Information processing system and program

Abstract

To enable processing for coping with detected abnormalities to be determined if a plurality of different kinds of abnormalities are detected from one printed matter.SOLUTION: An inspection control part 34 inspects the existence / nonexistence of an error (abnormality) in a printed matter printed by a printer 20. Then, the inspection control part 34 executes first error corresponding processing associated with a first error if only the first error is detected from the printed matter. Also, the inspection control part 34 executes second error corresponding processing associated with a second error if only the second error being an error of a kind different from the first error from the printed matter. Further, the inspection control part 34 executes third error corresponding processing if both the first error and the second error are detected from the printed matter.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an inspection device that inspects printed matter for defects based on the results of reading the printed matter imaged by an image forming unit, and switches the control of the image forming unit depending on the type of defect detected, thereby taking appropriate action depending on the type of defect in the printed matter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-137718 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In some cases, an inspection device inspects printed materials printed by a printing device to determine whether or not there are any abnormalities. In such cases, depending on the type of abnormality detected, an action such as interrupting printing or reprinting is taken. However, even if an action to be taken for each type of abnormality detected is set, if multiple abnormalities of different types are detected in a single printed material, it is not possible to determine what action to take.

[0005] The object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing system and program that can determine processing to deal with detected abnormalities when multiple abnormalities of different types are detected from a single printed document. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a processor, Inspect the printed matter for abnormalities, If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, a first process associated with the first anomaly is executed; If only a second anomaly, which is an anomaly of a different type from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, a second process associated with the second anomaly is executed; If both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, a third process is executed.

[0007] A second aspect of the information processing system of the present disclosure is the information processing system of the first aspect, wherein the processor executes the first processing as the third processing when the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality.

[0008] In a third aspect of the information processing system of the present disclosure, in the information processing system of the second aspect, the processor executes the first processing as the third processing if the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality and if the area in which the first abnormality was detected does not overlap with the area in which the second abnormality was detected, and executes the second processing as the third processing if the area in which the first abnormality was detected overlaps with the area in which the second abnormality was detected.

[0009] An information processing system of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is the information processing system of the first aspect, wherein when both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, the processor executes a process different from either the first process or the second process as the third process.

[0010] An information processing system according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is the information processing system according to the fourth aspect, wherein the processor executes, as the third process, a process that has been accepted in advance by a user selection.

[0011] A program according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure includes: inspecting a printed matter for the presence or absence of an abnormality; If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, executing a first process associated with the first anomaly; When only a second anomaly, which is a different type of anomaly from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, executing a second process associated with the second anomaly; and executing a third process when both the first anomaly and the second anomaly are detected in the printed material. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the information processing system of the first aspect of the present disclosure, when a plurality of different types of abnormalities are detected from one printed material, it is possible to determine processing to deal with the detected abnormalities.

[0013] According to the information processing system of the second aspect of the present disclosure, when multiple abnormalities of different types are detected from a single printed document, it is possible to execute the processing set for the abnormality with the highest set priority.

[0014] According to the information processing system of the third aspect of the present disclosure, when multiple abnormalities of different types are detected from a single printed material and the areas in which the multiple abnormalities are detected overlap, it is possible to perform processing that is not based on the set priority.

[0015] According to the information processing system of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, when multiple abnormalities of different types are detected from a single printed document, it is possible to perform processing different from the processing set for each of the multiple abnormalities.

[0016] According to the information processing system of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, when a plurality of different types of abnormalities are detected from one printed material, it is possible to execute a process selected in advance by the user.

[0017] According to the program of the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, when a plurality of different types of abnormalities are detected in one printed material, it is possible to determine processing to deal with the detected abnormalities. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where a print defect is detected on the fourth page and reprinting is performed when printing 10 pages on A4 size paper. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram for explaining the types and contents of inspections performed by inspection device 30. FIG. [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing example images of an inspection target on which various different types of inspections are performed; [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of an error handling process for handling a detected error. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a setting table showing the correspondence between test types and error handling processes. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen when changing priority settings that set priorities for each examination type. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a case where priorities are set for a plurality of types of examinations, thereby setting priorities among the types of examinations. [Figure 11] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing patterns of a method for determining an error handling process when a plurality of different types of inspections are performed on an inspection target image such as that shown in FIG. 4 with priorities set. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which multiple inspection error occurrence regions overlap. [Figure 13]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example in which multiple inspection error occurrence regions overlap. [Figure 14] 10 is an example of a priority table in which priorities are set when areas in which errors are detected overlap. [Figure 15] 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 16 is a flowchart for explaining details of the process of step S105 described in the flowchart of FIG. 15. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a printing device 20, an inspection device 30, and a post-processing device 40.

