JP4951779B2 - Optical information reader - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical information reader.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an optical information reading device that optically reads an identification code such as a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code is known. In this type of optical information reader, various measures are taken to accurately read the identification code. For example, in Patent Document 1, when a transparent film exists between the optical information reader and the identification code, the transparent film is read in close contact with the optical information reader so as not to cause a reading failure by the transparent film. A technique for trying to do this is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-1111048

  By the way, the outer surface of the reading object on which the identification code is formed or the outer surface of the transparent covering (for example, a laminate film) that covers the identification code may be wrinkled depending on the use environment or material. When wrinkles occur on the outer surface of the object to be read or the outer surface of the transparent coating in this way, normal reflected light (that is, the identification code normally reflected) due to deformation of the identification code, irregular reflection on the outer surface, etc. There is a problem in that the identification code cannot be read accurately.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and can read the identification code satisfactorily even when wrinkles can occur on the object to be read or the transparent coating on which the identification code is formed. An object is to provide an optical information reader.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an optical information reader for reading an identification code formed on an object to be read, the illumination light source emitting illumination light to the identification code, and the identification code A light receiving sensor that receives reflected light from the light and a reading object or a transparent covering that covers the reading object, and rotates, thereby rotating the outer surface of the reading object or the transparent covering. A roller-shaped contact member that extends, and a body case formed with a reading port for introducing the reflected light from the identification code , the roller-shaped contact member being detachable from the reading port It is supported by an attachment, and the illumination light is condensed on the identification code in a state where the roller contact member is in contact with the outer surface.
Here, the “identification code” is a generic term for codes that can be optically read by the optical information reader. For example, not only a one-dimensional code such as a bar code but also a two-dimensional code or a three-dimensional code is used. It is a concept that includes.
The “reading object” is a generic term for objects to which an identification code is attached, and the manner in which the identification code is attached is not limited. For example, even if the identification code is attached to the outer surface The identification code may be printed on the outer surface.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the roller contact member constitutes a condensing cylindrical lens for condensing the illumination light.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the illumination light is collected on the identification code while extending the reading object on which the identification code is formed by the roller contact member or the transparent covering covering the reading object. Can be light. Accordingly, it is possible to perform appropriate irradiation while satisfactorily suppressing the cause of the reading failure such as the deformation of the identification code and irregular reflection, and thus the identification code can be read with higher accuracy.
In addition, since the attachment can be attached to and detached from the reading opening of the main body case, and the roller-like contact member is supported by this attachment, the roller-like contact member can be removed as necessary, which is more convenient. It becomes a structure.

  In the invention of claim 2, since the roller-shaped contact member constitutes a condensing cylindrical lens for condensing illumination light, the roller-shaped contact member extends the reading object or the transparent covering. It will fulfill both the function and the light collecting function. Therefore, the multi-functionalization can be favorably achieved, and the reduction of the number of parts and the simplification of the product can be suitably realized.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which an optical information reading apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a barcode reader will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. Overall Configuration First, a configuration outline of the barcode reader 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electrical configuration of a barcode reader 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the overall configuration of the barcode reader 10 according to the first embodiment.

  A bar code reader 10 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to an example of an optical information reading apparatus according to the present invention, and a bar code B (bar code B) formed on a reading object W corresponds to an example of an identification code. ), An illumination light source 21 that irradiates the barcode B with illumination light, and a light receiving sensor 28 that receives the reflected light from the barcode B. Various electronic components including the illumination light source 21 and the light receiving sensor 28 described above are provided inside the barcode reader 10, and these are mounted on a substrate (not shown) to constitute the circuit unit 20. The circuit unit 20 is accommodated in the main body case 12 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the main body case 12 is formed of, for example, a resin material, and a reading port 14 configured as an opening is formed at one end, and attachments 60 and 70 described later are formed in the reading port 14. It is designed to be detachable. The reading port 14 functions as a path for leading the illumination light Lf from the illumination light source 21 shown in FIG. 1 to the outside and introducing the reflected light Lr from the barcode B.

  The circuit unit 20 mainly includes optical system components such as an illumination light source 21, a light receiving sensor 28, and an imaging lens 27, and a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) system such as a memory 35, a control circuit 40, and a trigger switch 50. These components are mounted on the substrate (not shown) described above or mounted on the case 12.

  The illumination light source 21 emits illumination light Lf, and is composed of, for example, a red LED. In the present embodiment, the illumination light Lf emitted from the illumination light source 21 passes through the reading port 14 of the main body case 12 and further passes through the inside of the roller contact member 61 and is irradiated onto the reading object W. It is the composition which becomes. Note that a barcode B as an identification code is formed on the reading object W.

  The light receiving sensor 28 is configured to be able to receive the reflected light Lr irradiated and reflected on the reading object W or the barcode B. The light receiving sensor 28 is mounted on a substrate (not shown) so that incident light incident through the imaging lens 27 can be received.

