JP2022068654A - Inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an inspection device which can determine a barcode as not good which may be un-readable by a scanner.SOLUTION: An inspection device 5 is an inspection device that inspects a barcode 93 attached to a product and includes an acquisition part 55A which acquires a barcode image generated by photographing the barcode and an inspection part 55B that inspects the barcode based on the barcode image. The inspection part determines whether the barcode is good or bad based on a determination result of whether the barcode image can be converted into code information and the evaluation result of the print quality of the barcode that is evaluated based on the barcode image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an inspection device.

For example, products such as bread, rice balls, and lunch boxes are affixed with product labels containing product-related information such as product names, expiration dates, raw materials, and barcodes. At factories that manufacture these products, inspections are carried out to see if the product label affixed to the manufactured product has the correct product-related information printed as the product label to be affixed to the product. ing. As an inspection device for performing such an inspection, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a label inspection device for inspecting whether or not a barcode to be printed on a product label is printed without being cut off. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-174101

However, even if the barcode of the product label is determined to have no print breakage in the inspection result of the conventional label inspection device, it cannot be read by a part of the scanner installed in the store where the product is shipped. Problems sometimes occurred. If the barcode cannot be read by the scanner, problems such as the inability to properly process the product in the store will occur.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device capable of determining a barcode that may become unreadable by a scanner as a defective product.

The inspection device according to the present invention is an inspection device for inspecting a barcode attached to a product, and has an acquisition unit for acquiring a barcode image generated by imaging the barcode and a bar based on the barcode image. It is equipped with an inspection unit that inspects the code, and the inspection unit includes a determination result of whether or not the barcode image can be converted into code information, and an evaluation result of the print quality of the barcode evaluated based on the barcode image. The quality of the barcode is determined based on.

The inventors of the present application have found that the problem that the barcode printed on the product label or the like becomes unreadable by the scanner is caused by the print quality of the printed barcode. In the configuration of the present invention, in addition to the index of the determination result of whether or not the code information can be converted, the print quality of the barcode is used as one index of the quality of the barcode, so that it may become unreadable by the scanner. A certain barcode can be determined as a defective product.

The barcode to be inspected in the inspection apparatus according to the present invention is composed of an element consisting of a bar and a space, and the inspection unit is responsible for chipping at least a part of the element extracted from the barcode image and / or at least the element. The print quality may be evaluated based on some blurring. The inventors of the present application have described that a barcode in which at least a part of an element is missing and / or a barcode in which at least a part of an element is blurred, which is generated by adhesion of dust or the like to a thermal head for printing a barcode. We have found that it is likely that the scanner will make it unreadable. In this configuration, the missing of at least a part of the element and / or the blurring of at least a part of the element is evaluated, so that the bar code detection performance that may be unreadable by the scanner can be improved.

In the inspection device according to the present invention, the inspection unit sets the bar code image based on two evaluation parameters of defect and modulation, which are evaluation parameters for determining the grade of the bar code symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards. At least a portion of the missing and / or at least a portion of the element may be assessed for blurring. In this configuration, the degree of chipping of at least a part of the element and / or the degree of blurring of at least a part of the element can be evaluated appropriately and objectively.

In the inspection device according to the present invention, the inspection unit has three evaluation parameters of defect, modulation, and decoding ease, which are evaluation parameters for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards for the barcode image. At least a part of the element may be chipped and / or at least a part of the element may be blurred based on the above. In this configuration, the degree of chipping of at least a part of the element and / or the degree of blurring of at least a part of the element can be evaluated appropriately and objectively.

In the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the inspection unit determines whether or not the print quality has a certain level based on a threshold value stored in advance, and the threshold value is read by a barcode reader that scans the barcode. It may be determined based on the evaluation result of a bar code that can be read or a bar code that cannot be read. In this configuration, it is possible to more reliably determine whether or not the target barcode can be read by the barcode reader.

The inspection device according to the present invention may further include a setting unit for setting the type of evaluation parameter and the threshold value. In this configuration, appropriate evaluation parameters can be set in determining the print quality of the barcode.

