JP2889178B2 - Inserter device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inserter device for enclosing a printed matter printed by a high-speed printer device or the like in an envelope or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, documents such as invoices issued monthly for each customer are sequentially printed by a printer device, automatically sealed in an envelope by an inserter device, and sent to each customer. Since a printer device used for printing such a document must print a large number of different numbers and contents, high speed and accuracy are required. Actually, for example, a high-speed printer device capable of printing at a speed of 15 sheets or more per second on A4 size printing paper by an ink jet method is used. Also, in the inserter device, for example, such a document printed on roll paper is cut at each destination, and if necessary, folded, etc., sealed in an envelope, and sent immediately. Create

[0003] In such a system for creating a sentence, some printing defects may occur at the printing stage. For example, data defects such as duplication or omission of print contents, defective printing conditions such as blurring, crushing, line width, and variations in shading, and inconsistency of front and back data during double-sided printing. When printing important documents such as bills, it is required to print accurate data with high quality, and these printing defects are a serious problem. Although the frequency of occurrence of these printing defects has been reduced with the improvement in the performance of the printer device, it is difficult to completely prevent them.

[0004]

Therefore, there is a demand to detect such defective printed matter at the stage of enclosing it in an envelope and to prevent the defective printed matter from being sent to a destination such as a customer. However, in such a system for creating a sentence, the processing speed is extremely high, and since a large amount of printed matter is processed, it is substantially impossible for an operator to visually inspect the printed matter. In addition, in the conventional inserter device, simple marking processing for managing page numbers was performed in the burster section that cuts continuous paper into cut sheets, but the printing state of the printed matter can not be inspected. Did not.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an inserter capable of inspecting the printed contents and printing state of a supplied printed matter, removing defective printed matters, appropriately enclosing a normal printed matter in an envelope, and creating a sent matter. It is to provide a device.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an image of an input printed matter is read by a sensor,
The print contents and print state can be inspected in the inserter by collating with original data prepared at the time of printing prepared in advance.

Therefore, the inserter device of the present invention
Image sensor means for reading an image printed on the printed matter from sequentially supplied printed matter, inspection means for determining whether or not printing is appropriately performed on the printed matter based on the read image data; and As a result,
The apparatus includes a defective printed matter removing unit that removes a printed matter that is determined not to be properly printed, and an enclosing unit that seals a printed matter that is determined to be properly printed as a result of the inspection.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises bar star means for cutting the printed matter printed on the continuous paper and separating the printed matter into individual printed matter, and wherein the image sensor means comprises an image of each printed matter printed on the continuous paper. Upon reading, the defective printed matter removing means removes each printed matter separated by the bar star means based on the result of the inspection by the inspection means, and encloses the printed matter printed on the continuous paper in an envelope.

Preferably, the image sensor means reads an image printed on a first surface of a print medium.
Image sensor means, and second image sensor means for reading an image printed on the second surface of the print medium, respectively read the image on both sides of the print medium, the inspection means, Based on the read image data of the first side and the second side, it is inspected whether data to be printed on the front and back of one printed matter is properly printed on the print medium, and The printed matter removing unit removes the printed matter determined as inappropriate data to be printed on the front and back of one printed matter by the inspection, and performs printing on both the front and back sides of the print medium. The printed matter is enclosed in an envelope.

[0010] Preferably, the inspecting means uses, based on the image data of the first and second surfaces read from the print medium, identification data capable of identifying data printed on each surface. Then, the identification data extracted from each side is collated to check whether or not appropriate data is printed on the print medium as data to be printed on the front and back of one printed matter.

Preferably, the inspection means matches printing image data for printing the printed matter with image data read from the image sensor means, detects a difference between the image data, and detects the difference. It is determined whether or not the printing is properly performed based on the amount. Specifically, the inspection unit performs the matching based on the compressed bitmap data of the print image data and the read image data. More specifically, the inspection unit analyzes a format of the read image data based on format information of print image data for printing the printed matter, and determines whether the printing is performed properly. Is determined.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the inserter device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, for example, the printing state of a printed matter in which the contents of each destination such as a bill for telephone charges are sequentially printed on both sides of a roll paper is examined, and the printing on both sides is performed. Check the integrity of the content, cut it off for each destination,
An inserter device that is enclosed in an envelope so that it can be shipped will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall device configuration of the inserter device. The inserter device 1 includes a print supply unit 10, a print inspection unit 20, a bar star unit 30, a print selection unit 40, an inserter unit 50, and a stacker unit 60.

