JPH11147308A - Printed pattern checking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printed pattern checking device which automatically monitors the degree of fouling of a light head. SOLUTION: A head member 21 has both light emitting element and light receiving element mounted side by side and at the same time, a transparent window plate is provided forward of each the elements. Further, the head member 21 is supported, in a freely movable manner, among printed pattern checking position, a fouling decision position and a cleaning position, and a light volume detector 41 which receives light from the light emitting element, a fouling decision gauge which decides the degree of fouling based on an output from the light volume detector 41 and a drive part which drives the head member 21 under control in accordance with the operating condition of a printer. When operating the printer, the head member 21 is moved to the printed pattern checking position to decide a printing condition based on the light received by the light receiving element from a reflected light originating from a printing paper. Further, when stopping the operation of the printer or the like, a light head is moved to the fouling decision position, and the light emitted by the light emitting element at the fouling decision position is projected to the light volume detector 41 to decide the fouling degree of the transparent window plate of the light head with the help of the fouling decision gauge.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printed picture inspection apparatus for automatically judging the degree of dirt on a transparent window plate of an optical head, and more particularly, to light emission by moving the optical head from an inspection position during non-inspection. The present invention relates to a printed picture inspection apparatus that causes light emitted from an element to enter a monitoring light receiver and determines the degree of contamination of an optical head based on the amount of light incident on the light receiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a printing machine is provided with a printed picture inspection apparatus to detect a printing defect caused by running out of ink or the like in a printed product. Such a printed pattern inspection apparatus usually includes an optical head in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are protected by a transparent window plate, and the light emitting element and the like face the printed surface of the printed matter at a position close to the printed matter. Arrange. Then, the print pattern inspection device irradiates light from the light emitting element through the transparent window plate to the printed surface of the printed matter, receives the reflected light from the printed surface with the light receiving element, and prints based on the amount of light received by the light receiving element. The presence or absence of a defect is determined.

[0003] Incidentally, the above-mentioned printed pattern inspection apparatus is
Since the optical head is disposed close to the printed matter, it is inevitable that paper dust and ink mist adhere to the transparent window plate of the optical head, and cleaning of the transparent window plate is indispensable. However, it is difficult to clean the transparent window plate because the optical head is located inside the printing press and is close to the printed matter, and the degree of dirt on the transparent window plate varies depending on the printing press. There was an inconvenience that it was difficult to grasp and determine the proper cleaning time.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-35507 discloses a color sorter in which a photoelectric chamber in which a light source is mounted is rotatably mounted on a shaft to facilitate cleaning of a window plate and the like of the photoelectric chamber. A photoelectric sorter is described. Therefore, this Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-3
It is considered that by applying the technology described in Japanese Patent No. 5507 to the optical head of the above-described printed pattern inspection apparatus, it is possible to easily clean the transparent window plate of the optical head.

[0005]

However, even in the apparatus described in JP-B-61-35507, the inspector must judge the degree of dirt on the window plate of the photoelectric chamber by his / her own sensitivity. It is not possible to quantitatively determine the contamination, and the cleaning work must be performed by stopping the apparatus at the discretion of the inspector, and cleaning cannot be performed at an appropriate time. There's a problem. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an apparatus for determining the dirt on a transparent window plate of an optical head that can accurately determine the dirt on a transparent window plate of an optical head and that can clean the transparent window plate at an appropriate time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printed picture inspection apparatus.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical head in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are mounted on a head member and a transparent window plate is provided on a front surface of the head member. The optical head is provided in the vicinity of the path of the printed printing paper sent from the printing press, and the light is emitted from the light emitting element to the printing surface of the printing paper through the transparent window plate to reflect light reflected by the printing surface. The light receiving element receives the light generated by the light receiving element, and inspects the printing state of the printing paper based on the amount of reflected light received by the light receiving element. A dirt determining device for determining the degree of dirt on the transparent window plate of the optical head, and a dirt determining device for determining the degree of dirt in the print pattern inspection position near the printing paper and the determining device. A driving unit for moving between the provided and controlled according to the drive unit to the operating state of the printing press.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the printed pattern inspection apparatus according to the invention, a first sensor that detects that the head member is located at a printed pattern inspection position is provided on the drive unit or the head member, and the optical head is located at the dirt determination position. The second to detect that
A sensor for inspecting the printing state of the printing surface of the printing paper only when the first sensor detects that the optical head is at the print pattern inspection position;
The degree of dirt is determined only when the optical head detects that the optical head is at the dirt determination position.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printed pattern inspection apparatus according to the first or second aspect,
Provide a movable lid that can be covered on the light receiving unit of the dirt determination device,
The movable lid is opened when the head member is located at the dirt determination position.

