JPH03167453A - Printing inspection apparatus for serial number - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform printing of serial numbers accurately and automatically, to prevent working mistake and to save labor by performing reprinting control for a printing means based on the result of inspection when the result of the inspection with an inspecting means becomes faulty. CONSTITUTION:When a conveying means 3 sequentially conveys a plurality of media to be printed, a printing means 4 prints serial numbers whose number is sequentially different for every sheet for the individual media to be printed which are conveyed with the conveying means 4. Each medium to be printed whose printing is finished is conveyed to a position in an inspecting means 5 with the conveying means 3. The inspecting means 5 inspects the printed state of the serial number on each medium to be printed and sends the result of the inspection to a control means 6 when the printed state is faulty. The control means 6 performs control for reprinting the serial number which is judged as faulty for the printing means 4 based on the result of the inspection. In this way, the printing means 4 reprints the serial number which is judged as faulty for the following medium to be printed. The media to be printed after the printing and the inspection like this are sequentially conveyed out with the conveying means 3.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a printing inspection device for consecutive numbers, and more specifically, to a printing inspection device for printing consecutive numbers, such as New Year's postcards and banknotes. The present invention relates to a serial number printing inspection device for producing printing media such as lottery tickets, which are serially numbered and do not allow duplication of the same number.

(Prior art) Conventionally, serial numbers (including characters other than numbers) are printed on print materials such as New Year's postcards, banknotes, and lottery tickets to create printed materials with consecutive and unique (no duplication) numbers. Automatically rotating serial number printing heads were often used. This serial number printing head has a mechanism in which the lower digits, including carry, change every time it is printed. Therefore, even if an inspection device is installed, if a printing defect occurs, the machine must be stopped and corrections must be made, such as restoring the printing number to the original number, or the defective product must be marked with a label and then reprinted all at once. The exchange process was then carried out. For this reason, work efficiency was poor, and the frequency of correction or replacement errors was high.

In addition, equipment using the serial number letterpress printing method has been put into practical use, but the serial number letterpress printing method is prone to "blotting" and "fading" due to the amount of ink, as well as "half chipping" due to malfunction of the type head rotation. ” etc. are likely to occur, and for this reason, for the printing process in the above cases where the yield measures that are applied to the original quality control of printed matter are not allowed, there is still the problem that work loss when printing defects occur is extremely large. Ta.

Furthermore, recently, devices for confirming winning numbers on lottery tickets have been put into practical use.

In lottery tickets read by such devices,
In order to improve the reading accuracy of the device, it is desirable that a confirmation number (check digit) be provided in the printed number in addition to the original number.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned serial number print head or letterpress printing method, it is very difficult to add a confirmation number due to its mechanism.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to accurately and automatically print consecutive numbers on printing media, thereby preventing work errors and saving labor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing inspection device for sequential numbers that can perform continuous number printing.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) An apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveying means for sequentially conveying a plurality of printing media, and a serial number assigned to each printing medium conveyed by the conveying means. a printing means for printing, and an inspection means for inspecting whether the printing condition of the printing means is good or bad;
The control means controls the operations of the conveyance means, the printing means, and the inspection means, and also controls the printing means to reprint based on the inspection results when the inspection results of the inspection means are defective. be.

(for production) The operation of the device having the above structure will be explained below.

When the conveying means of this apparatus sequentially conveys a plurality of printing media, the printing means prints a sequential number that is different one by one on each printing medium conveyed by the conveying means. Each printed medium is transported by the transport means to the position of the inspection means.

The inspection means inspects the printing condition of the serial numbers on each printing medium, and when the printing condition is poor, sends the inspection result to that effect to the control means.

The control means controls the printing means to reprint the serial numbers determined to be defective based on the inspection results.

As a result, the printing means reprints the defective serial number on subsequent printing media.