According to the present invention, a barcode that may become unreadable by a scanner can be determined as a defective product.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a packaging system including an inspection device of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the inspection device of one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a product label. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of printing defects, FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of printing blurring, and FIG. 4C is a diagram showing an example of printing defects (voids). FIG. 4D is a diagram showing an example of printing defects (spots). FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a product label with printing defects, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a barcode with printing defects.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging system 1 includes a transport device 3, a printing device 4, an inspection device 5, and a packaging device 6. In the packaging system 1, for example, articles such as food are packaged. In the packaging system 1, printing is performed on the film F for packaging the article, the printed content of the printed film F is inspected, and the article is packaged with the printed packaging film RF.

The transport device 3 is conveyed by a support portion 9 that supports the film roll FR around which the long film F is wound, a drive roller 11 that conveys the film F supplied from the film roll FR, and a drive roller 11. The film F is provided with a cutting portion 13 for cutting the film F, and guide rollers 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 for forming a transport path between the support portion 9 and the drive roller 11. The film F extends continuously from the film roll FR to the cut portion 13.

The support portion 9 rotatably supports the film roll FR. The support portion 9 is provided on the upstream side of the transport path of the film F with respect to the printing apparatus 4. The drive roller 11 is provided between the printing device 4 and the cutting portion 13 in the film transport path. The drive roller 11 conveys the film F and temporarily stops the transfer of the film F at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing is set to convey a fixed amount of the film F. The predetermined timing also corresponds to the timing at which the cutting portion 13 cuts the film F.

The drive roller 11 includes a pair of rollers 11a and 11b. In the drive roller 11, the film F is sandwiched in the vertical direction by the pair of rollers 11a and 11b, and the film F is conveyed by the rotation of the pair of rollers 11a and 11b. At least one of the pair of rollers 11a and 11b is rotationally driven by a drive unit (not shown). The cutting portion 13 cuts the film F when the transport of the film F is temporarily stopped by the drive roller 11. The cutting portion 13 cuts the film F at the timing when the rotation of the pair of rollers 11a and 11b of the drive roller 11 is stopped. The film F cut by the cutting portion 13 becomes the packaging film RF. The numbers and positions of the plurality of guide rollers 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 forming the transport path of the film F between the film roll FR and the drive roller 11 are appropriately set.

The printing device 4 prints on the film F. The printing apparatus 4 includes a transport roller 41, a printing unit 42, and a dancer roller 43.

The transport roller 41 is arranged on the downstream side of the film roll FR. The transport roller 41 is provided on the upstream side of the transport path of the film F with respect to the cutting portion 13. The transport roller 41 is located below the film F and can come into contact with the lower surface of the film F. The transport roller 41 is rotatably supported by a housing portion (not shown) of the printing apparatus 4.

The printing unit 42 heats the thermal transfer ink ribbon by heating a heat generating element incorporated in a thermal head (not shown), and prints by transferring the ink melted by this heating to the film F. The printing unit 42 of the present embodiment prints the product label 90 on the film F. As shown in FIG. 3, the content printed as the product label 90 includes the barcode 93, and other information includes the product name, raw material name, expiration date, storage method, manufacturer information, and the like. Product information 91 is included. The bar code 93 is composed of a bar (element) 93A and a space (element) 93B, and is a code representing letters, numbers, and the like. The color of the bar 93A of the present embodiment is black, and the space 93B is white, but the space 93B is not limited to this.

Returning to FIG. 1, the dancer roller 43 is provided between the transport roller 41 and the cutting portion 13 in the transport path of the film F. The dancer roller 43 is located above the film F to be conveyed and is in contact with the upper surface of the film F. The dancer roller 43 is provided so as to be movable along the vertical direction, and the dancer roller 43 absorbs the slack of the film F by moving in a timely manner.

The inspection device 5 inspects the barcode attached to the article (commodity) packaged by the film F. More specifically, the inspection device 5 inspects the barcode 93 printed by the printing unit 42 of the printing device 4. The inspection device 5 includes a camera 51, a lighting unit 53, a control unit 55, and a display operation unit 57.

The camera 51 takes an image of the printed surface of the film F printed by the printing unit 42. The camera 51, for example, captures a film conveyed between the guide roller 15 and the guide roller 16. The illumination unit 53 is provided between the guide roller 15 and the guide roller 16, and is arranged so as to sandwich the region where the film F is conveyed with respect to the camera 51. In such a configuration, the camera 51 can take an image of the film F irradiated with light from the back surface opposite to the printing surface of the film F. The camera 51 outputs the captured image to the control unit 55.