[0009]

The printing picture inspection apparatus according to the present invention controls a driving unit such as an actuator for driving a head member according to the operation state of the printing press, for example, when the printing press is stopped (interrupted). Then, the head member is moved to the dirt determination position, and to the printing pattern inspection position during operation of the printing press. At the print pattern inspection position, the printing surface of the printing paper is inspected, and at the stain determination position, light is emitted from the light emitting element to the stain determination device, and the stain level is determined based on the amount of light received by the stain determination device. . Therefore, it is not necessary to specifically stop the operation of the printing press for the determination of dirt, and the dirt determination can be performed without affecting printing.

[0010] In particular, the printed picture inspection apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention detects the position of the head member by the first sensor and the second sensor to inspect the printed matter (determination of the printed picture) and light. In order to judge the contamination of the sensor,
These inspections and judgments can be performed accurately, and high reliability can be obtained. In the printed pattern inspection apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the dirt determination device is provided with a movable lid that opens only at the time of dirt determination and covers the light receiving portion, the light receiving portion of the dirt determination device is prevented from being stained. it can.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 11 show a printed picture inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inspection apparatus, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same inspection apparatus in an operation state different from that of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 3, FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control system of the inspection apparatus, FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a main part of the control system, FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts showing a main routine of the control, FIG. Is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the control.

In FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, 10
A and 10B are printing machine frames erected in parallel,
Two guide rollers 11A and 11B are rotatably mounted on the printing press frames 10A and 10B while being vertically separated from each other.
A printed roll paper (print paper) P is movably mounted on these guide rollers 11A and 11B. Although not shown, the roll paper P is pulled out from the take-up roll, a pattern is printed on one surface (the lower surface in FIG. 1, a printing surface) by a printing machine, and the take-up roller, the cutting machine, and the like pass through the guide rollers 11A and 11B. It is led to.

A head member 21 is mounted on the printing press frames 10A and 10B, and a light amount detector (light receiver) 41 is attached below the head member 21. The head member 21 has printing machine frames 10A, 10A at both ends by supporting shafts 22A, 22B and arms 23A, 23B, respectively.
0B, and swings around the support shafts 22A and 22B between a print pattern inspection position (FIGS. 1 and 2), a stain determination position (FIGS. 3 and 4), and a cleaning position (FIGS. 5 and 6). Arm 23
The head member 21 is fixed to one end of A and 23B, the support shafts 22A and 22B are fixed to the middle part, and the air cylinders 24A and 24B are connected to the other end. Arms 23A, 2 described above
3B, the air cylinders 24A and 24B, etc. constitute a drive unit.

The head member 21 includes a plurality of light emitting elements 31.
And the light receiving element 32 are mounted in pairs, and the transparent window plate 39 is mounted. Light emitting element 31 and light receiving element 3
2 is connected to the printed picture inspection apparatus 99 and a stain determiner described later, and the light emitting element 31 emits light as is well known,
The light receiving element 32 receives the reflected light of the light emitted by the light emitting element 31. The transparent window plate 39 is made of a glass plate or a transparent resin plate, and is provided in front of the elements 31 and 32 in the light emission direction.

As will be described later, when the head member 21 is located at the print pattern inspection position, the light emitting element 31 emits light toward the printing surface of the roll paper P, and the light reflected from the printing surface is received by the light receiving element 32. Inspection of the printed picture to receive light. When the head member 21 is located at the dirt determination position,
Emits light toward the light amount detector 41 to determine the dirt on the transparent window plate 39. Further, when the head member 21 is located at the cleaning position, the operator cleans the transparent window plate 39.

Although not shown or described in detail, the printing abnormality determination unit determines a printing abnormality based on the amount of light received by the light receiving element 31 and outputs a printing abnormality alarm when a printing abnormality occurs. . The head member 21 and the elements 31 and 32 constitute an optical head. In addition, the cleaning position described above can be set at any position, not only between the print pattern inspection position and the dirt determination position, and the cleaning can be performed not only manually by the operator but also by an automatic cleaning device. It is.