In the present embodiment, the following description will be made by exemplifying a case where processing is performed on a printing sheet 800 on which printing is performed as shown in FIG. FIG.
3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of a printing sheet 800, wherein FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a front side of the printing sheet 800, and FIG. The printing paper 800 is, for example, a bill such as a telephone charge, and includes a billing address 801, billing information 802, and billing details 80 on five pages 80.
3 _{-1 to} 803 _-5 and the advertisement 805 are printed. Also,
A cue mark 804 at the top right and back of the first page of each invoice
Is printed. From the cue mark, it is possible to know the break positions of the invoices one by one from the continuous paper.
Also, on the right side of each page, data indicating the page number of a printed material to the same destination as the destination code is recorded as a barcode 806.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the inserter device 1 will be described, exemplifying a case where such a bill is separated for each destination and sealed in an envelope. First, the configuration and function of each unit will be described. Print supply unit 1
Numeral 0 accommodates, for example, printed matter printed by the printer device as shown in FIG. 11 and sequentially supplies the printed matter to the subsequent processing section of the inserter device 1. In the present embodiment, after printing is performed, the roll paper 80 is wound up again in a roll shape.
0 is set in the printed material supply unit 10, sequentially unwound by a paper transport unit (not shown), and supplied to the burster unit 30 via the printed material inspection unit 20.

The printed matter inspection section 20 checks whether each printed matter printed on the printing paper 800 sequentially supplied from the printed matter supply section 10 is an appropriate printed matter, and when an inappropriate printed matter is detected, the printed matter is inspected. It instructs the sorting unit 40 to remove the printed matter. The configuration of the printed matter inspection unit 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the printed matter inspection unit 20. Print inspection unit 20
Has a front-side image inspection unit 110, a back-side image inspection unit 120, a double-sided data matching unit 130, a control unit 140, and an interface unit 150.

The front surface image inspection unit 110 inspects the printing state of the front side, which is the first side, of the printing paper 800 sequentially supplied. The configuration of the surface image inspection unit 110 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the surface image inspection unit 110. The surface image inspection unit 110 includes an interface unit 200, a print image storage unit 310, an inspection image storage unit 320, an image reading unit 400, and an inspection unit 500.

The interface unit 200 is an interface unit for sequentially transferring the image data of each printed material used for printing on the input printing paper 800 to be inspected to the print image storage unit 310. Is a dedicated serial interface. The same print image data as used in the printer at the time of printing is input to the print supply unit 10 from an external host computer or the like, and the print image data is transmitted to the interface 150 and the interface 200 of the print inspection unit 20. The image data is sequentially recorded in the print image storage unit 310 via the printer.

The print image storage unit 310 is a memory for storing print image data transferred via the interface unit 200 in a bitmap format. The print image data stored in the print image storage unit 310 is accessed by an address signal input from the inspection unit 500, and image data at an arbitrary location is stored in the inspection unit 50.
Output to 0. Note that the print image storage unit 310
It has a capacity capable of accommodating a plurality of image data and is constituted by a dual-port RAM capable of simultaneously performing read / write.

The image reading unit 400 includes a printing paper 8
In order to check the printing condition / print quality of the surface of the sheet No. 00 and the print content, the printed image is printed on a printing paper 80.
Read from 0. Regarding the image reading unit 400,
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image reading unit 400. The image reading unit 400 includes four image reading units 400 _{-1 to} 400 _-4 . Further, each image reading section 400 _-i (i = 1 to 4) includes a cue mark detection sensor 410 _-i , an encoder section 420 _-i , and a light irradiation section 4.
30 _-i , a CCD camera 440 _-i and a controller 450 _-i . The cue mark detection sensor 410 is provided near the CCD camera 440 of each image reading unit 400, and detects a cue mark recorded at each break of a printed material of the printing paper 800 that is continuously conveyed. When the cue mark is detected, a signal to that effect is output to control section 450.

