JPS6027073B2 - Number inspection method - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a number inspection method for detecting printing errors, half returns, etc. of numbers on lottery tickets, securities, etc.

Conventionally, as a method of reading printed numbers, symbols, etc.
Optical reading systems such as OCR (optical character reading) and OMR (optical mark reading) are known.

However, these known methods are, for example, OCR-
It must be printed in standardized characters such as A font and OCR-B font, and the parts other than the readable numbers in the reading area must be printed with a special ink called dropout color. others,
There are many restrictions on the use of paper, such as the need to use special paper such as OCR paper due to readability requirements. Therefore, it cannot be used to inspect the numbers of general printed matter such as lottery tickets and securities, and inspection of these serial numbers has conventionally been performed visually. However, such a visual inspection method is difficult to completely prevent mistakes such as overlooking defective products, and is not preferable in terms of efficiency. This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and improves the reliability of number inspection by detecting defects such as wrong numbers and half-returns on common printed matter such as lottery tickets and securities by optical means. The present invention also aims to provide a number inspection method that can save the labor of inspection personnel.

That is, this invention reads the analog quantities of the last few digits of each number using a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements on a printed matter printed on multiple sides with only the automatically returned last few digits being the same number. A number checking method is provided, which is characterized in that a comparison is made using an analog comparator, and errors and half-returns in each number are detected depending on whether the difference is within a certain limit or not.

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

In the figure, 10 is a printed matter, with AI to A7 and BI on the top surface.
21 pages of ~B7 and CI~C7 are multi-sided printed in three rows.

A six-digit number is printed on each of these 21 pages, AI to C7, and the same number is printed on all but the first two digits and the last four digits. That is, out of a six-digit number, only the last four digits are automatically returned sequentially to vary the numerical values and the like to give consecutive numbers. After printing the numbers in this manner, the printed matter 10 passes through a drying unit, passes through a cooling cylinder (not shown), and is sent to a position where the tension is stable. three photoelectric conversion elements (such as CCD) A
, B, and C are arranged in parallel. In this way, the printed matter 10 has a speed of, for example, 1.3 to 1.5/sec. When moving at a speed of , the analog amount is detected for one character using a resolution matrix of 7 bits horizontally and 12 bits vertically, and the analog amounts between columns on each printing surface are compared by an analog comparator 12. In this case, theoretically -CCD of CCD
When {B-=0, CCD■-CCD[C}=0, it can be determined that the last four digits of the number are free from errors or defects, but in reality the numbers are attached to the printed matter, so Since the difference between the analog quantities described above does not become completely zero, it is necessary to set the allowable error in advance.

When the difference in the analog quantity determined by the analog comparator 12 is smaller than this tolerance, it is determined that there is no defect such as a wrong number in the last four digits or a half-return. It is detected that there is a defect such as a wrong number or a half-return. Please note that the first two digits of the number do not return automatically and are printed in a fixed state from start to finish, so you only need to check for defects such as incorrect numbers or half-returns first, and the number will not be inspected during subsequent printing. There is no problem. In this way, in this invention, only the analog quantity of the printed number is detected, and this is used as an analog value.

Because it detects defects such as incorrect numbers and half-returns by checking whether the difference in signal level is within a certain limit by comparing and comparing signals, it is possible to detect defects such as incorrect numbers and half-returns by checking whether the difference in signal level is within a certain limit or not. There are no restrictions on the number of tickets, and it can be suitably applied to defective inspections of consecutive numbers of lottery tickets, securities, etc., which was conventionally done visually. Therefore, according to the present invention, since defective numbers are detected continuously by optical means on printed matter transferred at high speed from a printing machine such as a rotary press, the efficiency of number inspection can be improved. At the same time, it is possible to improve the reliability of number inspection and save labor for inspection personnel. In addition, in the above embodiment, a case was described in which analog quantities were detected using three photoelectric conversion elements and compared with each other on a multi-sided printed product with 6-digit numbers arranged in 3 rows, but the present invention is not limited to this. number of digits in the number, number of automatic return digits to be detected, multi-sided printing arrangement,
It will be easily understood that the number of photoelectric conversion elements, the method of comparing analog quantities, etc. can be appropriately selected depending on the specific object to be inspected.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing is a block diagram for explaining one embodiment of the method of the present invention. 10... Printed matter, 12... Analog comparator, A, B,
C...Photoelectric conversion element.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Each number to be inspected is printed on multiple sides in parallel in multiple columns so that only the last few digits of each row are the same number and automatically returned in sequence, and then this printed matter is printed on multiple sides of the photoelectric conversion element. The analog quantities of the last several digits of the numbers in the same row are read for each column, and these analog quantities are compared by an analog comparator, and the value of each number is determined depending on whether the difference is within a certain limit. A number inspection method characterized by detecting errors and half-returns. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the number to be inspected is 6 digits, and the printed matter printed with the same number in the last 4 digits is read and compared with the analog quantity of the last 4 digits. Number inspection method. 3 Using 3 photoelectric conversion elements, select 3 printing numbers to be inspected.
The analog quantities of the last several digits of the three numbers in each column are read at the same time, and the analog quantities of the corresponding numbers in the first column and the analog quantities of the corresponding numbers in the second column are compared. Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the analog quantity of the relevant number is compared with the analog quantity of the relevant number in the third column, and it is detected whether these mutual analog quantities are within a certain limit or not. Number inspection method described in Section 2.