JP2013123859A - Print monitoring device and print monitoring method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print monitoring device or the like, configured to properly and easily grasp the position of a portion to be monitored in the whole of a printed matter, and to quickly and properly move an imaging device to the next monitoring part.SOLUTION: The print monitoring device which performs visual inspection of a plurality of unit printed matters continuously running, as still images includes: an imaging device which periodically obtains still images of a portion of the unit printed matter sequentially in accordance with a running period of the unit printed matter; a video image monitor which displays a plurality of still images obtained by the imaging device in series; a display position confirmation monitor which notifies an operator of the position in the unit printed matter of the screen image displayed on the screen image monitor; and a control part which controls the position of the imaging device such that the imaging device obtains a desired still image and which displays the position, as a position in the unit printed matter, on the display position confirmation monitor.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print monitoring apparatus and a print monitoring method using the print monitoring apparatus.

  In Patent Document 1 below, regarding an invention of an automatic registration device that can automatically recognize what kind of misregistration has occurred and how much misregistration has occurred, a pattern and There is described an automatic registering device that is provided in a printing press that includes a plurality of printing units that print register marks and an automatic registering device that detects the occurrence of misregistration in a printed material, and performs processing related to misregistration.

  In addition, when a registration error is detected by the automatic registration device, the imaging device includes an imaging device that captures a registration mark at a location where the registration error occurs in the printed matter, and a monitor device that displays an image captured by the imaging device. Further, it is shown that the apparatus further includes a moving mechanism that moves the imaging device to the imaging position of the registration mark when a registration error is detected by the automatic registration device.

  Another object of the patent document 2 is to provide an inspection range setting device and method that can set the inspection range more accurately in setting the inspection range when inspecting printed matter. In the invention, the captured image acquisition means for acquiring the captured image obtained by capturing the printed matter, and the end image information indicating at least one end of the printed matter is extracted from the captured image, and based on the end image information, Inspection range setting comprising display means for enlarging and displaying the edge of the printed material on the display screen, and inspection range determining means for determining the inspection range of the printed material based on the edge image indicating the edge of the displayed printed material It is described that when the inspection range of the printed matter is set by using the apparatus, only the end portion of the printed matter is enlarged and displayed, so that the inspection range can be set more accurately. That.

JP 2008-137195 A JP 2008-096372 A

  When visually inspecting the quality of printing, the desired fixed positions of the printed material such as register marks provided on each of the multiple printed materials that are running are sequentially acquired as still images, and displayed in an enlarged manner to facilitate visual inspection. Thus, the image on the display device is monitored.

  In addition, the still image monitored by the inspection operator cannot be recognized as to the relationship between the entire pattern and the entire pattern expressed in the unit printed matter, that is, the enlarged image of which part cannot be recognized from the visual inspection image alone. The inspection operator monitors details such as print misalignment. For this reason, it has been difficult for the inspection operator to grasp from the still image to be monitored which position in the entire unit printed matter corresponds to the currently monitored location.

  On the other hand, along with the improvement in quality of printed matter, in order to more strictly monitor printing defects such as printing misalignment, there is an increasing need to sequentially monitor a plurality of locations in a unit printed matter by appropriately changing the location.