[0022] The printing device 20 has a function of storing paper sheets and printing images on the stored paper sheets. The inspection device 30 receives paper sheets with images printed on them from the printing device 20 and inspects whether there are any abnormalities in the print results printed on the paper sheets, specifically inspecting the images to see if there are any print stains or the like in the printed images, whether there are any bent corners, and whether there are any abnormalities such as misalignment in the printed images.

[0023] In this image inspection, the inspection device 30 receives image data of an image printed on paper from the printing device 20 as a reference image, scans the image of the printed paper transported from the printing device 20, compares the received reference image with the scanned image, and inspects whether there are any abnormalities in the image printed on the transported paper.

[0024] Then, the post-processing device 40 performs various post-processing such as folding, stapling, punching holes, and booklet production on the sheets after inspection by the inspection device 30, and discharges the sheets to a designated discharge tray. Note that the inspection device 30 may be configured to perform inspection after post-processing by the post-processing device 40 has been performed.

[0025] In this type of image forming system 10, if an abnormality is detected in a certain sheet of paper by the inspection device 30, the discharge destination of the sheet in question is switched and the sheet is discharged to a discharge tray other than the normal discharge tray. However, if such a process is performed and an abnormality is detected in the sheet of a certain page during inspection, simply reprinting that page will result in the page order being shifted and multiple consecutive pages of printed material no longer being printed in the correct order.

[0026] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a case will be described in which, when printing 10 pages on A4 size paper, the fourth page is determined to be defective.

[0027] In such a case, since the subsequent pages, pages 5 to 8, have already been printed, it is not sufficient to reprint only the page 4 determined to be poorly printed. When the inspection device 30 determines that page 4 is poorly printed, pages 5 to 8 have already been printed in the printing device 20 and remain inside the device. Therefore, a purge process must be performed in which the five sheets of paper, pages 4 to 8, are treated as purged pages and discharged to a discard tray. Then, by reprinting from page 4 after performing this purge process, it is possible to obtain print results that do not include the poorly printed page.

[0028] There are various types of inspections that can be performed by the inspection device 30. The types of inspections that can be performed by the inspection device 30 and their contents are shown in FIG.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the inspection device 30 performs five types of inspections: image inspection, code inspection, registration error inspection (hereinafter abbreviated as registration error inspection), density unevenness inspection, and dog-ear inspection.

[0030] Examples of images of the inspection target on which these various inspections are performed are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 shows examples of when code inspection, image inspection, and dog-ear inspection are performed.

[0031] Image inspection is an inspection to check for printing defects such as print stains. For example, image inspection detects stains and white spots in the example image shown in Figure 4 as printing defects. In this image inspection, the image data of the image printed on paper is used as a reference image, and the image of the paper after printing is compared with a scanned image, and the presence of printing defects such as print stains is detected by detecting the color difference. If a threshold value is set for the color difference, a printing defect is determined when a color difference equal to or greater than the threshold is detected.

[0032] Code inspection is an inspection that reads a code image such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark) and determines whether the information displayed by the code image matches the preset content. In this code inspection, an inspection error occurs when the code image cannot be read or when the read result differs from the pre-expected content. Code inspection also includes reading text contained in a printed image with an OCR (Optical Character Reader) and determining whether the read text matches the preset content.

[0033] In addition, the misregistration inspection checks whether there is any misalignment between the printed image and the printing paper. Specifically, the misregistration inspection checks whether the misalignment of the printing position is equal to or greater than a preset value. In addition, the density unevenness inspection checks whether the density unevenness in the printed image is equal to or greater than a preset value. Image stability is inspected by both the misregistration inspection and the density unevenness inspection. In addition, the dog-ear inspection checks whether there is any paper fold at the page edge of the printing paper.