The control unit 55 is an electronic control unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an I / O port, a communication port, and the like. The display operation unit 57 is a portion that enables the operation of the entire packaging system 1 including the inspection device 5, and is a portion that displays the state of the entire packaging system 1. The control unit 55 and the display operation unit 57 are provided in the housing 5B. The inspection device 5 is provided integrally with the printing device 4. More specifically, the housing 5A in which the camera 51 is provided and the housing 4A in which the printing unit 42 is provided are connected by a connecting portion 5Bb. Further, the housing 5B provided with the control unit 55 and the display operation unit 57 and the housing 4A provided with the printing unit 42 are connected by a connecting unit 5Ba.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 55 is formed by loading predetermined computer software on hardware such as a CPU and a main storage unit, and includes an acquisition unit 55A, an inspection unit 55B, and a setting unit 55C. And have. The acquisition unit 55A, the inspection unit 55B, and the setting unit 55C are executed under the control of the CPU.

The acquisition unit 55A acquires the generated barcode image by imaging the barcode 93. The acquisition unit 55A of the present embodiment acquires a barcode image captured by the camera 51 via a wired or wireless communication means. The inspection unit 55B inspects the barcode 93 based on the barcode image acquired by the acquisition unit 55A. The inspection unit 55B determines whether or not the barcode image can be converted into code information, and the quality of the barcode 93 evaluated based on the barcode image is evaluated based on the print quality of the barcode 93. Is determined.

A method of determining whether or not a barcode image can be converted into code information will be described. The determination is performed to confirm whether or not the barcode 93 is correctly printed as the information to be printed. When the code information converted based on the barcode image and the code information stored in advance match, the inspection unit 55B of the present embodiment determines that the barcode image could be converted into the code information, and converts the barcode image into the barcode image. If the code information converted based on the code information does not match the code information stored in advance, or if the code information cannot be converted, it is determined that the barcode image cannot be converted into the code information. When the inspection unit 55B cannot recognize the barcode image as a barcode, it also determines that the barcode image cannot be converted into code information.

Next, the evaluation of the print quality of the barcode 93 based on the barcode image will be described. The evaluation is performed to confirm whether or not the printed barcode 93 can be read by a barcode reader (scanner) installed in a store or the like. The bar code reader is a device that shines light on the bar code 93, captures the reflected light, and replaces the bar 93A and the space 93B with a binary digital signal to convert the bar code 93 into code information. Such barcode readers include CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type, laser type, and pen type barcode readers.

The print quality of the barcode 93 is such that at least part of the element (bar 93A and / or space 93B) is missing and / or at least part of the element (bar 93A and / or space 93B). Evaluated by the presence or absence.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a part of the bar 93A is lacking in a line shape (white streaks, etc.), and a part of the space 93B, which is not shown, is line-shaped (colored streaks, etc.). A mode in which a part of the bar 93A is chipped in a dot shape as shown in FIG. 4 (C), and a mode in which a part of the space 93B is chipped in a dot shape as shown in FIG. 4 (D). Aspects (spots) are included.

Further, the blurring referred to here includes a mode in which there is blurring (unevenness) in a part of the bar 93A as shown in FIG. 4B, and a mode in which there is unevenness in a part of the space 93B (not shown). Is done. Blurring (unevenness) in the space 93B may be stains, unintended printing (adhesion of ink), or the like.

In the inspection unit 55B of the present embodiment, the print quality of the barcode 93 is evaluated by whether or not at least a part of the element is missing and whether or not at least a part of the element is blurred. Will be done.

The inspection unit 55B shall make the barcode image at least one of the elements based on the defect and / or modulation which is an evaluation parameter for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS X 0520: 2014). Evaluate the presence or absence of chipping and / or the presence or absence of blurring of at least part of the element. The inspection unit 55B of the present embodiment evaluates both the presence / absence of at least a part of the element being chipped and the presence / absence of at least a part of the element being blurred based on the above two evaluation parameters of defect and modulation.

The defect means a ratio to the maximum variation value of the reflectance in the bar 93A or the space 93B, which is the maximum contrast value (symbol contrast) between the bar 93A and the space 93B. For example, a white dot or line in the bar 93A increases the maximum reflectance variation in the bar 93A, and a black dot or line in the space 93B increases the maximum reflectance variation in the space 93B. Let me. The larger the difference between the symbol contrast value and the maximum variation in reflectance, the smaller the grade, which is the evaluation value of the defect. As described above, the defect, which is one of the evaluation parameters, is suitable for evaluating the chipping of the bar 93A and the space 93B. Defect grades are represented by 4 (good) to 0 (bad).