  The imaging lens 27 functions as an imaging optical system capable of condensing incident light incident from the outside via the reading port 14 and forming an image on the light receiving surface of the light receiving sensor 28. In the present embodiment, the illumination light Lf emitted from the illumination light source 21 is reflected by the barcode B and then reflected by a reflecting mirror (not shown). Then, the reflected light is collected by the imaging lens 27 and reflected by a reflecting mirror (not shown) so that a code image is formed on the light receiving surface of the light receiving sensor 28.

  The trigger switch 50 is a switch configured to be capable of external operation (for example, pressing operation), and gives a signal corresponding to the external operation to the control circuit 40. In the barcode reader 10 according to the present embodiment, reading of the barcode is started with the operation of the trigger switch 50 as a trigger.

  Next, returning to FIG. 2, the outline of the configuration of the microcomputer system will be described. The microcomputer system includes an illumination drive circuit 23, a sensor drive circuit 25, a waveform shaping unit 29, a memory 35, a control circuit 40, a trigger switch 50, and the like.

  The illumination drive circuit 23 is a circuit that drives the illumination light source 21 in response to a signal from the control circuit 40, and is configured as an LED drive circuit, for example. The sensor driving circuit 25 is a circuit that drives the light receiving sensor 28 in accordance with a signal from the control circuit 40.

  The waveform shaping unit 29 has a configuration including an amplification circuit and an A / D conversion circuit, and an image signal (analog signal) output from the light receiving sensor 28 of the optical system is input to the amplification circuit. After being amplified with a predetermined gain, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal by being input to the A / D conversion circuit. The digitized image signal, that is, image data (image information) is input from the waveform shaping unit 29 to the control circuit 40 and stored in a predetermined code image image information storage area in the memory 35.

  The control circuit 40 is composed of a microcomputer capable of controlling the entire barcode reader 10, and is composed of a CPU, a system bus, an input / output interface, and the like. The control circuit 40 can constitute an information processing apparatus together with the memory 35 and has an information processing function. The control circuit 40 is configured to be connectable to various input / output devices (peripheral devices) through a built-in input / output interface. In the case of this embodiment, the control switch 40, the data output unit 48, A buzzer (not shown) is connected. Thereby, for example, monitoring and management of the trigger switch 50, turning on / off of a buzzer capable of generating a beep sound and an alarm sound, and further reading the code content of the read barcode B to the external device via the data output unit 48. It enables communication control etc. to transmit.

  Further, the barcode reader 10 is provided with a power supply unit including an AC adapter 54 that can be connected to a commercial power supply and a power supply circuit 52 connected to the AC adapter 54. Power is supplied to 20.

2. Attachment Next, the attachment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body case 12 of the barcode reader 10 is formed with the above-described reading port 14 for taking in reflected light from the identification code. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of types of attachments (two types of attachments 60 and 70 in the present embodiment) can be attached. First, one attachment 60 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the attachment 60 can be attached to and detached from the reading port 14, and includes an attachment main body 63 and a roller-like contact member 61 as main elements. The attachment body 63 has openings 64 and 65 at both ends, respectively, and the openings 64 and 65 communicate with each other. The roller contact member 61 is disposed in the vicinity of the opening 64 of the attachment main body 63 and is rotatably supported by the attachment main body 63. 2 and 3, the rotation center of the roller contact member 61 is conceptually indicated by a broken line 62.

  The roller contact member 61 has a function of extending the wrinkles on the outer surface of the reading object W or the transparent coating W by rotating while contacting the reading object W or the transparent coating covering the reading object W. For example, FIGS. 3 and 5 show an example in which the barcode B is formed on the reading object W, and this roller-shaped contact member 61 is brought into contact with the reading object W while the roller-shaped contact member 61 is in contact therewith. When the 61 is rolled so as to straddle the barcode B from one side (lower side) of the barcode B to the other side (upper side) (for example, when rolled in a direction orthogonal to the bar arrangement direction), FIG. As described above, the barcode B is irradiated with the illumination light Lf that has passed through the roller contact member 61 immediately after the bar of the barcode B is extended. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the barcode reader 10 according to the present embodiment condenses the illumination light Lf on the barcode B in a state where the roller contact member 61 is in contact with the reading object W. It is supposed to be. Specifically, for example, the barcode B can be configured so that the focal position of the illumination light Lf can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the illumination light Lf (FIG. 1) emitted from the illumination light source 21 (FIG. 1) is configured to pass through the inside of the roller contact member 61. The roller contact member 61 has transparency and a cylindrical outer surface, and is configured as a condensing cylindrical lens that collects the illumination light Lf. That is, the illumination light Lf generated by the illumination light source 21 is collected by the roller contact member 61 and is applied to the barcode B. In FIG. 5, the optical axis of the illumination light Lf is conceptually indicated by a symbol Lf ′. The reflected light Lr (FIG. 1) from the barcode B is read by the light receiving sensor 28 described above.