The air cylinders 24A and 24B are respectively
The cylinder body is swingably attached to the printing press frames 10A, 10B, and the rod ends are attached to the arms 23A, 23A.
Connect to B. The air cylinders 24A and 24B are connected to a source of compressed air via a solenoid valve 78 or the like,
The head member 21 is oscillated by pressurized air supplied through the head. Although not shown, the solenoid valve 78 is connected to the controller 90 and is controlled according to the operating state of the printing press. The air cylinders 24A and 24B are
8, the compressed air is supplied by the energization control, and the head member 2
1 is driven to one of a print pattern inspection position, a stain determination position, and a cleaning position.

The air cylinders 24A and 24B have
First sensor 28 for detecting the three operating positions described above
a, a second sensor 28a and a third sensor 28c are provided. These sensors 28a, 28b, 28c are connected to the printing press controller 90, and the first sensor 28a outputs a detection signal when the air cylinders 24A, 24B are in the operating position for positioning the head member 21 at the printing pattern inspection position. Sensors 28a are air cylinders 24A, 24B
Is in the operating position for positioning the head member 21 at the dirt determination position, and the third sensor 28c controls the detection signal when the air cylinders 24A and 24B are in the operating position for positioning the head member 21 in the cleaning position. 90
Output to (ON). Note that these sensors 28 and 29 can be replaced by a microswitch or the like that detects that the head member 21, the arms 23A and 23B, and the like are located at the print pattern inspection position, the stain determination position, and the cleaning position.

The light amount detector 41 is attached to the printing press frame 10A by a bracket 49, and a stain detector 50 is provided.
Connected to. The light amount detector 41 includes a light receiving unit 41a including a light receiving element and a cover 89 that covers the light receiving unit 41a.
And An opening 89a is formed in the cover 89,
A lid 88 is attached by a hinge so that the opening 89a can be opened and closed. The cover 88 includes two links 81 and 82.
The arm 80A is connected to the arm 23A by the linkage 80 having the arm member 23, and opens and closes according to the swing of the arm 23A, that is, the head member 21.

As will be described later, when the head member 21 is located at the dirt determination position, the light amount detector 41 receives the light emitted from the light emitting element 31 by opening the opening 89a of the cover 89 by the cover 88. A detection signal representing the light amount is output to the stain determiner 50. The light amount detector 41 and the stain determiner 5
0 constitutes the dirt determination means. In addition, the above-mentioned lid 88
Can be driven by an actuator such as a solenoid based on the outputs of the sensors 28a, 28b and 28c described above.

As shown in FIG. 8, the dirt determination unit 50 has a determination unit 51, a reference input unit 52, and an output unit 53. The light quantity detector 41 is connected to the determination unit 51, and the output unit 53 is connected to the controller. Connecting. In the stain determiner 50, the reference value input unit 52 outputs a reference value signal to the determination unit 51, and the determination unit 5
1 compares the detection signal input from the light amount detector 41 with the reference value signal and outputs a determination signal to the output unit 53. When the detection signal is smaller than the reference value signal (the light amount of the light received by the light amount detector 41) Is smaller than the set value), a light amount reduction signal is output from the output unit 53 to the controller 90.

The controller 90 includes, as shown in FIG.
It consists of a well-known sequencer, etc.
1. Inspection position switch 71a, cleaning position switch 71
b, a light quantity detection position switch 71c, an alarm reset switch 72, a printing press control panel 73, a stain determiner 50, a first sensor 28 and a second sensor 29, and an inspection position confirmation lamp 74 on the output side. Cleaning position confirmation lamp 7
5. The position failure alarm lamp 76, the dirt alarm lamp 77, the normal light amount display lamp 79, the picture inspection device 99, and the solenoid valve 78 are connected.

Although the detailed description is omitted, the changeover switch 7
Reference numeral 1 has two switching positions, manual and automatic, and is used for switching modes. The inspection position switch 71a is for inspecting a printed pattern in the manual mode, the cleaning position switch 71b is for cleaning in the manual mode, and the light amount detection position switch 71c is for determining the stain on the transparent window plate 39 in the manual mode. Used to perform The alarm reset switch 72 is used to stop the alarm,
The printing press control panel 73 is used to control the operation of the printing press and outputs a printing press operation signal.
75, 76, 77 and 79 are driven and lit when applicable.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. The printed picture inspection apparatus according to this embodiment performs a series of processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. That is, in step S101, it is determined whether the mode by the changeover switch 71 is the manual mode or the automatic mode,
Executes processing according to the mode.