[0034] In the image forming system 10 of this embodiment, when an error is detected in the various types of inspections as described above, an error handling process for dealing with the detected error is set in advance.

[0035] A specific example of such an error handling process is shown in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 5, handling processes for detected errors can be broadly divided into two categories, depending on whether or not the above-mentioned purge process is performed. Furthermore, when purge process is performed, it can be broadly divided into two categories, depending on whether or not reprinting is performed.

[0036] When reprinting, there are cases where reprinting is performed an infinite number of times until no more errors are detected, and cases where reprinting is performed a preset number of times, such as once, five times, etc. When reprinting a preset number of times, there are cases where the error handling process ends after reprinting the preset number of times, and cases where the system enters a state waiting for user operation.

[0037] If the purge process is not executed, printing may be interrupted or not interrupted. If printing is interrupted, printing may be interrupted and the error handling process may be terminated, or printing may be interrupted and the printer may transition to a state waiting for user operation. If printing is not interrupted, error handling is executed, which involves ejecting the entire print job, including the page on which the error occurred.

[0038] As described above, there are multiple types of tests that can be performed when inspecting print results, and multiple countermeasures that can be taken if an error is detected during the tests, so it is necessary to associate each type of test with the countermeasures that will be taken if an error is detected. For example, if the correspondence between test types and error countermeasures is set up as a table, as shown in Figure 6, it will be possible to execute a countermeasure to deal with the error if an error occurs during one of the multiple types of tests.

[0039] In the settings table shown in Figure 6, we can see that the error handling action set for the inspection type "Image inspection" is "Reprint up to five times," the error handling action set for the inspection type "Code inspection" is "Print interruption," and the error handling action set for the inspection type "Dog-ear inspection" is "Reprint only once."

[0040] By associating the test type with the error handling procedure in advance in this way, if only one type of error is detected from one page of printed material, it is possible to determine the error handling procedure for dealing with the detected error. However, if multiple different types of errors are detected from one page of printed material, it is not possible to determine the error handling procedure for dealing with the detected errors.

[0041] Therefore, in the image forming system 10 of this embodiment, the following method is used to determine an error response process to deal with the detected errors even when multiple errors of different types are detected from a single page of printed material.

[0042] Next, the hardware configuration of the image forming system 10 of this embodiment is shown in Fig. 7. Note that, for simplicity of explanation, Fig. 7 illustrates the image forming system 10 as a hardware configuration provided with only one CPU, but each of the printing device 20, the inspection device 30, and the post-processing device 40 may have the hardware configuration shown in Fig. 7.

[0043] 7, the image forming system 10 has a CPU 11, memory 12, a storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (abbreviated as IF) 14 that transmits and receives data to and from external devices via a network, a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device 15 that includes a touch panel or liquid crystal display and a keyboard, a scanner 16, a print engine 17, and a post-processing mechanism 18. These components are connected to one another via a control bus 19.

[0044] Print engine 17 prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing. The recording medium may be paper, film, or the like, and any material may be used as long as it is capable of printing an image.

[0045] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the image forming system 10 by executing predetermined processes based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13. In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 is described as reading and executing the control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13, but this is not limiting. The control program may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. For example, the program may be provided in a form recorded on an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or in a form recorded on a semiconductor memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a memory card. The control program may also be obtained from an external device via a communication line connected to the communication interface 14. The control program may be provided as standalone application software, or may be incorporated into the software of each device of the image forming system 10 as a function of the image forming system 10.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming system 10 realized by executing the above control program.

[0047] 8, in the image forming system 10 of this embodiment, the printing device 20 includes a paper feeder 21, an image output unit 23, and a print control unit 22. The inspection device 30 includes an image reading unit 31, a print image receiving unit 32, an image comparison unit 33, an inspection control unit 34, an inspection result management unit 35, and a display unit 36. The post-processing device 40 includes discharge trays 41 and 42, a discharge switching device 43, and a post-processing control unit 44.

[0048] The paper feeder 21 stores paper sheets before an image is formed on them, and feeds the paper sheets to the image output unit 23. The image output unit 23 prints an image on the paper sheets fed from the paper feeder 21. The print control unit 22 controls the operation of the image output unit 23 to execute a process for printing an image on the paper sheets. The print control unit 22 transmits information about the print image printed on the paper sheets to the inspection control unit 34 in the inspection device 30.