The encoder section 420 is also provided near the CCD camera 440 of the image reading section 400, and detects the transport speed of the printing paper 800. The encoder unit 420 includes, as shown in FIG.
1, a counter 422 and a speed calculator 423.
The encoder 421, for example, rotates integrally with the print paper transport roller of the paper transport unit 110, and outputs a predetermined pulse corresponding to the rotation angle. The pulse is sent to the counter 422.
And the speed calculation unit 423 calculates the transport speed of the printing paper 800 based on the count value within a predetermined time.

The light irradiating section 430 is means for giving an appropriate amount of light to an area of the printing paper 800 for capturing an image by a CCD camera 440 described later. In the present embodiment, light from a halogen lamp provided in the housing is guided by a fiber cable to irradiate the imaging range of the CCD camera 440. Note that the amount of light irradiated by the light irradiation unit 430 depends on the printing paper 8 detected by the encoder 421.
It is controlled based on the transport speed of 00.

The CCD camera 440 reads the printed image and outputs it to the inspection image storage unit 460.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the CCD camera 440 and the inspection image storage unit 460.
40 is a line sensor 441, an output amplifier 442, A /
It has a D converter 443, a shift register 444, a line memory 445, and a bus switcher 446.

The line sensor 441 has a resolution of 16 dots / mm, 2048 elements in the horizontal direction, and 96 pixels in the vertical direction.
TDI-CC with TDI (time delay integration) number of stages
This is a D (charge coupled device) sensor. Therefore, the reading width Wc of one line sensor 441 is 128 mm. In the present embodiment, the four line sensors 441 _{-1 to} 441 _-4 are arranged so that their reading ranges partially overlap as shown in FIG. The entire range Ws can be read.

FIG. 8 shows the TDI-CCD sensor 441.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the TDI-CCD sensor 441, the optical image detected by the element (ROW1) in the first column forms an image on the front surface of the array, and the charge generated by the photons is stored during the accumulation time corresponding to one line scan. Collected in a poteincial well. Then, in the vertical direction (T
With the clock in the DI stage direction, the charges are vertically shifted to the next column (ROW2). In the next column, if the same image as before was formed, the charge generated in ROW2 would be added to the charge from the previous column, doubling the sensitivity or exposure time. Become.
Therefore, if the clock in the vertical direction and the TDI transfer direction are synchronized with the motion of the image, integration is performed by the number of TDI stages. In the TDI-CCD sensor 441 of the present embodiment, since the number of TDI stages is 96, the detected image is integrated 96 times. The integrated data is finally output serially from the horizontal shift register of the TDI-CCD sensor 441.

The number of TDI-CCD sensors 441 is eight.
Taps, each of which has 256 bits
Is output. TDI-CCD sensor 441
Output from each tap of the output amplifier 442
_-1~ 442_-8A / D converter 443_-1~
443_-8Is AD-converted by the shift register 444_-1~ 4
44_-8Is input to Furthermore, data of 256 bits
Is line memory 445 _-1~ 445_-8Stored in the
Line memory 445_-1~ 445_-8Is a sequential bus switcher
446, the page for each line of data is selected.
Memory 460 _-1Is input to

The control unit 450 includes an image reading unit 40
0 is controlled. Each image reading unit 400
_A control signal is input to _-i (i = 1 to 4) from a control unit (not shown) of the surface image inspection unit 110. And the control unit 4
In 50, based on the control signal, the cue mark detection information by the cue mark detection sensor 410 as described above, and the information of the printing paper 800 conveyance speed by the encoder unit 420, the light amount of the light irradiation unit 430 is controlled, C
The image reading control is performed on the CD camera 440.

The inspection image storage section 320 of the surface image inspection section 110 is storage means for storing the image data read by the image reading section 400, and the four CCD cameras 440 _{-1 to} 440 of the image reading section 400.
Page memories 460 _{-1 to} 460 _-4 corresponding to _-4
It is composed of

The inspection section 500 includes a print image storage section 31
0 based on the print image data stored in the inspection image storage unit 320 and the inspection image data read from the printed material stored in the inspection image storage unit 320, and determines whether the printing state is appropriate. Output to the control unit 140 of the unit 20. The configuration of the inspection unit 500 will be described with reference to FIG. The inspection unit 500 includes a first address counter 501, a second address counter 502, a first compressor 503, a second compressor 504, and a matching circuit 5.
05, an error counter 506, a format information storage unit 507, and a CPU 508.