  In this case, if the inspection operator does not accurately grasp the current monitoring position in the entire unit printed matter, it takes time to move the camera for acquiring a still image at the next monitoring location, and so on. And labor. Also, there is a concern that the printing press continues to operate even during such a long time and printing defects continue to occur, resulting in increased costs and waste of paper resources.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a print monitoring apparatus and the like that can accurately and easily grasp the position of a part that is visually inspected in the entire printed matter. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a print monitoring apparatus or the like that can quickly and accurately perform the movement of the imaging apparatus to the next visual inspection location.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present invention is a print monitoring apparatus that visually inspects a plurality of unit printed materials that continuously travel as still images, and periodically displays a still image of a part of the unit printed material in accordance with the traveling cycle of the unit printed material. An imaging device that sequentially acquires, a video monitor that sequentially displays a plurality of still images acquired by the imaging device, a monitor for display position confirmation that notifies an operator of a position in a unit printed matter of a video displayed on the video monitor, and an imaging device And a control unit that controls the position of the imaging device so as to acquire a desired still image and displays the position on the display position confirmation monitor as a position in the unit printed matter.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a motor that drives the imaging device in a direction (that is, the width direction) perpendicular to the traveling direction (that is, the flow direction) of the unit printed matter, and a gear that rotates in accordance with the traveling of the unit printed matter. A pulse sensor that acquires a rotation pulse, and the control unit controls the position at which the imaging device acquires a still image in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the unit printed matter by numerical control of the motor, and travels the unit printed matter The position where the imaging device acquires a still image in the direction is controlled by pulse control based on a rotation pulse.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present invention is more preferably characterized in that the control unit includes a storage unit that stores in advance a plurality of positions of the unit printed matter from which a still image is to be acquired.

  In the print monitoring apparatus of the present invention, more preferably, the display position confirmation monitor includes an LED light-emitting panel in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in a dot matrix, and a unit printed matter arranged on the LED light-emitting panel, and is acquired by the imaging device. The LED at the position corresponding to the still image is turned on to notify the imaging position in the entire unit printed matter.

  A print monitoring method using the print monitoring apparatus of the present invention is the print monitoring apparatus according to any one of the above, wherein the position in the unit printed matter notified by the display position confirmation monitor and the image displayed on the image monitor are: Among a plurality of positions stored in the preset step, a reference point alignment step for positioning, a preset step for storing in advance a plurality of positions of a unit printed matter from which a still image is to be acquired, in a storage unit provided in the control unit, The imaging apparatus has a step of acquiring a still image at at least one position and displaying the still image on a video monitor, and a display position confirmation monitor notifying an operator of the position of the still image in the entire unit printed matter. To do.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a configuration of a print monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram explaining an example of the monitor for display position confirmation, (a) is a figure explaining the monitor 300 for display position confirmation which notifies an operator to the present test | inspection position about a relationship with a unit printed matter two-dimensionally. (B) is a figure explaining the monitor for display position confirmation which notifies an operator about the present inspection position only in one dimension about the relationship with a unit printed matter. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the typical example of a remote controller.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present embodiment irradiates the unit printed material with flash light that is repeatedly emitted in synchronization with the traveling cycle of the unit printed material that is printed by the printing machine and travels at a high speed, so that a still image of a desired predetermined location is obtained. Are acquired sequentially. In addition, reflected light and transmitted light that irradiates the printed material with flash light are sequentially acquired as still images by the imaging device, and the inspection operator visually inspects the still images that are sequentially displayed on the video monitor to determine the quality of the print and the print quality. Monitor and judge.

  In order for the inspection operator to detect fine print misalignment and properly evaluate the print quality, and to feed back the evaluation results to the printing press to finely correct and optimize the print conditions, the edges of the area where the ink has been applied It is necessary to magnify the edge portion for visual monitoring. For this reason, the register mark is enlarged and displayed on the video monitor.

  Further, when higher quality printing is required, etc., it is necessary to sequentially monitor printing misalignment and the like at a plurality of locations of the unit printed matter in order to inspect and monitor the print quality of the entire printed matter. In this case, the imaging device is sequentially moved to the corresponding location so that one imaging device can sequentially acquire a plurality of still images.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present embodiment displays the current still image acquisition position in the entire unit printed matter, that is, the corresponding position of the current video monitor display on the display position confirmation monitor. The movement can be carried out smoothly and without any doubt.

  For example, when register marks are monitored for each of the four positions of the upper right corner, lower right corner, lower left corner, and upper left corner of the unit printed matter, only the register marks are displayed on the video monitor in an enlarged manner. Regardless of which register mark is unknown from the screen, the register mark currently monitored on the display position confirmation monitor is any of the four positions of the upper right corner, lower right corner, lower left corner, and upper left corner. Since the operator is notified of the registration mark of the position by a lit transmission display on the unit printed matter, the inspection operator can accurately move the imaging device to the next monitoring position.