[0049] An image reading unit 31 in the inspection device 30 reads an image from a sheet on which the image has been printed by the image output unit 23. A print image receiving unit 32 receives the print image sent from the print control unit 22 as a reference image.

[0050] The image comparison unit 33 compares the scanned image read by the image reading unit 31 with a reference image, which is a printed image received by the print image receiving unit 32, to determine whether or not there are any abnormalities, such as printing defects, in the image printed on the paper. Specifically, the image comparison unit 33 detects various abnormalities, such as print stains, faded print, and toner abnormalities, on the printed paper by comparing the scanned image with the reference image. Note that the image comparison unit 33 may use one of the images read by the image reading unit 31 as a reference image and compare it with the other scanned images.

[0051] The inspection control unit 34 controls the operation of the inspection device 30, receives the detection results from the image comparison unit 33, and inspects the printed image by determining whether the detected abnormality exceeds a preset inspection threshold. The inspection result management unit 35 stores and manages the inspection results from the inspection control unit 34.

[0052] The inspection control unit 34 then transmits the inspection results to the print control unit 25 and the post-processing control unit 44. Specifically, the inspection control unit 34 transmits to the print control unit 22 information on which pages were determined to be print defective, as well as information on which pages should be reprinted. The inspection control unit 34 also transmits to the post-processing control unit 44 information on which pages were determined to be print defective, as well as information on purged pages, which are pages that should be discarded before reprinting.

[0053] A discharge switching device 43 in the post-processing device 40 switches the discharge destination of the paper conveyed from the inspection device 30 between discharge trays 41 and 42. A post-processing control unit 44 controls the operation of the post-processing device 40, and controls to instruct the discharge switching device 43 which discharge destination to switch to based on information such as the purge page sent from the inspection control unit 34.

[0054] The print control unit 22, the inspection control unit 34, and the post-processing control unit 44 operate in cooperation with each other by transmitting and receiving information to each other, thereby controlling the overall operation of the image forming system 10.

[0055] In the post-processing device 40 configured as described above, paper determined to be normal by the inspection device 30 is discharged to the discharge tray 41, and paper determined to be poorly printed and paper for purged pages are controlled to be discharged to the discharge tray 42.

[0056] The inspection control unit 34 inspects the printed material printed by the printing device 20 for errors (abnormalities). If only a first error is detected from the printed material, the inspection control unit 34 executes a first error handling process associated with the first error. If only a second error, which is a different type of error from the first error, is detected from the printed material, the inspection control unit 34 executes a second error handling process associated with the second error. If both the first error and the second error are detected from the printed material, the inspection control unit 34 executes a third error handling process.

[0057] In this embodiment, a priority is set for each type of test. Since a priority is set for each different type of test, a priority is also set for errors detected in each test.

[0058] If the priority set for the first error is higher than the priority set for the second error, the test control unit 34 executes the first error handling process as the third error handling process.

[0059] The priority settings for setting priorities for each type of inspection may be initially set in advance for each type of inspection. For example, in code inspection, if a code image cannot be read or if a code image with incorrect content is detected, the execution of the print job must be immediately interrupted and some kind of action must be taken. For this reason, a high priority is set for code inspection. However, such priority settings may be freely changed by the user depending on the purpose of the printed material, etc. An example of an operation screen for changing the priority settings is shown in Figure 9.

[0060] In the example operation screen in Figure 9, it is possible to change the priority setting by selecting the type of inspection and operating the up and down buttons. Figure 9 shows the state in which "Code Inspection" has been selected, and by operating the down button, the priority of "Code Inspection" can be lowered.

[0061] FIG. 10 shows an example of a case where priorities are set for a plurality of types of examinations in this way, thereby setting priorities among the types of examinations.

[0062] Figure 10 shows an example of a setting where the highest priority is set to the code inspection, a lower priority is set to the image inspection than the code inspection, and the lowest priority is set to the dog-ear inspection. In other words, the priorities are set in the order of (1) code inspection, (2) image inspection, and (3) dog-ear inspection.