The first address counter 501 is a counter for controlling an address of print image data stored in the print image storage section 310 to be read out to the inspection section 500. Also, the second address counter 50
2 is an inspection image storage unit 32 to be read out to the inspection unit 500
This is a counter for controlling the address of the inspection image data stored in 0. These address counters 501 and 502 are controlled by signals such as initial value setting and count up / down input from the CPU 508.

First compressor 503 and second compressor 5
A step 04 compresses the print image data read from the print image storage unit 310 and the test image data read from the test image storage unit 320 when the collation of the image data is performed with the compressed image data. . This compression is, for example, 2 × 2 or 3 × 3
The original image is compressed to 1/4 or 1/9 by dividing the image into pixels of the original image, and when the total pixel value of each element is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, setting the corresponding pixel to 1. When collation is performed using original image data without performing compression, the first compressor 503 and the second compressor 504 each output the input image data as it is. It should be noted that the first compressor 503 and the second compressor 504 are enabled and the mode is set so that the comparison is performed with the compressed image or the image is compared with the original magnification, and the comparison is performed with the compressed image. Is set by a control signal input from the control unit 140 of the printed matter inspection unit 20.

The matching circuit 505 includes the first compressor 5
Corresponding pixels of the print image data input from the input unit 03 and the inspection image data input from the second compressor 504 are sequentially compared and collated, and the result is output to an error counter 506. In this comparison, the difference between the pixel values of the corresponding pixels is determined. If the difference is less than a predetermined value, the pixels are determined to be the same, and if the difference is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the pixels are determined to be different. . Error counter 506
Accumulates the number of pixels determined as different pixels in the result of the matching performed for each pixel by the matching circuit 505, and outputs the accumulated result to the CPU 508 as the number of error pixels.

The CPU 508 compares the number of error pixels input from the error number counter 506 with a predetermined threshold value THL. When the number of error pixels exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the original image data stored in the print image storage unit 240 is compared with the threshold value THL. It is determined that there is a large difference between the print image data stored in the inspection image storage unit 460 and the desired printing cannot be performed. When matching has been completed for all pixels of the image data in a state where the number of error pixels accumulated in the error number counter 506 does not exceed the threshold value THL, it is determined in the matching that the printing result is normal. .

The format information storage unit 507 stores common format information of print image data input via the control unit 600. The common format information is, for example, data such as a print area of address information, a table position, a mark position, a character position, and other ruled line positions. Information stored in the format information storage unit 507 is read by the CPU 508,
It is used for checking read image data stored in the print image storage unit 310.

The CPU 508 compares the print image data with the inspection image data to determine whether the printing has been properly performed. The CPU 508 first aligns the print image data with the inspection image data, then checks the inspection image data by a structural analysis method described later, and finally, checks the first compressor 503 to the error number counter 506. Controls the matching process. During these processes, the print image storage unit 310
And the first address counter 50 so that desired image data is input from the inspection image storage unit 320.
The first and second address counters 502 are controlled.

The alignment between the print image data and the inspection image data is a process of detecting the corresponding position of the image data on each image memory of the print image storage unit 310 and the inspection image storage unit 320. For example, processing is performed based on the pixel on the upper side where the cue mark is detected, or the center of gravity of both black pixels is detected, and the corresponding pixel is determined based on the point.

The check of the inspection image data by the structural analysis method means that the structural features of the print image data are extracted based on the format information of the print image data stored in the format information storage unit 507. Then, by checking whether or not the inspection image data has the same characteristics, it is a process of checking whether or not the print image data is appropriately printed. For example, information on the position of a blank area having a certain area in the print image data is obtained from the information stored in the format information storage unit 507, and corresponding to the inspection image data stored in the inspection image storage unit 320. Check if the location is also a blank area. If the area is properly a blank area, proceed to the next check.If black pixels with noise or more are detected from the area, the check is terminated and the inspection result indicating that the print result is defective is printed. Output to the control unit 140 of the inspection unit 20.