First, the case of the automatic mode will be described. If it is determined in step S101 that the automatic mode has been set, it is determined in step S102 whether an operation signal has been input from the printing press.
That is, it is determined whether the printing press is performing printing,
If the operation signal has been input, the processing after step S103 is performed, and if the operation signal has not been input, the processing after step S109 is performed.

In step S103, the solenoid valve 78
To drive the head member 21 to the print pattern inspection position (FIGS. 1 and 2) by the air cylinders 24A and 24B. In the next step S104, it is determined whether or not the first sensor 28a outputs (turns on) the detection signal, that is, whether or not the head member 21 is positioned at the print pattern inspection position. If is not at the print pattern inspection position, the processing of step S105 is performed, and if the head member 21 is at the print pattern inspection position, the inspection processing of step S106 is performed.

In step S106, the inspection position confirmation lamp 74 and the like are turned on, an inspection position signal is output to the pattern inspection device 99, and a print pattern is output based on the output signal of the light receiving element 32 input in the pattern inspection device 99. Inspection. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, light is emitted from the light emitting element 31 to the printed printing paper sent from the printing press, and the light reflected by the printing surface of the printing paper is received by the light receiving element 32. Then, based on the output signal of the light receiving element 32, the picture inspection apparatus 99 inspects whether there is a printing abnormality.

In step S105, step S
It is determined whether or not a predetermined time T1 has elapsed since the power supply to the solenoid valve 78 of 103 has been turned off. If the predetermined time T1 has not elapsed, the processing from step S104 is repeatedly performed. If the predetermined time T1 has elapsed, The position defect processing of step S107 is performed. In step S107, the position failure warning lamp 76 and the like are turned on, and a print stop command signal and the like are output as necessary. Then, the next step S1
At 08, it is determined whether or not the processing is to be ended. If the processing is ended, a series of processing is ended. If not, the processing from step S101 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S102 that the operation signal of the printing press has not been input, step S109 is performed.
The electromagnetic valve 78 is energized to drive the head member 21 to the dirt determination position (FIGS. 3 and 4) by the air cylinders 24A and 24B. Subsequently, in step S110, it is determined whether or not the second sensor 28b outputs (turns on) the detection signal, that is, whether or not the head member 21 is located at the dirt determination position. If it is located at the dirt determination position, the dirt monitoring process of step S111 is performed, and if the head member 21 is not located at the dirt determination position, the process of step S112 is performed.

In step S111, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, light is emitted from the light emitting element 31 to the light quantity detector 41 while the head member 21 is located at the dirt determination position. The amount of the received light is determined by the dirt determiner 50 to detect the degree of dirt on the light emitting element 31, and notification of the degree of dirt, cleaning, and the like are performed. That is, in this step S111, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
0 determines whether or not a light quantity reduction signal has been output. If the light quantity reduction signal has been output, the dirt warning lamp 77 is turned on in step S202, and if the light quantity reduction signal has not been output, it is normal in step S203. The normal display lamp 79 indicating that the state is correct is turned on.

In step S112, step S112
It is determined whether or not a predetermined time T2 has elapsed since the energization of the solenoid valve 78 of step 109. If the predetermined time T2 has not elapsed, the processing from step S112 is repeated, and if the predetermined time has elapsed. For example, a position defect process is performed in step S113. In this step S113, lighting of the position error warning lamp 76 and the like are performed.

If it is determined in step S102 that the manual mode has been set by the changeover switch 71, as shown in FIG. 10, whether the cleaning position switch 71b has been turned on in step S114 or whether the cleaning position switch 71b has been turned on in step S115. In step S116, whether the inspection position switch 71a is turned on or not is determined.
It is determined whether or not c is turned on. If the cleaning position switch 71b has been turned on, the processing after step S117 is performed, and the inspection position switch 71b is turned on.
If “a” has been turned on, the process from step S103 onward is performed, and if the light amount detection position switch 71c has been turned on, the process from step S109 onward is performed.