[0063] FIG. 11 shows patterns of how to determine the error handling process when multiple different types of inspections are performed on the inspection target image shown in FIG. 4 with such priorities set.

[0064] 11, an error is detected in the code inspection, which has the highest priority. Therefore, the inspection control unit 34 selects the process of interrupting printing, which is associated with the code inspection, as the error handling process to be executed. In this case, the inspection results of the image inspection and the dog-ear inspection are ignored.

[0065] In pattern 2 of the patterns shown in Figure 11, no error is detected in the code inspection with the highest priority, but an error is detected in the image inspection with the next highest priority. Therefore, the inspection control unit 34 selects the error handling process to be performed, which is to reprint up to five times, which is associated with the image inspection. In this case, the inspection result of the dog-ear inspection is ignored.

[0066] 11, in pattern 3, no error is detected in either the code inspection, which has the highest priority, or the image inspection, which has the next highest priority, but an error is detected in the dog-ear inspection, which has the lowest priority. Therefore, the inspection control unit 34 selects the process of reprinting only once, which is associated with the dog-ear inspection, as the error handling process to be executed.

[0067] By setting a priority for each type of test in this way, if an error is detected in a page of printed material, the error response process associated with the test with the highest priority among the types of tests in which the error was detected will be executed.

[0068] However, when multiple errors of different types are detected on one page of printed material, there may be a correlation between the detected errors. Specifically, when multiple errors of different types are detected on one page of printed material, if an area where errors were detected in one inspection overlaps with an area where errors were detected in another inspection, there may be a correlation between the detected errors.

[0069] An example of such a case where multiple areas where inspection errors occur overlap is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

[0070] In the example shown in Figure 12, streaks have appeared on the code image, and an error has been detected in the code inspection, and an error has also been detected in the image inspection due to the streaks being detected in the print area of the code image.

[0071] In such cases, it is likely that some kind of defect has caused the streaks to be printed on the code image, resulting in a code inspection error. Therefore, if the streaks disappear after reprinting, it is highly likely that both the code inspection error and the image inspection error will be resolved.

[0072] In the example shown in Figure 13, the printing position of the entire print image is misaligned, which causes an error to be detected in the registration misalignment inspection, and the printing position of the code image is also misaligned, which causes an error in the code inspection.

[0073] If such misalignment occurs, there is a high possibility that the print will be correct if the print is reprinted. Furthermore, if the misalignment is corrected, there is a high possibility that both the code inspection error and the misregistration inspection error will also be corrected. If an error is detected in the misregistration inspection, the expected results are not obtained for the entire page, so the area where the error occurred will be the entire page. If errors occur in other types of inspection, the error areas will overlap.

[0074] If errors are detected in multiple types of tests and the areas in which the errors are detected overlap, the test control unit 34 determines the error handling process based on the priority set in the priority table shown in Figure 14, rather than on the preset priority.

[0075] 14 is an example of a priority table in which priorities are set when areas in which errors are detected overlap. For example, if an area in which an error is detected in image inspection overlaps an area in which an error is detected in code inspection, the error handling process associated with image inspection is selected. Also, if an area in which an error is detected in image inspection overlaps an area in which an error is detected in dog-ear inspection, the error handling process associated with dog-ear inspection is selected.

[0076] As a result of this determination, if the priority set for the first error is higher than the priority set for the second error, and if the area where the first error was detected does not overlap with the area where the second error was detected, the inspection control unit 34 executes the first error response process associated with the first error as the third error response process. However, if the priority set for the second error is higher than the priority set for the first error in the priority table as shown in Figure 14, and if the area where the first error was detected overlaps with the area where the second error was detected, the inspection control unit 34 executes the second error response process as the third error response process.

[0077] In addition, when both a first error and a second error, which are different types of inspection, are detected from one page of printed material, the inspection control unit 34 may execute a third error response process that is different from both the first error response process associated with the first error and the second error response process associated with the second error.

[0078] In this case, the inspection control unit 34 stores the error response processing selected by the user in advance as the third error response processing, and executes the stored third error response processing when both the first error and the second error are detected from one page of printed material.

[0079] For example, if an error handling process of interrupting printing is associated with code inspection and an error handling process of reprinting once is associated with dog-ear inspection, and if errors are detected in both code inspection and image inspection from one page of printed material and the error areas overlap, the inspection control unit 34 will execute the error handling process of interrupting printing and transitioning to a state waiting for user operation.