After the printing process and inspection process have been completed, the printing medium is sequentially transported out by the conveyance means.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

The serial number printing inspection apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a conveying means 3 that conveys a large number of postcards 2 as printing media one by one and also has a function of detecting the conveying position, and For each postcard 2 conveyed by the means 3, for example,
printing means 4 for printing consecutive numbers such as 9 sets 123;
An inspection means 5 which inspects the printing condition of the postcard 2 on which serial numbers have been printed by the printing means 4 and sends inspection results indicating good or bad to a control means 6 to be described later, the conveyance means 3, the printing means 4 and the inspection means a control means 6 which controls the operation of the means 5 and also controls reprinting of the printing means 4 based on the inspection result indicating a defect from the inspection means 5; and an input terminal means 7 comprising a CRT display 8 and a keyboard 9. Equipped with:

As shown in FIG.
drive motor system 11 in the direction of arrow X, and first and second sensors 12A that detect the transport positions P1 and P2 of the postcard by the transport section 10 and emit position signals indicating the printable state and inspection possible state.
, 12B. 1st
, the second sensors 12A, 12B are connected to the printing means 4, respectively.
The vicinity of the printing stage 15 and the inspection means 5 constituting the
A light emitting element 14 arranged near an imaging section 19 that constitutes a
It is composed of an A1 light receiving element 14B.

The printing means 4 includes a printing stage 15 arranged so that its upper surface coincides with the plane formed by the belt of the conveying section 10;
A dot print evening type printer head 1 that prints dot characters and numbers is placed above the printing stage 15.
6, a character pattern generation circuit 17 consisting of a character generator, a font ROM, etc. that generates patterns of letters and numbers, and for this character pattern generation circuit 17,
It sends a selection signal to select a character or number pattern, captures the selected print pattern, and prints it to the printer head 1.
The printing controller 18 is provided with a print controller 18 that performs printing control for 6.

The imaging means 5 includes a TV disposed above the conveyance section 10.
An imaging unit 19 such as a camera, a pattern memory 20 that stores a large number of standard patterns for character and numeric recognition in advance, and a pattern memory 20 that takes in image signals from the imaging unit 19 and sends a selection signal to the pattern memory 20 for selection. An inspection unit 21 compares the inspected pattern with the image signal to check whether the image signal is good or bad, that is, whether the characters and numbers in the printed state are good or bad, and whether the quality is good or bad, and sends the results as a judgment signal to the control means 6. It is equipped with.

The method of character recognition and discrimination in the inspection unit 21 includes, for example, the composite similarity method (see Japanese Patent No. 739890). This method calculates the inner product of the image signal pattern to be inspected and the reference pattern, calculates the square value of the result of the inner product calculation, and then calculates the sum of the square values, and then performs the test using this sum. This is to determine whether the pattern of the desired image signal is good or bad.

The control means 6 sends a display signal to the CRT display 8 of the human terminal means 7, and also sends a print character code (JIS It has become.

Furthermore, the control means 6 controls the operation of the conveying means 3 and sends an inspection character code and an inspection instruction signal to the inspection section 21.

Further, the control means 6 calculates a confirmation number (check digit) when sending the print character code to the print controller 18 mentioned above, and adds it to the print character code.

Any method may be used to add the check digit, but it is convenient to use the last digit of the number created by adding all the digits. At that time, the alphabetic characters A, B, C are 10.1
It may be replaced with numbers such as 1, 12, etc. For example rA89
The check digit of -123J is 10+8+9+1
+2+3=33, which is the last digit of 3.

Next, the operation of the device 1 having the above configuration is shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b).
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the operator of this device 1 uses the keyboard 9 to specify the serial number to be printed on each postcard 2 (
STI). Specify the range of consecutive numbers as "A89 group 200"
A common method is to specify a certain range by descending numbers, such as from No. to "A89 group 101".

Control means 6 that receives a range designation signal from the keyboard 9
prepares the initial number of the printing character number based on this signal (ST2), and instructs the drive motor system 11 of the transport means 3 to prepare for transport (ST3). Send driving instructions (ST4).

As a result, the drive motor system 11 starts and serves as a postcard 2.
is transported to the printing stage 15.

At this time, the first sensor 12A detects the postcard 2 and sends a position signal to the control means 6 indicating that it is ready for printing (
ST6).

The control means 6 that has received this position signal sends a print instruction to the print controller 18 with a printing number character code attached based on the initial number (ST7, 8).

Thereby, the print controller 18 sends a selection signal for selecting a print pattern corresponding to the initial number to the character pattern generation circuit 17, selects the corresponding print pattern, and controls printing of the printer head 16 based on this. . As a result, the printer head 16 is placed at a predetermined position on the postcard 2, for example, as shown in FIG.
Print sequential numbers like .