Modulation refers to the ratio of the minimum contrast value (minimum edge contrast) between the adjacent bars 93A and the space 93B, which is the maximum contrast value (symbol contrast) between the bar 93A and the space 93B. The barcode 93 should ideally have an equal edge contrast value and a symbol contrast value, but the edge contrast value decreases when print blurring occurs. The larger the difference between the minimum edge contrast value and the symbol contrast value, the smaller the grade that is the evaluation value of the modulation. Modulation, which is one of the evaluation parameters as described above, is suitable for evaluating the blurring (unevenness) of the bar 93A and the space 93B. Modulation grades are represented by 4 (good) to 0 (bad).

The inspection unit 55B calculates the defect and modulation grades based on the barcode image acquired by the acquisition unit 55A. The inspection unit 55B determines whether or not the calculated defect and modulation grade is smaller than the pre-stored reference grade. In the present embodiment, when any one of the above-mentioned defects and modulation is smaller than the above-mentioned reference grade, the inspection unit 55B determines that the barcode imaged by the camera 51 is a defective product, and the above-mentioned defects and modulation. When both grades are equal to or higher than the above standard grade, it is determined that the barcode imaged by the camera 51 is a non-defective product.

When the inspection unit 55B determines that the barcode imaged by the camera 51 is a defective product, the inspection unit 55B displays on the display operation unit 57 that the barcode is a defective product, and displays the barcode imaged by the camera 51 as a defective product. If it is determined that the product is a non-defective product, the display operation unit 57 indicates that the barcode is a non-defective product.

The setting unit 55C is a part for setting the type (defect and modulation) of the evaluation parameter of the barcode 93 and the reference value (threshold value) of the evaluation parameter. The setting unit 55C displays a setting screen for setting the type of evaluation parameter and the reference value of the evaluation parameter on the display operation unit 57.

In the present embodiment, the evaluation parameters preset (pre-stored) in the setting unit 55C can be determined, for example, by the procedure (step 1 to step 3) shown below.
Step 1: Measure defects and modulation for product labels that are determined to be non-defective.
Step 2: Collect product labels that can be converted into code information by the inspection device 5, but cannot be scanned correctly with a barcode reader (cannot convert barcode images into code information), and measure defects and modulation.
Step 3: A reference value is determined based on the values measured in steps 1 and 2.

For product labels of products lined up in stores, etc., we have prepared product labels that can correctly scan barcodes with a barcode reader and product labels that cannot correctly scan barcodes. By confirming whether or not the quality is correctly determined based on the reference values of the evaluation parameters determined in steps 1 to 3, the determination accuracy of the non-defective product and the defective product can be improved.

As described above, whether or not the product label can be correctly scanned by the barcode reader depends on the individual difference in the characteristics of each barcode reader, so the reference value of the above evaluation parameters is adjusted to the characteristics of the barcode reader of each store. By setting, it is possible to improve the determination accuracy of non-defective products and defective products.

The packaging device 6 wraps the article. The packaging device 6 wraps the article with the packaging film RF cut by the cutting portion 13.

As described above, in the inspection device 5 of the above embodiment, since the print quality of the barcode 93 is used as one index for determining the quality of the barcode 93, the barcode may become unreadable by the barcode reader. 93 can be determined as a defective product. That is, in the inspection device 5 of the above embodiment, it is possible to avoid shipping the product packaged by the packaging film RF on which the barcode 93, which may become unreadable by the barcode reader, is printed. As a result, it is possible to avoid a problem that the barcode 93 cannot be read at a cash register in a store or the like.

The inventors of the present application have found that the problem that the barcode 93 printed on the product label or the like becomes unreadable by the barcode reader is caused by the print quality of the printed barcode 93. Then, they have found that at least a part of the element is missing and / or at least a part of the element is blurred as a feature of the barcode 93 that cannot be read by the barcode reader.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the inspection unit 55B evaluates the print quality based on the chipping of at least a part of the element extracted from the barcode image and / or the blurring of at least a part of the element. In this configuration, the missing of at least a part of the element and / or the blurring of at least a part of the element is evaluated, so that the detection performance of the barcode 93 which may become unreadable by the barcode reader is enhanced. Can be done.

