18053542. INSPECTION SYSTEM, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INSPECTION SYSTEM simplified abstract (CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA)

INSPECTION SYSTEM, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INSPECTION SYSTEM

Organization Name

CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Inventor(s)

Kenichirou Haruta of Chiba (JP)

INSPECTION SYSTEM, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INSPECTION SYSTEM - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18053542 titled 'INSPECTION SYSTEM, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INSPECTION SYSTEM

Simplified Explanation

An inspection system is described in this patent application. The system performs the following steps:

• Extracts feature points from a scan image and a reference image.
• Aligns the scan image and the reference image based on the extracted feature points.
• Inspects a printed material using the aligned scan and reference images.
• Performs processing based on a selected method when the number of feature points in the reference image is below a certain threshold.
• The selected method can be either a first method or a second method.
• When the first method is selected, the alignment using the extracted feature points is performed, followed by the inspection.
• When the second method is selected, the inspection is not carried out.

Potential applications of this technology:

• Quality control in printing industries.
• Inspection of printed materials for defects or errors.
• Verification of printed materials against reference images.

Problems solved by this technology:

• Efficient alignment of scan and reference images.
• Handling cases where the number of feature points in the reference image is low.
• Flexibility in selecting different methods for processing based on the number of feature points.

Benefits of this technology:

• Improved accuracy in inspecting printed materials.
• Time and cost savings in quality control processes.
• Increased flexibility in adapting to different inspection scenarios.

Original Abstract Submitted

An inspection system extracts feature points from a scan image and from a reference image, performs alignment of the scan image and the reference image based on the extracted feature points, inspects a printed material using the aligned scan and reference images, and performs processing in accordance with a method selected from among a plurality of methods including at least a first method and a second method in a case where the number of the feature points in the reference image is less than a predetermined number. The processing is performed such that, in the case where the number of the feature points in the reference image is less than the predetermined number, the alignment using at least the extracted feature points is performed when the first method is selected, and the inspection is then carried out, whereas the inspection is not carried out when the second method is selected.