  In addition, the print monitoring apparatus according to the present embodiment performs initial reference point alignment between the position at which the imaging apparatus acquires a still image and the position notified by the display position confirmation monitor, and then stores a plurality of monitoring points in advance. It is possible to leave. Since the monitoring location is determined by the address in the traveling direction and the address in the width direction of the printed material, the monitoring location is determined by the number of pulses of the gear for acquiring a still image and the imaging device control position by the motor.

  This eliminates the need for the operator to manually move the imaging device to another inspection position during the actual visual inspection, and for example, the imaging device automatically moves after waiting for a trigger from the operator. Therefore, visual inspection at a plurality of locations can be performed quickly and easily.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of the configuration of a print monitoring apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes an imaging device 700 that captures a registration mark or the like of a unit printed matter that continuously runs on a rotating roller of a printing machine at a high speed (for example, up to 400 m / min). In FIG. 1, the printed matter is illustrated as traveling from the front side of the paper toward the back of the paper. Hereinafter, the traveling direction of the printed material is appropriately referred to as a flow direction, and a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction is appropriately referred to as a width direction.

  In addition, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes an LED light source 710 that can irradiate flash light for a short time (for example, a few thousandths of a second). The LED light source 710 sequentially irradiates the unit printed material that sequentially travels at a constant cycle in synchronization with the traveling cycle of the unit printed material.

  In addition, since the image pickup apparatus 700 of the print monitoring apparatus 1000 sequentially picks up the registration marks and the like irradiated by the LED light source 710 in a short time, each registration mark image of each unit printed matter is stationary regardless of the travel of the unit printed matter. Can be acquired sequentially as a picture.

  The print monitoring apparatus 1000 also includes a video monitor 200 that enlarges and displays a still image such as a registration mark acquired by the imaging apparatus 700 so that the operator can inspect it. In addition, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes a display position confirmation monitor 300 that notifies the operator which part of the unit printed material the still image displayed on the video monitor 200 corresponds to.

  The print monitoring apparatus 1000 also includes a motor 600 that moves the imaging apparatus 700 in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the printed material. The motor 600 may be a pulse motor or the like. Further, the imaging device 700 engaged with the motor shaft of the motor 600 with a wire belt or the like may be configured to be movable on a guide rail provided in the width direction of the printed matter.

  The print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes a motor control circuit 500 that controls the motor 600 and a control unit 100 that controls the entire print monitoring apparatus 1000. In addition, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes a pulse sensor 900 that acquires a rotation pulse from a gear corresponding to the rotation axis of the rotation roller of the printing press. As the pulse sensor 900, a proximity sensor can be used.

  The pulse data acquired by the pulse sensor 900 is input to the control unit 100 as data relating to the traveling speed of the printed material. That is, since the unit printed material passes over the rotating roller continuously at a constant speed and at a constant cycle, by acquiring the data of the pulse sensor 900, the acquired number of pulses and the unit printed material cycle are obtained. The relationship and the number of pulses and the position of the unit printed material in the traveling direction can be grasped. Based on this, the control unit 100 controls the still image acquisition timing in the flow direction, whereby an inspection image at an arbitrary location in the flow direction can be acquired.

  Further, the position of the unit printed matter imaged by the imaging apparatus 700 is determined by driving the motor 600 in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the printed matter (the arrow direction on the left and right of the paper), and the traveling direction of the printed matter is obtained from the pulse sensor 900. It is determined by pulse timing based on the data. That is, the control unit 100 instantaneously flashes the LED light source 710 for each unit printed matter at a timing when a desired registration mark or the like passes under the imaging device 700 based on the acquired data from the pulse sensor 900. The imaging device 700 acquires the reflected light as a still image.

