Methods and system for imaging of moving printed materials by an optical device having plurality of cameras arranged in an array

1. A system for capturing images during production of printed material, the system comprising:

an optical device comprising a plurality of cameras arranged in an array, wherein adjacent pairs of cameras in the array have overlapping fields of view; and

an imaging controller device configured to:

determine a layout of content on printed material,

determine, based on the layout of content on the printed material, an optical system configuration profile, including i) selecting one or more cameras, among the plurality of cameras, for capturing images of one or more regions of interest on the printed material, the one or more cameras being selected such that each region of interest among the one or more regions of interest fits, in its entirety, in a field of view of a particular camera among the one or more cameras, and ii) determining a trigger interval for triggering the selected one or more cameras, and

trigger the selected one or more cameras at times determined based on the trigger interval to capture images of the one or more regions of interest on the printed material as the printed material moves in fields of view of the one or more cameras during production of the printed material.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller device is configured to determine the layout of content on the printed material based on user input.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller device is configured to determine the layout of content on the printed material based on processing one or more sample images of the printed material.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras is arranged in a linear array of cameras with overlapping fields of view.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the optical device further comprises one or more light emitting devices, and

the imaging controller device is further configured to trigger, at the determined trigger interval, the one or more light emitting devices to produce flashes of light during capture of the images.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical device further comprises a reflective surface configured to bend optical paths of the plurality of cameras to reduce a height dimension of the optical device.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller device is further configured to

receive sensor signals generated by a sensor, the sensor signals indicating reference points on the printed material during production of the printed material,

receive, encoder signals generated by an encoder, the encoder signals tracking motion of the printed material during production of the printed material, and

trigger the selected one or more cameras at times determined further using the sensor signals and the motion signals.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller device comprises one or more processors configured to process the captured images.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to process the captured images to detect defects for quality control in production of the printed material.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the imaging controller device is further configured to transmit, over a network to a server device, one or both of i) the captured images and ii) electronic signatures generated based on the captured images.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein:

the one or more regions of interest on the printed material include printed marks, and

the one or more processors are configured to process the captured images to generate electronic signatures for the printed marks, the electronic signatures to be subsequently used for authenticating the printed marks.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller device is further configured to store, in a memory, the optical system configuration profile for use during production of the printed material.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the imaging controller device is further configured to

select the optical system configuration profile from among a plurality of optical system configuration profiles stored in the memory, and

in response to selecting the optical system configuration profile, retrieve the optical system configuration profile from the memory for use during production of the printed material.

14. A method for capturing images of printed material by an optical device equipped with a plurality of cameras arranged in an array, wherein adjacent pairs of cameras in the array have overlapping fields of view, the method comprising

determining, with a processor of an imaging controller device, a layout of content on printed material;

determining, with the processor of the imaging controller device based on the layout of content on the printed material, an optical system configuration profile, including i) selecting one or more cameras, among the plurality of cameras, for capturing images of one or more regions of interest on the printed material, the one or more cameras being selected such that each region of interest among the one or more regions of interest fits, in its entirety, in a field of view of a particular camera among the one or more cameras, and ii) determining a trigger interval for triggering the selected one or more cameras; and

triggering, with the imaging controller device, the selected one or more cameras at times determined based on the trigger interval to capture images of the one or more regions of interest on the printed material as the printed material moves in fields of view of the one or more cameras during production of the printed material.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the layout of content on the printed material comprises determining the layout of content on the printed material based on user input.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the layout of content on the printed material comprises determining the layout of content on the printed material based on processing one or more sample images of the printed material.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

the optical device further comprises one or more light emitting devices, and

the method further comprises triggering, with the imaging controller device at the determined trigger interval, the one or more light emitting devices to produce flashes of light during capture of the images.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

the method further comprises

receiving, at the processor of the imaging controller device, sensor signals indicating reference points on the printed material during production of the printed material,

receiving, at the processor of the imaging controller device, encoder signals tracking motion of the printed material during production of the printed material, and

triggering the selected one or more cameras comprises triggering the selected one or more cameras at times determined using the sensor signals and encoder signals.

19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising processing, with the processor of the imaging controller device, the captured images to detect defects for quality control in production of the printed material.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein

the one or more regions of interest on the printed material include printed marks, and

the method further comprises processing, with the processor of the imaging controller device, the captured images to generate electronic signatures for the printed marks, the electronic signatures to be subsequently used for authenticating the printed marks.