For example, the format information storage unit 5
07 is obtained, and a vertical or horizontal black pixel histogram of a corresponding area is obtained from the inspection image data stored in the inspection image storage unit 320. Checking whether or not. In addition, when a region where characters are printed is scanned in the character string direction, black and white pixels frequently change, so that it is possible to detect that characters are printed there. To check whether the character is printed in the area where the character should be printed. In addition, a check is made to see if the table is properly located where the table should be, and if the mark is properly located. In the step of checking the inspection image data by these structural analysis methods, the inspection result indicating that the printing result is defective is output to the control unit 140 of the printed matter inspection unit 20 immediately when inconsistency is detected by the inspection. , The subsequent processing ends.

When all the checks by such a structural analysis method are completed, the CPU 508 controls the first address counter 501, the second address counter 502, and the first compressor 503 to the error number counter 506. Then, the matching process described above is performed. Then, the CPU 508 compares the number of error pixels input from the error number counter 506 with the threshold value THL.
If the matching is completed without exceeding the threshold value THL, it is determined that the printing is normal. By such an operation, the inspection unit 500
Inspects the print image data stored in the inspection image storage unit 320. The inspection result is printed matter inspection unit 2
0 is output to the interface unit 150.

The back side image inspecting section 120 is provided on the second side of the sequentially supplied printing paper 800 opposite to the first side.
That is, it is a means for inspecting the state of printing on the back surface of the printing paper 800, and the configuration thereof is the same as that of the front image inspection unit 110.
Is the same as That is, based on the control from the control unit 140, the print image data for printing sequentially input via the interface unit 150 is compared with the inspection image data read from the printing paper 800, so that the print content is・ Check whether the printing condition is appropriate,
The inspection result is output to the control unit 140.

The double-sided data matching unit 130 prints the printing contents printed on the first side and the second side of the printing paper 800 sequentially supplied, on the front and back sides of one printing paper. It is checked whether or not the printed matter is printed with appropriate contents printed on the front and back sides. Specifically, for example, it is checked whether or not the contents to be printed on the front and back of the page are appropriately printed in page units. The configuration of the double-sided data matching unit 130 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the double-sided data matching unit 130. The two-sided data matching unit 130 includes a front camera 131, a front image memory 132, a table code identification unit 133, a back camera 134,
It has a back image memory 135, a back code identification unit 136, and a collation unit 137.

Front camera 131 and rear camera 134
Is the printing paper 8 conveyed in the double-sided data matching unit 130.
From the front and back surfaces of each page of 00, an image of a code that is printed at a predetermined position on that surface and that identifies the print content is read. The specific reading position and reading timing are controlled by a control unit (not shown) in the double-sided data matching unit 130. For example, on a print sheet 800 as shown in FIG. 11, a destination code of the printed matter and a bar code 806 indicating a page in the printed matter to the destination printed on the lower right of each page are read. Front image memory 132 and back image memory 135
Is a pattern memory for temporarily storing barcode image data read by the front camera 131 and the back camera 134. The front code identification unit 133 and the back code identification unit 136 recognize the barcodes stored in the front image memory 132 and the back image memory 135 and detect the contents.

The collation unit 137 includes data indicating the print content on the front side of the printing paper 800 detected by the front code identification unit 133 and the printing paper 80 detected by the back code identification unit 136.
The data is compared with the data indicating the print content on the back side of No. 0 to determine whether or not the data is appropriate. In the data recorded as the barcode, the data of the destination code of the print data is checked to determine whether or not the respective data match.
Also, it is checked whether or not the data indicating the pages of the printed matter are printed on the front and back of one sheet and have consistent page numbers. The page number is checked based on a predetermined rule based on the total number of pages of the printed matter, the method of folding the printed matter, and the like. The result of the comparison is output to the control unit 140 of the print supply unit 10.