  In addition, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 is a remote controller that can perform remote control such as remotely moving the image pickup apparatus 700 at a printing site separated from the inspection room while the operator visually inspects the inspection room using the video monitor 200. 400. The remote controller 400 may be wired or wireless, and may be configured to be remotely operable via the Internet using a mobile terminal such as a smartphone.

  In addition, the print monitoring apparatus 1000 includes a storage unit 110 that can store in advance one or a plurality of locations of unit printed materials as inspection points. The inspection operator aligns the initial reference points between the imaging apparatus 700 and the display position confirmation monitor 300, and then stores one or a plurality of inspection points in the storage unit 110 in advance and can preset them in the print monitoring apparatus 1000. .

  Here, an outline of the pulse control of the still image acquisition position (that is, the inspection location) performed by the control unit 100 will be described. In FIG. 1, the unit printed matter runs from the front side of the paper to the back side of the paper, and it has already been described that this is the flow direction. The position control of the inspection location in the flow direction is performed based on a pulse sensor 900 that detects and counts the convex portion of the gear of the rotating roller.

  Since the number of rotations of the rotating roller per unit printed matter is determined by the correspondence between the length of the unit printed matter in the flow direction and the peripheral length of the rotating roller, the number of gear protrusions per unit printed matter is determined. That is, the distance that the unit printed material travels is determined during one pulse between the convex portions of the gear. Therefore, when changing the position in the flow direction for acquiring a still image, the control unit 100 can shift the position by the travel distance corresponding to one pulse by moving forward or backward by one pulse.

  As a typical example, it is assumed that one unit printed matter having exactly 100 pulses and a flow direction length of 1 m is sequentially printed and continuously running on a rotating roller. In this case, the control unit 100 can sequentially acquire inspection images of the same portion of each printed printed material by flashing the LED light source 710 once every 100 pulses and acquiring a still image at this time. Further, for example, the position is changed from the position of the 10th pulse (that is, the position 10 cm from the top of travel of the unit printed matter) where the inspection image is currently acquired, and the position of the 11th pulse (that is, the position of 11 cm from the top of the travel of the unit printed matter) is obtained. When it is desired to acquire an inspection image from a location, the control unit 100 performs the process of delaying one pulse once, and thereafter acquires the inspection image every 100 pulses, thereby sequentially acquiring the inspection images of the location.

  Note that the width direction pulse control using the motor 600 is also a well-known technique because the inspection image acquisition position can be controlled based on the correspondence between the number of motor pulses and the movement distance in the width direction of the imaging apparatus 700. Therefore, explanation is omitted here.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the display position confirmation monitor 300. FIG. 2A is a display for notifying the operator two-dimensionally about the positional relationship (address) between the current inspection position and the unit printed matter. It is a figure explaining the monitor 300 for position confirmation. In FIG. 2A, the display position confirmation monitor 300 is configured by pasting a unit printed material on an LED panel in which a plurality of LED bulbs are arranged in a dot matrix.

  Then, the LED bulb corresponding to the current position being imaged by the imaging device 700 is caused to emit light, and the operator is notified of the inspection image acquisition position by transmitting light from the back of the unit printed matter. As is clear from FIG. 2A, the position in the X-axis direction and the position in the Y-axis direction of the LED panel are based on the position control of the motor 600 that drives the imaging device 700 and the acquired pulse of the pulse sensor 900, respectively. This corresponds exclusively to one of the lighting timings of the LED light source 710. That is, if the flow direction is the X-axis direction, the width direction is the Y-axis direction, and if the flow direction is the Y-axis direction, the width direction is the X-axis direction, which is appropriate according to the actual printing state. It can respond.

  Moreover, as can be understood from FIG. 2A, the relative relationship between the LED lighting location and the corresponding unit printed matter differs depending on the positional relationship in which the unit printed matter is arranged on the LED panel. For this reason, the operator needs to first fix and paste the unit printed matter on the LED panel when adjusting the reference point.