[0080] Although the above description is based on a case where priorities are set in association with the type of test, i.e., the type of error, priorities may also be set for each type of error handling action. For example, by setting the error handling action of print interruption to have a higher priority than the error handling action of reprinting, it becomes possible to always prioritize the error handling action of print interruption even if errors occur in multiple different types of tests from a single page of printed material.

[0081] Next, the operation of the image forming system 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0082] First, in step S101, the image reading unit 31 acquires a scanned image from a printed material. Then, in step S102, the image comparison unit 33 compares the scanned image acquired by the image reading unit 31 with the reference image received by the printed image receiving unit 32 to determine whether or not there is an error in the page. Then, in step S103, the inspection control unit 34 determines whether or not an error has been detected in the image inspection based on the comparison result of the image comparison unit 33. Note that the inspection control unit 34 not only performs image inspection by comparing the scanned image with the reference image, but also performs code inspection, dog-ear inspection, density unevenness inspection, and registration misalignment inspection as described above to determine whether or not an error has been detected.

[0083] If it is determined in step S103 that no error was detected in any of the tests, the test control unit 34 determines in step S104 whether or not there is a next page. If it is determined in step S104 that there is no next page, the test control unit 34 ends the test. If it is determined in step S104 that there is a next page, the test control unit 34 returns to the processing of step S101.

[0084] Furthermore, if an error is detected in any of the tests in step S103, the test control unit 34 determines the details of the error handling process to deal with the detected error in step S105.

[0085] Then, in step S106, the inspection control unit 34 determines whether the processing content of the determined error handling processing includes execution of a purge processing. If it is determined in step S106 that the processing content of the determined error handling processing includes execution of a purge processing, the inspection control unit 34 executes the purge processing in step S107.

[0086] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S106 that the processing content of the error response processing determined does not include executing a purge process, the inspection control unit 34 determines in step S108 whether the processing content of the error response processing determined includes interrupting the printing process.

[0087] If it is determined in step S108 that the error handling process determined does not include interrupting the printing process, the inspection control unit 34 returns to the process of step S104. If it is determined in step S108 that the error handling process determined includes interrupting the printing process, the inspection control unit 34 determines in step S109 whether the error handling process determined includes transitioning to a state waiting for a user operation.

[0088] If it is determined that the error handling process determined in step S109 includes transitioning to a state waiting for user operation, the inspection control unit 34 determines in step S110 whether or not printing processing should be performed.

[0089] If it is determined in step S110 that printing processing should be performed, the inspection control unit 34 returns to the processing of step S104.

[0090] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S109 that the error handling process content determined does not include transitioning to a state waiting for user operation, and if it is determined in step S110 that the printing process should not be executed, the inspection control unit 34 interrupts the printing process in step S111 and terminates the process.

[0091] Next, the details of the process of step S105 described in the flowchart of FIG. 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0092] First, in step S201, the test control unit 34 determines whether multiple types of errors have occurred within one page. If it is determined in step S201 that multiple types of errors have not occurred within one page, the test control unit 34 determines the processing content corresponding to the type of detected error as the error handling processing in step S202. Note that if no error occurs in any of the tests, the test control unit 34 does not set any error handling processing.

[0093] If it is determined in step S201 that multiple types of errors have occurred within one page, the inspection control unit 34 determines in step S203 whether the areas in which the errors have occurred overlap each other.

[0094] If it is determined in step S203 that the regions where errors have occurred do not overlap, the inspection control unit 34 determines the details of the error handling process based on the priority set for each error type in step S204. Specifically, the inspection control unit 34 determines the details of the error handling process to be the process associated with the inspection type with the highest priority set among the multiple inspection types in which errors have occurred.

[0095] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S203 that the regions where errors have occurred overlap, the inspection control unit 34 determines the details of the error handling process based on the priorities set in a preset priority table in step S205. Specifically, the inspection control unit 34 determines the details of the error handling process based on the priorities set in a priority table such as that shown in FIG.

[0096] In each of the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0097] Furthermore, the operations of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by a single processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments and may be changed as appropriate.