In step S117, the solenoid valve 78
To drive the head member 21 to the cleaning position (FIGS. 5 and 6) by the air cylinders 24A and 24B. Subsequently, in step S118, it is determined whether or not the third sensor 28c outputs a detection signal (ON), that is, whether or not the head member 21 is located at the cleaning position.
If 1 is located at the cleaning position, a cleaning process is performed in step S119. In step S119, the cleaning position confirmation lamp 75 is turned on, and an operation stop command signal is output to the printing press, so that the operator cleans the transparent window plate 39.
Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a considerable space is secured in front of the transparent window plate 39, so that the cleaning operation can be easily performed.

In step S118, the head member 21
Is determined not to have reached the cleaning position, a predetermined time T3 has elapsed from energization of the solenoid valve 78 in step S120.
Is determined, and if the predetermined time T3 has not elapsed, the processing from step S118 is repeatedly executed.
If the predetermined time T3 has elapsed, the position defect processing of step S121 is performed. The position defect processing in step S120 is performed in the same manner as in steps S107 and S113 described above.

In the above-described embodiment, the head member 21 is swung to move between the two positions of the inspection position and the dirt determination position. Can also be moved. When the head shape is large or the degree of dirt is not uniform, a plurality of dirt determiners 50 can be provided.

[0036]

As described above, according to the printed picture inspecting apparatus of the present invention, the light from the light emitting element of the optical head is received, and the degree of contamination of the transparent window plate is determined based on the received light. A printing device, wherein the drive unit drives the optical head while controlling the optical head to be movable between a print pattern inspection position and a dirt determination position. During operation of the printer, light is emitted from the light emitting element to the printing paper, the reflected light from the printing paper is received by the light receiving element, and the printing state is determined based on the light received by the light receiving element. Move the optical head to the dirt determination position and irradiate the light emitted from the light emitting element at the dirt determination position by the dirt determination means to determine the degree of dirt, so that the optical head can be operated without affecting the operation of the printing press. Transparent window Dirt determined automatically and objectively performed, easily cleaned and set to a position apart a cleaning position of the transparent window plate of the head member from the printing machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a printed picture inspection apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the printed picture inspection apparatus in a state different from FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrows BB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the printed picture inspection apparatus in a state different from FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows CC in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control system of the printed picture inspection apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a dirt determination in the control system.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a part of a main routine in a control process of the printing picture inspection apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the remaining part of the main routine in the control processing of the printed picture inspection apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine in the control processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10A, 10B Printer frame 11A, 11B Guide roller 21 Head member 22A, 22B Support shaft 23A, 23B Arm 24A, 24B Air cylinder (actuator) 28a First sensor 28b Second sensor 28c Third sensor 31 Light emitting element 32 Light receiving element 39 Transparent window plate 41 Light intensity detector (receiver) 50 Dirt determiner (dirt determination means) 74 Inspection position confirmation lamp 75 Cleaning position confirmation lamp 76 Position failure alarm lamp 77 Low light intensity alarm lamp 80 Linkage 88 Cover 89 Cover 89a Opening 90 Controller P Printing paper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A light emitting element and a light receiving element are attached to a head member, a transparent window plate is provided on the front surface of the head member to constitute an optical head, and the optical head is used to send a printed printing paper sent from a printing machine. Provided in the vicinity, the light emitting element irradiates light to the printing surface of the printing paper from the light emitting element through the transparent window plate, receives light reflected by the printing surface by the light receiving element, and performs the printing based on the amount of reflected light received by the light receiving element. In a printing pattern inspection apparatus for inspecting a printing state of a sheet, a dirt determination device that receives light generated by the light receiving element and determines the degree of dirt on the transparent window plate of the optical head based on the amount of the light is provided. A driving unit that moves the head member between a print pattern inspection position near a printing sheet and a dirt determination device that determines the degree of dirt in the determination device, and controls the driving unit to operate the printing press. Printing picture inspection apparatus and controls depending on the state. 2. The print pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit or the head member includes a first sensor that detects that the head member is located at a print pattern inspection position, and the optical head includes: A second sensor for detecting that the optical head is located at the dirt determination position, and only when the optical sensor detects that the optical head is at the print pattern inspection position, A printed picture inspection apparatus for inspecting a printing state and determining a degree of contamination only when the second sensor detects that the optical head is at the contamination determination position. 3. The printed picture inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a movable cover that can be covered is provided on a light receiving section of the stain determination apparatus,
The printed picture inspection apparatus, wherein the movable cover is opened when the head member is located at the dirt determination position.