Further, the inventors of the present application have found that the above-mentioned chipping and blurring are caused by dust or the like adhering to the thermal head for printing the barcode 93. Therefore, it is not possible to apply the present invention to the present embodiment in which the thermal transfer ink ribbon is heated by heating the heat generating element incorporated in the thermal head, and the ink melted by this heating is transferred to the film F for printing. It is possible to further enhance the effect that the barcode 93, which may become unreadable by the barcode reader, can be determined as a defective product.

The inspection device 5 of the above embodiment determines whether or not the barcode 93 can be converted into code information based on the barcode image. As a result, whether or not the barcode 93 to be printed on the product label is printed is integrated by using the barcode image for determining the print quality of the barcode 93 without providing a separate barcode reader or the like. Can be determined.

In the inspection device 5 of the above embodiment, the inspection unit 55B bases the barcode image on two evaluation parameters of defect and modulation, which are evaluation parameters for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards. , At least a part of the bar 93A is missing, and / or at least a part of the bar 93A is blurred. Thereby, the degree of chipping of at least a part of the element and / or the degree of blurring of at least a part of the element can be appropriately and objectively evaluated.

Since the inspection device 5 of the above embodiment includes a setting unit 55C for setting the type and threshold value of the evaluation parameter, it is possible to set an appropriate evaluation parameter when determining the print quality of the barcode 93.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

(Modification 1)
The inspection device 5 of the above embodiment has been described with an example of adopting at least one of a defect and a modulation as an evaluation parameter for evaluating the quality of the barcode 93, but in addition to these evaluation parameters, the decoding ease is added. May be added. Decoding ease here is an evaluation parameter for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS X 0520: 2014), as well as defects and modulation.

Decoding ease refers to the degree of ease of compounding when the barcode reader combines by the "reference compounding algorithm" defined in each symbol system specification. For example, if the appropriate thickness ratio of the bar 93A and the space 93B cannot be obtained due to the lack of the bar 93A (or the space 93B), the grade which is the evaluation value of the decoding ease becomes small. As described above, the decoding ease, which is one of the evaluation parameters, is suitable for evaluating the thickness ratio of the bar 93A and the space 93B. Modulation grades are represented by 4 (good) to 0 (bad). The inspection device 5 according to the modified example can appropriately and objectively evaluate the degree of chipping of at least a part of the bar 93A and / or the degree of blurring of at least a part of the bar 93A.

(Modification 2)
The inspection unit 55B of the inspection device 5 of the above-described embodiment and the above-described modification determines whether or not the barcode image can be converted into code information, and the print quality of the barcode 93 evaluated based on the barcode image. Although the description has been given with an example of determining the quality of the barcode 93 based on the above two indexes, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the inspection unit 55B may determine the quality of the barcode 93 by adding the lengths of the bars 93A at both ends in the arrangement direction of the bars 93A in the height direction to these indexes.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the barcode 93 printed on the film F may have a printing defect in which white lines (streaks) extending along the arrangement direction of the bars 93A are included. Although it is unlikely that the barcode 93 having such a printing defect becomes unreadable when scanned by a barcode reader, there is a request that the barcode 93 should be removed as a defective product. Then, such a printing defect in which a white line is inserted often occurs in the printing apparatus 4 having a printing unit 42 for printing using the thermal transfer ink ribbon described in the above embodiment.

More specifically, the above-mentioned printing defect occurs when the operator rewinds the thermal transfer ink ribbon in the direction opposite to the printing direction, and the portion of the thermal transfer ink ribbon once printed is used for printing again. Although such a printing defect contains a white line as a whole of the barcode 93, the barcode 93 that is normal on at least one side of the white line is determined to be a good product by the inspection device 5 of the above embodiment. ..

Therefore, in the inspection device 5 according to the modified example 2, as shown in FIG. 5B, the inspection unit 55B acquires the lengths H1 and H2 of the bars 93A at both ends in the arrangement direction of the bars 93A in the height direction. If the acquired lengths H1 and H2 in the height direction are shorter than the reference value stored in advance, the bar code 93 is determined to be a defective product. In the inspection device 5 according to the modified example 2 that performs such a determination, when a printing defect in which a white line is inserted occurs, the bars 93A at both ends are divided by the white line in the height direction, so that the height to be obtained is obtained. The directional lengths H1 and H2 are relatively short. As a result, the barcode 93 containing the white line is determined to be a defective product.

(Other variants)
In the above-described embodiment and the above-mentioned modification, a mode in which the printing unit 42 prints using the ink ribbon has been described as an example. However, the printing method is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an inkjet method.

