Patent ID: 7394084

Claim:
A method of generating an image for inspection of a substrate, said method comprising the steps of: providing an image-taking means above said substrate in an inspection process selected from the group consisting of inspection of land and cream on said substrate before components are mounted thereonto, inspection of characters printed on a component mounted onto said substrate and inspection of solder on said substrate after a soldering process, with an optical axis orienting downward; providing a plurality of multi-colored light emitting devices each having a plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting elements around said optical axis of said image-taking means such that the illumination angle between the optical axis of said image-taking means and said light emitting device is within a specified angular range with respect to a target area on said substrate; providing a control circuit for illuminating a specified target area with light of a specified color by switching on said device according to the kind of said inspection process so that the colors and angles of light illuminating said target area vary depending on specified types of inspection; and generating an image that is suitable for the type of said inspection being carried out on said substrate by projecting light of said specified color to said target area from specified ones of said light-emitting elements at projection angles within a specified one of a plurality of ranges by applying a specified voltage to anodes of said specified light-emitting elements within said specified range.