  5 illustrates an example in which the roller contact member 61 directly contacts the reading object W on which the barcode B is formed, but the barcode B is formed as illustrated in FIG. It is also possible to use the roller-like contact member 61 in contact with a transparent covering that covers the reading object W. FIG. 6 shows an example in which a transparent film F as a transparent covering is disposed so as to cover the reading object W with the barcode B attached thereto. In this case, the roller contact member 61 is brought into contact with the transparent film F, and the roller contact member 61 is moved from one side (lower side) of the barcode B to the other side (upper side) while maintaining this contact state. Roll over the bar code B. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, as the roller contact member 61 rolls, the wrinkles of the transparent film F covering the barcode B are stretched, and immediately after the wrinkles are stretched, the roller contact member 61 is stretched. The barcode B is irradiated with the illumination light Lf that has passed through. The barcode reader 10 is in a state where the roller contact member 61 is in contact with the outer surface of the transparent film F (specifically, the transparent film F is pressed against the reading object W by the roller contact member 61). The illumination light Lf is condensed on the barcode B. For example, the focal position of the illumination light Lf can be adjusted to the barcode B in a state where the roller contact member 61 is in contact with the outer surface of the transparent film F.

  In addition, since the attachment part can be attached or detached, the barcode reader 10 can also use the attachment 70 according to a use environment. FIG. 4 shows a state in which an attachment 70 not provided with the roller contact member 61 is attached instead of the attachment 60. The attachment 70 is provided with a separate condensing lens 71.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the reading object W on which the barcode B is formed by the roller-shaped contact member 61 or the transparent coating covering the reading object W is stretched while the bar is stretched. The illumination light Lf can be collected with respect to the cord B. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate irradiation while satisfactorily suppressing the cause of reading failure such as deformation of the barcode B and irregular reflection on the transparent coating, and the barcode B can be read with higher accuracy.

  Further, since the roller contact member 61 constitutes a condensing cylindrical lens that condenses the illumination light Lf, the roller contact member 61 has a function of extending the wrinkles of the reading object W or the transparent covering. And the light collecting function. Therefore, it is possible to favorably reduce the number of parts and simplify the product while favorably realizing multi-function.

  Further, the attachment 60 can be attached to and detached from the reading port 14 of the main body case 12, and the roller-shaped contact member 61 is supported by the attachment 60. Therefore, the roller-shaped contact member 61 is removed from the reading port 14 as necessary. be able to. Therefore, the configuration is extremely convenient.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how the illumination light is applied to the barcode in the barcode reader according to the second embodiment. In the first embodiment, an example in which the roller-shaped contact member 61 constitutes a cylindrical lens has been shown. However, in the second embodiment, instead of the roller-shaped contact member 61, a roller-shaped contact that does not perform a lens function. The member 161 is used. Note that the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the roller contact member 161 and the path of the irradiation light, and other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, only different portions will be described in detail, and the same portions will be denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Similarly to the roller-shaped contact member 61 of the first embodiment, the roller-shaped contact member 161 of the present embodiment also reads by rolling while being in contact with the read object W or a transparent coating covering the read object W. It has a function of extending the wrinkles on the outer surface of the object W or the transparent coating W. The roller contact member 161 is made of, for example, a resin material (rubber material or the like) and may or may not have transparency. In the present embodiment, the irradiation light Lf from the illumination light source 21 (see FIG. 1) is collected by a lens (not shown) (for example, a condensing lens arranged so as to be adjacent to the illumination light source 21), and is a roller-shaped contact member. The bar code B is irradiated through the side of 161. Also in the present embodiment, the roller-shaped contact member 61 is brought into contact with the reading object W while the barcode-shaped contact member 61 is moved from one side (lower side) to the other side (upper side) of the barcode B. When rolled so as to straddle (for example, when rolled in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the bars are arranged), the focused illumination light Lf is irradiated onto the barcode B immediately after the eaves are stretched. This reflected light is read by the light receiving sensor 28 described above.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, a one-dimensional code reader (barcode reader 10) that reads a one-dimensional code is illustrated as an example of an optical information reader. However, a two-dimensional code reader that reads a two-dimensional code may be used. May be a three-dimensional code reader.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electrical configuration of a barcode reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the barcode reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which an attachment having a roller contact member is attached in the barcode reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which an attachment different from the attachment of FIG. 3 is attached to the barcode reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how the barcode is irradiated with illumination light. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the state of irradiation when the reading object W is covered with a transparent covering. It is explanatory drawing explaining a mode that illumination light is irradiated to a barcode in the barcode reader which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10. Bar code reader (optical information reader)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Illumination light source 28 ... Light receiving sensor 60 ... Attachment 61,161 ... Roller-shaped contact member B ... Bar code (identification code)
F ... Transparent film (transparent coating)
W: Object to be read

Claims (2)

An optical information reader for reading an identification code formed on a reading object,
An illumination light source for emitting illumination light to the identification code;
A light receiving sensor for receiving reflected light from the identification code;
A roller-shaped contact member that extends the wrinkles on the outer surface of the reading object or the transparent covering by rotating in contact with the reading object or the transparent covering covering the reading object; and
A main body case formed with a reading port for introducing the reflected light from the identification code ,
The roller contact member is supported by an attachment that can be attached to and detached from the reading port,
An optical information reading apparatus configured to collect the illumination light with respect to the identification code in a state where the roller contact member is in contact with the outer surface.   The optical information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller contact member constitutes a condensing cylindrical lens that condenses the illumination light.

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