Image inspection apparatus, image forming apparatus, image inspection method, and image inspection program

摘要

An image inspection method and apparatus for inspecting images output on sheets including a reference white plate disposed at a position of the transport route of sheet while facing a scan position for scanning a sheet; a contact glass disposed opposite the reference white plate; an image scanning device fixed facing the scan position to conduct a scanning operation through the contact glass, a noise detector to detect a first noise image in a blank area of the inspection sheet by scanning the blank area of the inspection sheet, and a second noise image in the reference white plate by scanning the reference white plate; and a stain source determination unit to determine a noise origin from the contact glass or the reference white plate.

主权项

1. An image inspection apparatus configured to inspect images output on sheets including an inspection sheet and transported along a transport route inside the image inspection apparatus by comparing inspection target image data obtained by scanning the inspection sheet with model image data generated from print data used for outputting the images, the image inspection apparatus comprising:
a reference white plate used for a correction process, disposed at a position along the transport route facing a scan position for scanning the sheets; a contact glass disposed opposite the reference white plate; an image scanning device fixed at the scan position configured to iteratively conduct a first scanning operation and a second scanning operation through the contact glass; a noise detector employing a processor configured to,
detect a first noise image in a blank area of the inspection sheet during the first scanning operation, the first scanning operation including scanning the blank area of the inspection sheet with the image scanning device when any sheet of the sheets is present over the reference white plate, anddetect a second noise image in the reference white plate during the second scanning operation, the second scanning operation including scanning the reference white plate at a timing after at least one sheet of the sheets has been scanned and when any sheet of the sheets is not present over the reference white plate; and a stain source determination unit using the processor configured to identify whether a noise originates from the contact glass or the reference white plate, and in the identifying the noise, the stain source determination unit is configured to,
determine that the contact glass has a stain when the noise detector detects the first noise image when the inspection sheet is present over the reference white plate during the first scanning operation, anddetermine that the reference white plate has a stain when the noise detector does not detect the first noise image but does detect the second noise image during the timing when any sheet of the sheets is not present over the reference white plate during the second scanning operation.