  Thereafter, the operator instructs the control unit 100 so that the position of the still image actually captured and acquired by the imaging apparatus 700 matches the position on the unit printed matter notified to the display position confirmation monitor 300. Perform reference point alignment. It is preferable that the control unit 100 performs the pulse drive width direction position control of the motor 600 and the flow direction position control based on the pulse data of the pulse sensor 900 by numerical control (NC control).

  FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining a display position confirmation monitor that notifies the operator about the relationship between the current inspection position and the unit printed matter only in one dimension. In FIG. 2B, the imaging position only in the X-axis direction can be notified to the operator. In this case, the coordinate in the X-axis direction in FIG. 2B corresponds to the pulse value of the pulse sensor 900 when the traveling direction of the unit printed material is the X-axis direction, and the traveling direction of the unit printed material is the Y-axis direction. Corresponds to the pulse drive position of the motor 600. In FIG. 2B, the display position confirmation monitor using the LED has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the entire unit printed matter is displayed and the inspection position in the unit printed position is displayed as an inspection position marker or the like. You may use the liquid crystal display device etc. which are notified by. In the example shown in FIG. 2B, since the light transmitted through the unit printed material is not used for notification, even a thick printed material that does not transmit LED light can be appropriately handled.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a typical example of the remote controller 400. As shown in FIG. 3, the remote controller 400 includes a brightness adjustment button 430 for adjusting the brightness of a still image acquired by the imaging apparatus 700, a focus button 440 for adjusting the focus (focus), and a size for adjusting the zoom magnification. And a button 450.

  In FIG. 3, the remote controller 400 uses an upper camera arranged on the front side of the printed material and a lower camera (not shown) arranged on the back side of the printed material to switch and acquire reflected light or transmitted light. A button 470 and a lower camera button 480 are provided. The remote controller 400 also includes a power button 490 for turning on / off the power of the print monitoring apparatus 1000. In addition, depending on the printed matter, there may be a case where it is more accurate to visually inspect the transmitted light from the back side.

  In addition, the remote controller 400 includes a liquid crystal display window 410 that digitally displays a control state such as a moving position of the imaging apparatus 700 by the motor 600 that is numerically controlled by the control unit 100 and the number of pulses corresponding to an imaging location based on the pulse sensor 900. . The remote controller 400 also includes six preset buttons 420 (a) to 420 (f) for storing and reading out positions corresponding to the respective inspection locations so that the six inspection locations can be stored in advance.

  For example, when the preset button 420 (a) is pressed, the imaging device 700 and the flashlight lighting timing in the flow direction are automatically moved / changed to the inspection position stored in advance in association with the preset button 420 (a). Thus, it is possible to automatically acquire the inspection image of the part and display it on the video monitor 200. In this case, the lighting notification location displayed on the display position confirmation monitor 300 also corresponds to the preset button 420 (a) corresponding to the movement (width direction) of the imaging device 700 and the flashlight lighting timing (flow direction). It moves to the pre-stored inspection position in correspondence.

  The motor 600 used in the print monitoring apparatus 1000 is not limited to a pulse motor, and may be any motor that can grasp and control the position of the imaging device 700 in the width direction of the unit printed matter in relation to the motor drive. For example, a DC motor or a stepping motor may be used.

  Further, the gear at the end of the rotating roller and the pulse sensor 900 for acquiring a pulse from the convex portion are not limited to the description in the embodiment, and may be a device that can electrically grasp the rotating state of the rotating roller. For example, an encoder or the like may be used.

  Further, the printed material may be color printing in which a plurality of colors are overprinted, may be any one single color printing, or may be monochrome printing using only black ink. Also, the type of printing paper is not limited to white, and printing paper of any color and any thickness can be used as long as the printing apparatus can handle it. However, as described with reference to FIG. 2A, when the LED light is transmitted from the back surface of the printing paper to display the position, the printing paper is preferably thick enough to transmit the LED light. .

