# US 2019/0174013 A1 · Inspection apparatus, image forming system, inspection method, and program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0174013 A1 - Document ID: US20190174013A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/201,675 - Filed: 2018-11-27 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-05 - Assignees: Konica Minolta, Inc. - Applicants: Konica Minolta, Inc. - Inventors: Kenji YAMANAKA; Makoto OKI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190174013A1 ## CPC - H04N 1/00092: {relating to the original or to the reproducing medium, e.g. imperfections or dirt (detecting properties of a sheet H04N1/00681)} - G03G 15/5062: {by measuring the characteristics of an image on the copy material} - H04N 1/00037: {Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state (H04N1/00031 takes precedence)} - H04N 1/00045: {using a reference pattern designed for the purpose, e.g. a test chart} - G03G 15/55: {Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY ## Abstract There is provided an inspection apparatus that inspects a printed material for a smudge, in accordance with an inspection image formed by reading a printed material, a print image being formed on the printed material, the inspection apparatus including: a hardware processor that: performs position adjustment between a reference image serving as an inspection standard for the print image, and the inspection image; detects a region presumed to be a smudge on the printed material as a smudge candidate region, in accordance with a difference image generated from the reference image and the inspection image after the position adjustment; and determines whether the smudge candidate region is a false smudge candidate region resulting from a positional shift of an object in the print image, in accordance with the smudge candidate region detected by the hardware processor and difference data characteristics of the difference image. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inspection apparatus that inspects a printed material for a smudge, in accordance with an inspection image formed by reading a printed material, a print image being formed on the printed material, the inspection apparatus comprising: a hardware processor that: performs position adjustment between a reference image serving as an inspection standard for the print image, and the inspection image; detects a region presumed to be a smudge on the printed material as a smudge candidate region, in accordance with a difference image generated from the reference image and the inspection image alter the position adjustment; and determines whether the smudge candidate region is a false smudge candidate region resulting from a positional shift of an object in the print image, in accordance with the smudge candidate region detected by the hardware processor and difference data characteristics of the difference image. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor deletes the false smudge candidate region determined by the hardware processor, from the detected smudge candidate region. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor generates a difference data profile extending across an element of the object in accordance with the smudge candidate region, and, when the difference data profile has symmetric properties, determines the smudge candidate region to be the false smudge candidate region. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines whether the smudge candidate region is the false smudge candidate region, by comparing a peak corresponding to the smudge candidate region with a profile of a region near the smudge candidate region in the difference data profile, and determines symmetric properties of the difference data profile for the smudge candidate region determined not to be the false smudge candidate region. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines symmetric properties of the difference data profile, in accordance with an area comparison between closed regions defined by the difference data profile, with a zero difference line being a boundary. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines symmetric properties of the difference data profile, in accordance with a comparison between a peak height of the smudge candidate region and a peak height existing in a region adjacent to the smudge candidate region via the element of the object. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines symmetric properties of the difference data profile, in accordance with a comparison between a distance from a base point to a peak of the smudge candidate region and a distance from the base point to a peak existing in a region adjacent to the smudge candidate region via the element of the object, the base point being an intersection point between the difference data profile and a zero difference line. ### Claim 8 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines that the difference data profile has symmetric properties, when at least two of three conditions are satisfied, the three conditions are: a first condition using an area comparison between closed regions defined by the difference data profile, with a zero difference line being a boundary; a second condition using a comparison between a peak height of the smudge candidate region and a peak height existing in a region adjacent to the smudge candidate region via the element of the object; and a third condition using a comparison between a distance from a base point to a peak of the smudge candidate region and a distance from the base point to a peak existing in a region adjacent to the smudge candidate region via the element of the object, the base point being an intersection paint between the difference data profile and the zero difference line. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor determines whether the smudge candidate region is the false smudge candidate region, by generating a difference data profile extending across an element of the object in accordance with the smudge candidate region, and comparing a peak corresponding to the smudge candidate region with a profile of a region near the smudge candidate region in the difference data profile. ### Claim 10 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor determines a range of generation of the difference data profile, in accordance with one of a size of a character as the object and a line width of the object. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The inspection apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the hardware processor analyzes the one of the size of the character and the line width of the object, in accordance with image information for forming the print image. ### Claim 12 (depends on 3) The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor generates the difference data profile in at least two different directions, the difference data profile overlapping with at least part of the smudge candidate region, ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The inspection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the object has a line as an element, and the at least two different direction include a normal direction and a tangential direction with respect to the line. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The inspection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the at least two different directions include two-dimensional directions for defining an image. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor automatically detects a processing target region that is a region in which an object having a line as an element exists in the print image, and detects the smudge candidate region in the processing target region, or detects the smudge candidate region in a processing target region designated by a user. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor automatically detects a processing target region that is a region in which an object having a line as an element exists in the print image, and determines whether the smudge candidate region included in the processing target region is the false smudge candidate region, or determines whether the smudge candidate region included in a processing target region designated by a user is the false smudge candidate region. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor determines whether it is necessary to repair an image forming apparatus that has formed the print image on the printed material, in accordance with a generation state of the false smudge candidate region. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The inspection apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the hardware processor calculates periodicity of the positional shill in accordance with a result of a calculation performed by the hardware processor, and determines, from the periodicity, whether a repair is necessary. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The inspection apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the hardware processor holds feature data associating the result of the calculation performed by the hardware processor with the periodicity. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The inspection apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the hardware processor determines whether the image forming apparatus is in an abnormal state by analyzing the feature data, and automatically determines whether to stop and repair the image forming apparatus. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The inspection apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the hardware processor predicts a time for a repair for each of components of the image forming apparatus, in accordance with the feature data and component information indicating features of an abnormality. ### Claim 22 An image forming system having a function of inspecting a printed material for a smudge, the image forming system comprising: a printer that forms a print image on a paper sheet, and outputs a printed material on which the print image is formed; an image reader that reads the printed material output from the printer, and generates an inspection image; and a hardware processor that: performs position adjustment between a reference image serving as an inspection standard for the print image, and the inspection image; detects a region presumed to be a smudge on the printed material as a smudge candidate region, in accordance with a difference image generated from the reference image and the inspection image after the position adjustment; and determines whether the smudge candidate region is a false smudge candidate region resulting from a positional shift of an object in the print image, in accordance with the smudge candidate region detected by the hardware processor and difference data characteristics of the difference image. ### Claim 23 An inspection method for inspecting a printed material for a smudge in accordance with an inspection image formed by reading the printed material on which a print image is formed, the inspection method comprising: performing position adjustment between a reference image serving as an inspection standard for the print image, and the inspection image; detecting a region presumed to be a smudge on the printed material as a smudge candidate region, in accordance with a difference image generated from the reference image and the inspection image after the position adjustment; and determining whether the smudge candidate region is a false smudge candidate region, in accordance with the smudge candidate region and difference data characteristics of the difference image. ### Claim 24 A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program for causing a computer to implement an inspection method for inspecting a printed material for a smudge in accordance with an inspection image formed by reading the printed material on which a print image is formed, the program causing the computer to execute: performing position adjustment between a reference image serving as an inspection standard for the print image, and the inspection image; detecting a region presumed to be a smudge on the printed material as a smudge candidate region, in accordance with a difference image generated from the reference image and the inspection image after the position adjustment; and determining whether the smudge candidate region is a false smudge candidate region, in accordance with the smudge candidate region and difference data characteristics of the difference image.