The control unit 140 controls each unit of the printed matter inspection unit 20 to inspect the print contents of the printing paper 800 conveyed in the printed matter inspection unit 20, and instructs the printed matter selection unit 40 based on the inspection result. And outputs a signal instructing removal of the defective print. Specifically, the control unit 140 controls the interface unit 150 to fetch print image data of a printed material to be inspected used in a printer device or the like, and to print the front image inspection unit 110 and the back image inspection unit 12.
Output to 0. Then, it instructs the front side image inspection unit 110, the back side image inspection unit 120, and the double-sided data matching unit 130 to inspect the printing paper 800 conveyed in the printed matter inspection unit 20. Then, based on the input inspection result, that is, when an inspection result indicating that printing is defective is input from at least one of the front image inspection unit 110, the back image inspection unit 120, and the double-sided data matching unit 130 And outputs a signal instructing the printed material sorting unit 40 to remove the printed material. Note that these controls are performed based on control signals input from a host computer or the like. The operation timings of these units are performed in synchronization with the transport state of the printing paper 800 transported through the printed matter inspection unit 20.

The interface unit 150 includes the control unit 14
Based on the control signal from 0, the print image data of the printed matter to be inspected used in the printer device or the like is transferred to the front surface image inspection unit 110 and the back surface image inspection unit 120, respectively. The above is the description of the configuration of the printed matter inspection unit 20.

The bar star section 30 of the inserter device 1
The printing paper 800 supplied in the form of continuous paper is cut for each printed material. The burster unit 30 detects a cue mark printed on the printing paper 800 by a cue mark detection sensor (not shown), and sequentially cuts the printing paper 800 at the position of the cue mark. For example, in the case of the printing paper shown in FIG. 11, cue mark 804 _-1, respectively the printing paper is cut at a point 804 _-2 are separated for each one invoice. The cut printed material is conveyed in the same state as the cut sheet, and is supplied to the printed material sorting unit 40.

The printed material sorting section 40 switches the transport path of the printed matter based on the sorting signal input from the printed matter inspecting section 20, and prints the divided and transported printed matter in the burster section 30 as they are, without any processing. And the printed matter to be removed and the printed matter to be removed. The removed printed matter is stored in a removed printed matter stacker (not shown) in the printed matter sorting unit 40.

The inserter section 50 appropriately folds the sequentially conveyed prints, inserts them into envelopes, and seals them. In the present embodiment, each printed material is inserted into an envelope having a transparent vinyl window having a window through which the destination can be viewed from the outside so that the field where the destination of the printed material is printed can be checked from this window. And sealed.

The stacker section 60 accumulates and stores each printed matter inserted into an envelope in the inserter section 50 and made ready for sending.

Next, the operation of the inserter device 1 will be described. Printing paper 800 on which predetermined print data is printed as shown in FIG. 11 is set in the printed material supply unit 10 of the inserter device 1 in a state of being wound in a roll shape, and is sequentially conveyed through the inserter device 1. First, the front side image inspection unit 110 and the back side image inspection unit 120 of the printed matter inspection unit 20 read the image data of the front and back sides of the printing paper 800 and print the image data stored in the front side image inspection unit 110 and the back side image inspection unit 120. The original image data used at that time is compared with the original image data, and for each page of the printed matter 800, it is checked whether or not the print content and print state of each side are appropriate. Next, the bar code 806 printed on both sides of the printing paper 800 is read in the double-sided data matching unit 130, and the codes on the front and back sides are collated. That is, it is checked whether the destination codes match, and whether the page numbers have consistent values.

These inspection results are input to the control section 140 of the printed matter inspection section 20. If a defect is found in any of the inspections, a signal to remove the defective printed matter is sent to the printed matter selection section 40. Is output. The printing paper 800 supplied with the inserter device 1 passes through the printed matter inspection unit 20 and is cut by the bar star unit 30 for each printed matter.
It is conveyed to the printed material sorting unit 40. Here, based on a signal from the control unit 140 of the printed matter inspection unit 20, the conveyance path for the defective printed matter is switched, and the defective printed matter is put into the defective printed matter stacker and removed. The data of the removed printed matter is input from the control unit 140 of the printed matter inspection unit 20 to a host computer or the like, and is used for management when performing reprinting or the like. On the other hand, the normal printed matter is enclosed in an envelope in the inserter section 50 and sealed, and is stored in the stacker section 60 in a state where it can be immediately sent.