When the printing process is completed, the print controller 18 sends a print end signal to the control means 6.

The control means 6 issues a conveyance instruction to the drive motor system 11 of the conveyance means 3 based on the print end signal. As a result, the drive motor system 11 is restarted and the postcard 2 is conveyed to the inspection stage (not shown) below the imaging section 19 (ST9). At this time, the second sensor 12B of the conveying means 3 detects the postcard 2,
Sends a position signal indicating an inspection ready state to the control means 6 (ST
IO).

Based on this position signal, the control means 6 prepares an inspection character code that is the same as the print character code sent to the print controller 18 described above (ST11), and sends an inspection instruction signal with this inspection character code to the inspection unit 21. (ST12). The check digit described above is also added to this check character code.

The inspection section 21 issues an imaging instruction to the imaging section 19, and also sends a selection signal to the pattern memory 20 based on the inspection character code to read out the corresponding pattern to be inspected.

Furthermore, the inspection unit 21 stores the image signal pattern of “A89 group 123” captured by the imaging unit 19 and the pattern memory 20.
A comparison test with the pattern to be read out and the test target pattern is performed using the above-mentioned composite similarity method or the like (ST13).

As a result of the above-mentioned inspection by the inspection section 21, if it is determined that the printing condition of the postcard 2 is defective because the second last digit "2" is missing as shown in FIG. A determination signal to the effect is sent to the control means 6.

As a result, the control means 6 instructs the conveyance means 3 to remove the postcard 2, and also sends a printing number character code indicating the serial number "A89 group 123" to the print controller 18, similar to the case described above (ST14).

As a result, the printer head 16 prints the subsequent postcard 2 on the print stage 15 based on the same operation as described above.
prints the number "A89 group 123".

Note that it is convenient for the management of this apparatus 1 to make the printing number match the inspection number of the inspection section 21.

In this way, if the inspection unit 21 determines that the printing is defective, the postcard 2 with the printing defect is automatically excluded, and the same number as the number that was determined to be the printing defect is printed on subsequent postcards 2. Therefore, compared to the conventional example, the effort of replacing postcards 2, etc. can be saved, and printing efficiency can be greatly improved.

On the other hand, if the test result in step 13 described above is good, that is, if the printing condition of the postcard 2 is good, the control means 6 that has received the judgment signal at this time issues a transport instruction to the drive motor system 11. As a result, postcard 2 is accumulated (ST15
).

Thereafter, the subsequent postcard 2 is sent onto the printing stage 15 in the same way as in the case described above, and when the position signal is sent from the first sensor 13A to the control means 6, the control means 6 The next consecutive number after “123” is “A89 group 122”
A print number character code indicating the print number is sent to the print controller 18.

As a result, "A89 group 122" is printed on the postcard 2 on the printing stage 18.

This process is carried out until all the number ranges specified in the initial stage have been printed, and when the process is finished, the control means 6 controls the conveyance means 3.
A stop instruction is issued to (ST16 and ST17).

Finally, the control means 6 creates a tally sheet including the printing number, number of good items, number of defective items, etc. (ST18), and sends this to the CRT display 8 for display. Furthermore, the total information may be sent to a printer and printed out if necessary.

Note that if the printing range is not completed by the operation in step 16 described above, the printing number and the inspection number are changed (ST19), and then the process returns to step 5.

In addition to the embodiments described above, the present invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of its gist.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described in detail above, with the above structure, consecutive numbers can be printed accurately and on a large number of printing media.
Furthermore, it is possible to provide a continuous number printing inspection device that can perform automatic inspection, eliminate work errors, and contribute to labor savings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the same device, Fig. 3 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the state of printing on postcards in the same device, Fig. 3 (b) is a plan view showing a postcard with poor printing, and Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Print inspection device, 2... Postcard as a printing medium, 3... Conveying means, 4... Printing means, 5... Inspection means, 6... Control means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A conveying means for sequentially conveying a plurality of printing media, a printing means for printing a serial number on each printing medium conveyed by the conveying means, and a method for improving the printing condition by this printing means. , an inspection means for inspecting defects, and controlling the operations of the conveying means, printing means, and inspection means, and controlling the printing means to reprint based on the inspection result when the inspection result by the inspection means is defective. What is claimed is: 1. A continuous number print inspection device, characterized in that it has a control means for performing the following steps.