical system that captures light by enlarging an image composed of at least dots in a minute area of a printed image to a size equivalent to that of a light receiving portion of the optical sensor, and an optical sensor that receives the light and converts it into a voltage. An image inspection apparatus comprising: a circuit that amplifies the voltage signal sensed in step 1; and a speaker that outputs the amplified signal as an audio signal.   The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a light source including a reference light lamp in the image inspection apparatus and irradiating the printed image with the reference light.   The housing constituting the image inspection apparatus includes a hold mechanism using a spring, is operable with a battery disposed in the housing, and has a weight and a size that can be carried. Item 3. The image inspection apparatus according to Item 1 or 2.   The light emitted from the optical system that captures light by enlarging at least a dot image in a minute region of the printed image is incident on the half mirror, and one is divided into an eyepiece and the other is divided into the optical sensor. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image inspection apparatus is characterized in that   An image inspection apparatus using the image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 together with an OCR character reader.