As described above, in the inserter device 1 of the present embodiment, the inspection of the printed contents of the printed matter can be performed accurately and strictly without human intervention, and the occurrence of defective sending materials can be prevented. Can be. In particular, even when a large amount of encapsulation processing is performed at high speed, accurate inspection can be continued. For example, invoices such as sending documents of different contents to a large number of destinations, for example, , Etc. can be performed accurately.

The present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the arrangement of the printed matter inspection unit 20, the burster unit 30, and the printed matter selection unit 40 of the inserter apparatus 1 is not limited to the present embodiment. If the processing time in the printed matter inspection unit 20 can be ensured, first, the printed material inspection unit 20 cuts each printed material in the bar star unit 30, reads an image printed in the printed matter inspection unit 20 from each cut printed material, and performs inspection. Alternatively, the printed matter may be sorted by the printed matter sorting unit 40.

The printed material inspection unit 20 reads an image when inspecting each side of the printing paper 800,
The image reading when checking the consistency of both sides is performed completely separately by different cameras. However, for example, an identification code such as a barcode may be extracted from the image data read by the front surface image inspection unit 110 and the back surface image inspection unit 120 and used for the inspection in the double-sided data matching unit 130. Also, the configuration of the image reading unit 400 in the front image inspection unit 110 and the back image inspection unit 120 is the same as that in the present embodiment.
The present invention is not limited to the mode using a book CCD camera. Depending on the size of the printing paper 800 to be processed,
For example, an arbitrary CCD camera such as two CCD cameras may be used. Further, any image sensor other than the CCD camera may be used.

The printing medium is not limited to continuous paper as shown in the present embodiment, but may be cut paper. In this case, the cut sheet is supplied by using the printed material supply unit 10 as a hopper unit, and an edge detector is provided instead of the cue mark detection sensor 410 so that the printing paper 800 is positioned in the sub-scanning direction. do it. Further, since the burster section 30 is not required, a configuration that does not include the burster section may be employed. Further, the print medium may be a print medium made of a material other than paper. If the printed matter is a printed matter printed on one side, the printed matter inspection unit 20
In this case, the backside image inspection unit 120 and the double-sided data matching unit 130 are unnecessary, and such a configuration may be adopted.
That is, the printed matter inspecting unit 20 may inspect only one side of the printed matter on which the printed matter is printed, and the printed matter selecting unit 40 may remove the defective printed matter according to the inspection. Is included in the inserter device.

Further, the configuration of each inspection unit and the alignment unit of the printed matter inspection unit 20 may be arbitrarily and suitably changed. For example,
Processing such as image compression, structural analysis, matching, and propriety determination performed by the front surface image inspection unit 110 and the back surface image inspection unit 120 may use any method other than the present embodiment. Also, the method of checking the consistency of the printed contents on the front and back sides in the double-sided printing inspection unit 13 is not limited to the method of comparing and collating the barcodes indicating the printed contents as in the present embodiment, but may be any method. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when data that can specify the destination such as a telephone number 807 is printed in a print image of each page, the data portion is read, and the identification result is obtained. May be collated.

[0056]

According to the inserter device of the present invention, the printed contents and the printed state of the supplied printed matter are inspected to remove the defective printed matter, and the normal printed matter is appropriately enclosed in an envelope to produce a sent matter. be able to. As a result, an accident such as sending a defective printed matter to a customer can be almost completely prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of an inserter device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printed matter inspection unit of the inserter device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a surface image inspection unit of the printed matter inspection unit illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image reading unit of the surface image inspection unit illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoder unit of the image reading unit illustrated in FIG. 4;

6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a CCD camera of the image reading unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement state of a CCD camera of the image reading unit illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation principle of the line sensor of the CCD camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection unit of the surface image inspection unit illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a two-sided data matching unit of the printed matter inspection unit illustrated in FIG. 2;

11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating examples of printing paper to be processed by the inserter device illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 11A illustrates a front surface of the printing paper and FIG. 11B illustrates a back surface of the printing paper.

