Print Position Notification for Defect Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
In printing systems, especially those requiring quality inspection, the lack of a mechanism to distinguish between good and defective prints leads to difficulty in identifying defective prints when they are mixed with good prints in the same discharge tray, necessitating a dedicated mechanism like LEDs for notification, which is not applicable to all inspection systems.
Innovation Solution
An inspection system comprising a printer and an inspection apparatus that acquires original images, reads print images, examines for defects, and generates a position notification image to indicate the location of defective prints, allowing for easy identification without a dedicated notification mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a dedicated notification mechanism like LEDs is used to indicate defective print locations, then the ease of identifying defective prints is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a position notification print that is a copy of the original print containing positional information about defective prints. Instead of using physical LEDs or notification devices, the system generates a digital copy (the notification print) that visually represents the location of defects through printed markers or symbols, thereby indicating defective print locations without requiring additional hardware notification mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical notification system (LEDs, lights, or physical indicators) with an information-based system. The positional information about defects is encoded into the print output itself through the position notification print, substituting a complex hardware notification mechanism with a simpler information processing and output approach
2Loss of time
If good prints and defective prints are ejected to the same discharge tray, then the loss of time for separate handling is reduced, but the ease of finding defective prints deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the information about prints by creating a separate position notification print that contains specific positional markers indicating where defective prints are located within the stack. This allows all prints to be handled together in one tray while the notification print provides segmented, organized information about defect locations, enabling quick identification without physical separation of prints
Solution Approach 2:
The position notification print serves as an intermediary between the mixed stack of prints and the user seeking to identify defective prints. Rather than requiring direct visual inspection of each print or physical separation, the notification print acts as a mediator that encodes location information, allowing users to quickly locate defective prints within the mixed stack by referencing the notification print
Data Source
AI summary
An inspection system includes an inspection apparatus configured to examine, for each print, whether a defect has occurred on at least one print side of the print based on a read image of the at least one print side and an image that correspond to a read image, and configured to notify a printer of sheet identification information about a sheet on which an original image of a certain page is printed, the original image being out of original images for one or more pages including an original image formed on a print side on which the defect has occurred; and the printer configured to print, based on the notified sheet identification information and sheet identification information about a sheet on which a position notification image that indicates a positional relation with a print on which the original image of the certain page is formed, the position notification image.