  In the embodiment, a case has been described in which the LED is turned on from the back surface of the unit printed material, and the inspection operator is notified of the current inspection location in the unit printed material by transmitted light. However, the display position confirmation monitor 300 is not limited to the notification by the transmitted light, but may be the one that notifies the display position by the reflected light. For example, when the unit printed matter is made of thick paper such as a poster, it may be possible to notify more accurately and clearly by using reflected light rather than using transmitted light. When using reflected light, you may respond | correspond by changing the arrangement | positioning front-and-rear relationship of unit printed matter and LED light source.

  In addition, the display position confirmation monitor 300 is not limited to the LED dot matrix type monitor, and corresponds to the display position by, for example, a laser pointer or the like disposed opposite to the monitor substrate to which the unit printed matter is attached. It can also be configured to notify the location. It is well known that the display using the laser beam including the light from the laser pointer can be accurately and extremely quickly moved without needing to explain it again. For example, the point light of the laser beam can be moved at high speed on the screen. As a result, it is possible to control accurately so that an arbitrary figure can be drawn. Using such a technique, as the display position confirmation monitor 300, the unit printed matter itself or an image of the unit printed matter projected and displayed on the screen or the like is used, and the current visual inspection position on the screen or the like is displayed with a laser pointer or the like. You may notify of light emission.

  The above-described print monitoring apparatus 1000 is not limited to the description in the embodiment, and the configuration, operation, driving method, and the like are appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea described in the present embodiment and the obvious range. can do.

  The print monitoring apparatus of the present invention can be widely applied to a monitoring system for monitoring printed matter.

  1000 ... Print monitoring device 100 ... Control unit 110 ... Storage unit 200 ... Video monitor 300 ... Display position monitor 400 ... Remote controller 500 ... Motor control circuit 600 ... Motor, 700 ... Imaging device, 710 ... LED light source, 900 ... Pulse sensor.

Claims (5)

A print monitoring device that visually inspects a plurality of unit printed materials that continuously run as still images,
An imaging device that sequentially and sequentially acquires a still image of a part of the unit printed matter in correspondence with a running cycle of the unit printed matter;
A video monitor that sequentially displays a plurality of still images acquired by the imaging device;
A display position confirmation monitor for notifying an operator of the position in the unit printed matter of the image displayed on the image monitor;
A control unit that controls the position of the imaging device so that the imaging device acquires a desired still image, and causes the display position confirmation monitor to display the position as a position in the unit printed matter. Print monitoring device. The print monitoring apparatus according to claim 1,
A motor for driving the imaging device in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the unit printed matter;
A pulse sensor that acquires a rotation pulse of a gear that rotates in accordance with the travel of the unit printed matter, and
The controller is
Controlling the position where the imaging device acquires the still image in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the unit printed matter by numerical control of the motor;
A print monitoring apparatus that controls, by pulse control based on the rotation pulse, a position at which the imaging device acquires the still image in the traveling direction of the unit printed matter. The print monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit includes a storage unit that stores in advance a plurality of positions of the unit printed matter from which a still image is to be acquired. The print monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The display position confirmation monitor includes an LED light-emitting panel in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in a dot matrix, and the unit printed matter arranged on the LED light-emitting panel, and has a position corresponding to a still image acquired by the imaging device. The print monitoring apparatus, wherein the LED is turned on to notify an imaging position in the entire unit printed matter. In the printing monitoring method using the printing monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A reference point aligning step for aligning the position in the unit printed matter notified by the display position confirmation monitor and the image displayed on the image monitor;
A preset step of storing in advance a plurality of positions of the unit printed matter from which a still image should be acquired in a storage unit provided in the control unit;
The imaging device acquires a still image at at least one of the plurality of positions stored in the preset step and displays the still image on the video monitor, and the display position confirmation monitor is included in the entire unit printed matter. And a step of notifying an operator of the position of the still image.

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