In the above embodiment and the above modification, the inspection unit 55B adopts at least one of defects and modulation as an evaluation parameter for determining the print quality of the barcode 93, or adopts decoding ease in addition to these. However, the explanation is not limited to these. For example, the inspection unit 55B may adopt at least one of the minimum reflectance, the symbol contrast, and the minimum edge contrast defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards in place of or in addition to the evaluation parameters described above. However, the above-described embodiment for evaluating the print quality of the barcode 93 using both the defect and the modulation capable of appropriately detecting the chipping and blurring of the above-mentioned element as evaluation parameters can improve the evaluation accuracy of the print quality.

The inspection unit 55B of the above embodiment and the above modification has been described with reference to an example in which the print quality of the barcode 93 is evaluated based on the barcode image acquired by the acquisition unit 55A. The print quality of the barcode 93 may be evaluated after performing image processing. Examples of image processing include processing using color filters. For example, when the above print quality is evaluated based on the bar code image of the bar code 93 printed on the film F with a pattern, even if the print itself has no problem, it may be determined as a defective product. This is because the above-mentioned evaluation parameter targets not only the chipping of the bar 93A but also the chipping of the space 93B (the variation in the reflectance in the space 93B). Here, a method of relaxing the threshold value can be considered, but there is a possibility that the original purpose of detecting chipping and blurring cannot be detected. Therefore, the inspection unit 55B of this modification evaluates the print quality of the barcode 93 after performing image processing on the barcode image using, for example, a red filter. As a result, the variation in the reflectance of the space 93B can be reduced, so that the print quality of the barcode 93 can be appropriately evaluated.

In the above embodiment and the above modification, the inspection device 5 has been described with reference to an example in which the inspection device 5 is incorporated as a part of the packaging system 1 integrally configured with the transfer device 3, the printing device 4, and the packaging device 6. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the inspection device 5 may be configured as a separate body from the transfer device 3, the printing device 4, and the packaging device 6. Further, the inspection device 5 may be arranged at a place where the packaging system 1 is deployed, or may be arranged at a place distant from the place where the packaging system 1 is deployed so as to be accessible by wire or wirelessly. ..

In the above embodiment and the above modification, the inspection device 5 has been described with reference to an example in which the inspection device 5 is incorporated as a part of the packaging system 1. However, the inspection device 5 includes a label issuing device such as a label printer, a label issuing and pasting device, and the like. It may be incorporated in various devices for printing the bar code 93.

1 ... Packaging system, 3 ... Conveyor device, 4 ... Printing device, 5 ... Inspection device, 6 ... Packaging device, 51 ... Camera, 53 ... Lighting unit, 55 ... Control unit, 55A ... Acquisition unit, 55B ... Inspection unit, 55C ... Setting unit, 57 ... Display operation unit, 90 ... Product label, 91 ... Product information, 93 ... Bar code, 93A ... Bar, 93B ... Space.

Claims (6)

An inspection device that inspects barcodes attached to products.
An acquisition unit that acquires the generated barcode image by imaging the barcode, and
An inspection unit that inspects the barcode based on the barcode image is provided.
The inspection unit determines whether or not the barcode image can be converted into code information, and the barcode is evaluated based on the barcode image and the print quality of the barcode is evaluated. An inspection device that determines the quality of a product. The barcode is composed of an element consisting of a bar and a space.
The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit evaluates the print quality based on the chipping of at least a part of the element extracted from the barcode image and / or the blurring of at least a part of the element. The inspection unit uses at least a part of the element based on two evaluation parameters of defect and modulation, which are evaluation parameters for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards for the barcode image. The inspection device according to claim 2, which evaluates chipping and / or blurring of at least a part of the element. The inspection unit uses the element based on three evaluation parameters of defect, modulation, and decoding ease, which are evaluation parameters for determining the grade of the barcode symbol defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards for the barcode image. 2. The inspection device according to claim 2, which evaluates at least a part of a chip and / or a blur of at least a part of the element. The inspection unit determines whether or not the print quality has a certain level based on a threshold value stored in advance, and determines whether or not the print quality has a certain level.
The inspection device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the threshold value is determined based on the evaluation result of the barcode that can be read by the barcode reader that scans the barcode or the barcode that cannot be read. The inspection device according to claim 5, further comprising a setting unit for setting the type of the evaluation parameter and the threshold value.

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