JP7629155B2 - Imaging device, image processing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an imaging device, and in particular to an imaging device and image processing system suitable for photographing objects at extremely low temperatures.

JP Patent Publication 7-135540 (Patent Document 1) describes an image reading device that is configured to prevent condensation in an enclosed space formed by a housing or the like by absorbing moisture in the enclosed space using a moisture absorbent material.

However, when the temperature of the object whose image is to be read is extremely low, the mounting base, such as a glass plate that comes into contact with the object, may be cooled rapidly, causing condensation on the front and back of the mounting base. One example of such a situation is when reading management information, such as a barcode attached to the sample tube or the box that contains it, during the loading and unloading process of a sample tube containing a biological sample (such as blood) that needs to be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-135540

One of the objectives of a specific embodiment of the present invention is to make it difficult for condensation to occur even when the temperature of the object from which the image is being read is extremely low.

[1] One aspect of the imaging device of the present invention is an imaging device comprising: (a) a device for photographing an object placed on it, (b) a transparent plate having opposing first and second surfaces, with at least the first surface being arranged so as to be oblique to the vertical direction; (c) a housing that positions and disposes the object on the first surface side of the transparent plate so as to create a gap between the transparent plate and the object; and (d) a camera that photographs the object from the second surface side of the transparent plate.
[2] An imaging device according to one aspect of the present invention is an image processing system including the imaging device described above and an information processing device that controls the operation of the imaging device and performs image processing on image data obtained by photographing the object with the camera.

The above configuration makes it possible to prevent condensation from occurring even when the temperature of the object from which the image is being read is extremely low.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining how to use this imaging device. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the imaging device. FIG. 4 is a top view showing the configuration of the imaging device. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the imaging device. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the principle of preventing problems such as condensation caused by cold air in an imaging device. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image processing system that is configured using an imaging device. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sample box. Fig. 9A is a diagram for explaining the principle of reading each barcode attached to a sample box as a single image, and Fig. 9B is a diagram showing an example of a single image including images of each barcode. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the image processing system.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an imaging device according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is a perspective view for explaining how to use this imaging device. Figure 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the imaging device. Figure 4 is a top view showing the configuration of the imaging device. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing an exploded view of a portion of the imaging device. Note that in Figures 1, 3, and 5, the outer panel of the housing is partially omitted in order to show the internal structure of the imaging device.

As shown in FIG. 1 etc., the imaging device 100 is configured to include a positioning member 10, a glass plate (transparent plate) 12, a mirror (reflective member) 14, a switch 16, two grooves 18, a housing 20, an LED light source 22, and a camera 24. As shown in FIG. 2, this imaging device 100 is used to place a specimen box (object) 200, which stores an array of specimen tubes 202 containing specimens derived from living organisms (e.g., blood) at an angle to the vertical direction, photograph the specimen box 200 from below, and read the barcodes attached to each specimen tube 202 and the barcode attached to the specimen box 200 itself based on the image.

The positioning member 10 is a member for positioning the specimen box 200 when it is placed on the specimen box 200, and is configured to include a left positioning portion 10a, a right positioning portion 10b, a lower positioning portion 10c, an opening 10d, and a frame-shaped portion 10e. In this embodiment, the positioning member 10 constitutes a part of the housing 20, and is configured to be detachable from the main body of the housing 20 (excluding the positioning member 10) (see FIG. 5). A gap is created between the lower part of the specimen box 200 placed on this positioning member 10 and the glass plate 12.

The left positioning portion 10a and the right positioning portion 10b come into contact with the left and right sides, respectively, of the specimen box 200 when it is placed thereon. This positions the specimen box 200 in the left-right direction. Similarly, the bottom positioning portion 10c comes into contact with the underside of the specimen box 200 when it is placed thereon. This positions the specimen box 200 in the up-down direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the left positioning portion 10a, the right positioning portion 10b, and the bottom positioning portion 10c are integrally formed in a concave shape.

