Patent ID: 8587844
Filing Date: 2013-11-19
Classification: B41F,G01N

Abstract:
1. An image inspecting apparatus, comprising: a first light illuminating unit configured to irradiate a measured object on which an image is formed with illuminating light from an inclined direction; a second light illuminating unit configured to irradiate the measured object with illuminating light from a direction different from the inclined direction of the first light illuminating unit; an imaging unit configured to receive reflected light of the illuminating light with which the measured object is irradiated by the first light illuminating unit, and reflected light of the illuminating light with which the measured object is irradiated by the second light illuminating unit; a first reference plate having a mirror surface and configured to be irradiated instead of the measured object; a second reference plate having a diffuse surface and configured to be irradiated instead of the measured object; an image inspecting unit configured to inspect the image; and a reference plate angle changing apparatus configured to change an angle of the mirror surface of the first reference plate with respect to a predetermined initial position, wherein the image inspecting unit calculates a correcting coefficient based on a ratio of an amount of reflected light of illuminating light that is received by the imaging unit when the diffuse surface of the second reference plate is irradiated with the illuminating light from the first light illuminating unit to an amount of reflected light of illuminating light that is received by the imaging unit when the diffuse surface of the second reference plate is irradiated with the illuminating light from the second light illuminating unit, the image inspecting unit inspects a gloss distribution of the image based on a value obtained by shading-correcting an amount of light obtained by subtracting an amount of reflected light of illuminating light that is received by the imaging unit when the measured object is irradiated with the illuminating light from the second light illuminating unit multiplied by the correcting coefficient, from an amount of reflected light of the illuminating light that is received by the imaging unit when the measured object is irradiated with the illuminating light from the first light illuminating unit, by using an amount of reflected light of illuminating light that is received by the imaging unit when the mirror surface of the first reference plate is irradiated with the illuminating light from the first light illuminating unit, and the image inspecting unit acquires an amount of reflected light of the illuminating light with which the mirror surface of the first reference plate is irradiated by the first light illuminating unit for each of plural angles to which the angle of the mirror surface of the first reference plate is changed by the reference plate angle changing apparatus, and calculates an angular error between the first light illuminating unit and the imaging unit based on the acquired amount of reflected light.