12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating another example of the printing paper to be processed by the inserter device illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating the front surface of the printing paper and FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating the back surface of the printing paper. is there.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inserter apparatus, 10 ... Printed matter supply part, 20 ... Printed matter inspection part, 110 ... Front side image inspection part, 120 ... Backside image inspection part, 130 ... Double-sided data matching part, 140 ... Control part,
150: Interface unit, 30: Burster unit, 4
0: Printed matter sorting section, 50: Inserter section, 60: Stacker section, 800: Printing paper, 801: Address, 802: Billing information, 803: Billing details, 804: Cue mark, 805: Advertising, 806: Bar Code, 807 ... Phone number

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI G01N 21/89 B41J 29/00 H G06T 7/00 G06F 15/62 410A (72) Inventor Tsutomu Yoneda Shirayama, Aso-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture JP-A-5-147628 (JP, A) JP-A-6-286030 (JP, A) JP-A-6-297693 (JP, A) JP-A-7 -68744 (JP, A) JP-A-60-73847 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B31B 1/00-49/04 B41F 33/14 B65B 57/10 B41J 29/00-29/70 G01N 21/89 G06T 7/00 G06F 15/62

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. Each variable data sequentially supplied is provided on both sides.
From printed materials which are printed over the first of the printed matter
First image sensor means for reading an image printed on the surface of the printed matter, and a second image printed on a second surface which is a back surface of the first surface of the printed matter.
A second image sensor means for reading the image was, and image data of the first plane read, the first
Based on the surface printing image data for printing, the said printing of the print image data for the first surface is examined, including the printing condition whether done properly
A first inspection unit, the read image data of the second surface,
Based on the print image data for printing the side
The printing of the printing image data is performed on the second surface.
Inspect for proper operation, including printing status
Second inspection means, and the read image data of the first surface and the second surface.
The printed matter is marked on the front and back of one printed matter based on the
The data to be printed is properly aligned and printed.
Third inspection means for inspecting whether or not the first inspection means, the first inspection means, the second inspection means, and the third inspection
As a result of inspection by means , at least one of the inspections
Has a defective printed matter removing means Oite printing removes the printed material is determined not done properly, and encapsulation means for encapsulating the test results, print the printed matter is determined to have been properly performed on the envelope Inserter device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising bar star means for cutting the printed material printed on the continuous paper and separating the printed material into individual printed materials, wherein each of the image sensor means reads an image of each printed material printed on the continuous paper. The defective printed matter removing means removes each printed matter separated by the bar star means based on a result of the inspection by each inspection means, and encloses the printed matter printed on continuous paper in an envelope.
The inserter device as described. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the third inspection unit is configured to execute
Image data of the read first and second surfaces
From each, the data content printed on each side can be identified
Identifiable data is extracted, and the identifiable
Compare different data and print the front and back of one printed matter on the print medium
The appropriate data is printed as the data to be printed on
3. The insert according to claim 1 or 2, which checks whether or not it is in operation.
Data device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second image sensor means include:
Each of the first surface and the second surface to be read
An overall sensor means for reading substantially all images of the
A predetermined portion including the identification data of the surface to be read;
Partial sensor means for reading an image of an area, wherein the first and second inspection means each comprise
All of the image sensor means or the second image sensor means
Based on image data read by body sensor means
Performing the inspection, wherein the third inspection means includes the first image sensor means or
Is the partial sensor means of the second image sensor means.
The inspection is performed based on the read image data.
The inserter device according to claim 3. Wherein said first and second inspection means, the first surface and the respective printing image data for printing the second side, said first and second image sensor means of the printed matter matching the respective image data that more read to detect those differences, inserter each determines claim 1, wherein any one whether the printing based on the amount of the difference is appropriately performed apparatus. 6. The first and second inspection means, respectively,
6. The inserter device according to claim 5, wherein the matching is performed based on the compressed bitmap data of the print image data and the read image data. 7. The read image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second inspection means are configured to execute the read image processing based on each format information of each print image data for printing the first surface and the second surface of the printed matter. respectively analyzes the format of the data, the inserter device according to claim 6, wherein one determines whether the printing is being performed properly.