The opening 10d is provided at approximately the center of the positioning member 10 (see FIG. 5). This opening 10d is for exposing the glass plate 12 that is placed below the positioning member 10. A frame-shaped portion 10e that supports the lower side of the outer edge of the specimen box 200 is provided around the opening 10d.

The glass plate 12 is provided so as to be positioned between the specimen box 200 placed on the positioning member 10 of the housing 20 and the camera 24. This glass plate 12 is a transparent, flat member and has a first surface and a second surface that face each other. In this embodiment, the surface that faces the specimen box 200 corresponds to the first surface, and the surface that faces the camera 24 corresponds to the second surface.

When the imaging device 100 is in use (installed), the glass plate 12 is positioned so that at least the first surface is oblique to the vertical direction (the direction of gravity). In the illustrated example, the z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. The angle between the first surface of the glass plate 12 and the z direction may be set appropriately taking into consideration the ease of placing the specimen box 200, and is preferably set within a range of, for example, about 60°±15°. In other words, in relation to the x direction, the angle between the first surface of the glass plate 12 and the x direction is preferably set within a range of about 30°±15°.

The mirror 14 reflects the side of the specimen box 200 toward the camera 24. In this embodiment, the mirror 14 is provided near the left positioning portion 10a of the positioning member 10, and is configured to reflect light from the left side of the specimen box 200 and guide it to the camera 24 via the glass plate 12.

When the specimen box 200 is placed, the switch 16 comes into contact with the underside of the specimen box 200 and is pressed from the underside to operate. As will be described in detail later, the operation of the switch 16 triggers the LED light source 22 to emit light and the camera 24 to take a photograph.

In this embodiment, the switch 16 is integrally provided on the lower side of the positioning member 10, and the portion that is to come into contact with the specimen box 200 is exposed through a portion of the lower positioning portion 10c (see FIG. 4). As a result, when the user places the specimen box 200, the switch 16 is pressed and operated, which triggers the LED light source 22 to emit light and the camera 24 to take a picture, eliminating the need for the operator to perform a separate operation to take a picture, improving work efficiency. In addition, since the switch 16 is operated in response to the specimen box 200 coming into contact with the lower positioning portion 10c, it is possible to take a picture of the specimen box 200 in a state where it is properly positioned in the intended position, and mistakes such as misalignment during photography can also be prevented.

The two grooves 18 are provided on the lower end side of the glass plate 12 in the housing 20 and open downward. These grooves 18 are configured to connect to the gap that occurs between the specimen box 200 and the glass plate 12 when the specimen box 200 is placed. As shown in FIG. 5, each groove 20 has a pair of opposing side walls 18a and a bottom wall 18b disposed between the side walls 18a.

In this embodiment, one of the side walls 18a is provided in communication with the side wall 20a provided on the first surface side of the glass plate 12 in the housing 20. In addition, in this embodiment, each bottom wall 18b has a surface that is continuously connected to the first surface of the glass plate 12. Also, each groove 18 is provided so as to connect to a gap, which is a space defined by each side wall 20a of the housing 20 and the first surface of the glass plate 12. In this embodiment, the space defined by each side wall 18a and each bottom wall 18b of each groove 18 and the part (lower surface) of the positioning member 10 facing each groove 18 becomes a through hole, and one opening of the through hole is located on the glass plate 12 side, and the other opening is located on the front side of the imaging device 100.

The housing 20 has a positioning member 10 and a glass plate 12 attached to the top, and an LED light source 22 and a camera 24 attached inside. There are no particular limitations on the configuration (shape, material, etc.) of the housing 20, and a shape suitable for photographing the specimen box 200 can be appropriately adopted.

The LED light source 22 is attached inside the housing 20 and irradiates light from the second surface side of the glass plate 12 to the underside of the specimen box 200. Note that while an LED is used as an example of a light source here, this is not limited as long as it can irradiate light suitable for imaging. In addition, the wavelength of the light is not limited to the visible light range; for example, if the camera 24 is capable of handling infrared light, a light source that emits light in the infrared range may be used.