[0098] In this embodiment, the term "system" includes both a system made up of multiple devices and a system made up of a single device.

[0099] [Variations] In the above embodiment, the present disclosure has been described as being applied to an image forming system 10 including a printing device 20, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The present disclosure can also be similarly applied to a configuration in which an information processing system such as a personal computer inspects printed matter as described above.

[0100] [Note] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below.

[0101] (((1))) a processor; The processor: Inspect the printed matter for abnormalities, If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, a first process associated with the first anomaly is executed; If only a second anomaly, which is an anomaly of a different type from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, a second process associated with the second anomaly is executed; If both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, a third process is executed. Information processing system.

[0102] (((2))) The processor: When the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality, the first process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to (((1))).

[0103] (((3))) The processor: When the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality, if the area in which the first abnormality is detected does not overlap with the area in which the second abnormality is detected, the first process is executed as the third process, and if the area in which the first abnormality is detected overlaps with the area in which the second abnormality is detected, the second process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to (((2))).

[0104] (((4))) The processor: when both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, a process different from either the first process or the second process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to (((1))).

[0105] (((5))) the processor executes a process previously selected by a user as the third process. The information processing system according to (((4))).

[0106] (((6))) inspecting the printed matter for abnormalities; If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, executing a first process associated with the first anomaly; When only a second anomaly, which is a different type of anomaly from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, executing a second process associated with the second anomaly; executing a third process when both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

[0107] The effects of the configuration described above will be described below.

[0108] According to the information processing system (((1))), when a plurality of different types of abnormalities are detected in one printed material, it is possible to determine the processing to be performed to deal with the detected abnormalities.

[0109] According to the information processing system (((2))), when multiple different types of abnormalities are detected in one printed material, it is possible to execute the processing set for the abnormality with the highest set priority.

[0110] According to the information processing system (((3))), when multiple different types of abnormalities are detected from a single printed material and the areas where the multiple abnormalities are detected overlap, it is possible to perform processing that is not based on the set priority.

[0111] According to the information processing system (((4))), when multiple different types of abnormalities are detected from a single printed document, it is possible to execute processing different from the processing set for each of the multiple abnormalities.

[0112] According to the information processing system of (((5))), when a plurality of different types of abnormalities are detected in one printed matter, it becomes possible to execute a process selected in advance by the user.

[0113] According to the program (((6))), when multiple different types of abnormalities are detected in one printed material, it is possible to determine the process to be taken to deal with the detected abnormalities. [Explanation of symbols]

[0114] 10. Image forming system 11 CPU 12 Memory 13 Storage device 14 Communication Interface 15 User Interface Device 16 Scanner 17 Print Engine 18 Aftertreatment mechanism 19 Control Bus 20 Printing device 21 Paper feeder 22 Printing control unit 23 Image output unit 30 Inspection equipment 31 Image reading unit 32 Print image receiving unit 33 Image Comparison Section 34 Inspection control section 35 Test Results Management Department 36 Display section 40 Aftertreatment device 41, 42 Output tray 43 Emission switching device 44 Post-processing control unit

Claims

1. a processor; The processor: Inspect the printed matter for abnormalities, If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, a first process associated with the first anomaly is executed; If only a second anomaly, which is an anomaly of a different type from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, a second process associated with the second anomaly is executed; If both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, a third process is executed. Information processing system.

2. The processor: When the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality, the first process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. The processor: When the priority set for the first abnormality is higher than the priority set for the second abnormality, if the area in which the first abnormality is detected does not overlap with the area in which the second abnormality is detected, the first process is executed as the third process, and if the area in which the first abnormality is detected overlaps with the area in which the second abnormality is detected, the second process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to claim 2 .

4. The processor: when both the first abnormality and the second abnormality are detected from the printed matter, a process different from either the first process or the second process is executed as the third process. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. the processor executes a process selected in advance by a user as the third process. The information processing system according to claim 4 .

6. inspecting the printed matter for abnormalities; If only a first anomaly is detected from the printed matter, executing a first process associated with the first anomaly; When only a second anomaly, which is an anomaly of a different type from the first anomaly, is detected from the printed matter, executing a second process associated with the second anomaly; executing a third process when both the first anomaly and the second anomaly are detected from the printed matter; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images