The camera 24 is attached inside the housing 20 at a distance from the glass plate 12, and captures an image of the underside of the specimen box 200 from the second surface side of the glass plate 12. In detail, the camera 24 captures an image of the reflected light when the light emitted from the LED light source 22 is irradiated onto the underside of the specimen box 200.

Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the principle of preventing problems such as condensation caused by cold air in the imaging device. The specimen box 200 to be imaged in this embodiment contains a specimen derived from a living body and is usually stored at an extremely low temperature, for example, around -200°C. It is desirable to quickly image the specimen using the imaging device 100 while it is still at an extremely low temperature to prevent temperature rise as much as possible, and to quickly return it to the original storage. In this case, if the extremely low-temperature specimen box 200 is placed in direct contact with the glass plate 12, the glass plate 12 will be rapidly cooled, and the surrounding air will also be cooled, which may cause condensation on the surface of the glass plate 12 or fog due to cold air around the glass plate 12. In this case, the image captured by the camera 24 will be unclear due to the effects of condensation and fog due to cold air.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6, in the imaging device 100 of this embodiment, the specimen box 200 is placed so that the specimen box 200 and the glass plate 12 are not in direct contact with each other and a gap 102 is formed between them, so that the occurrence of condensation due to rapid cooling of the glass plate 12 can be avoided. In addition, in the imaging device 100 of this embodiment, the first surface (the surface facing the specimen box 200) of the glass plate 12 is configured to be oblique to the vertical direction, so that the cold air 104 and the mist caused by the rapid cooling of the air around the specimen box 200 flow downward along the first surface of the glass plate 12 by gravity and are discharged to the outside of the imaging device 100 through the groove portion 18 (see also the arrow shown on the groove portion 18 in FIG. 5). Therefore, the glass plate 12 is less likely to be cooled by the cold air 104, so that condensation can be prevented, and the cold air 104 and the mist caused by it can be prevented from remaining in the vicinity of the glass plate 12. Therefore, the image captured by the camera 24 becomes clearer. In particular, in this embodiment, the bottom wall 18b of the groove portion 18 and the first surface of the glass plate 12 are configured to form a continuous surface without any steps at the connection position between them, which allows the cold air 104 and the accompanying mist to be discharged more smoothly. The distance D between the bottom surface of the specimen box 200 and the first surface of the glass plate 12 in the gap 102 is preferably, for example, about 5 mm to 20 mm.

Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image processing system configured using the imaging device described above. The image processing system of this embodiment includes the imaging device 100 according to the embodiment described above, a power supply 110 that supplies power to the LED light source 22 of the imaging device 100, a controller 112 that controls the operation of the power supply 110, and an information processing device 114.

The information processing device 114 is connected to the switch 16 and the camera 24, and performs a predetermined image recognition process on the image obtained by the camera 24, and reads the information contained in the barcode attached to the specimen box 200. The information processing device 114 is also connected to the controller 112, and issues operational instructions to the controller 112. This information processing device 114 can be realized by executing a predetermined operating program in a computer equipped with, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a specimen box. In detail, Figure 8 (A) shows one side of the specimen box 200, and Figure 8 (B) shows the specimen box 200 as viewed from below. As shown in Figure 8 (A), the specimen box 200 has a barcode 204 attached to one side. Here, a one-dimensional barcode is shown as an example of the barcode 204. The barcode 204 contains information about the specimen box 200. Also, as shown in Figure 8 (B), each specimen tube 202 stored in the specimen box 200 has a barcode 206 attached to its bottom. Here, a two-dimensional barcode is shown as an example of the barcode 206. Each barcode 206 contains information about the specimen contained in each specimen tube 202. The image processing system of this embodiment reads the information contained in these barcodes 204 and 206.

9(A) is a diagram for explaining the principle of reading each barcode attached to the specimen box as one image. As described above, the imaging device 100 is provided with a mirror 14 for capturing the side of the specimen box 200. Therefore, when light is irradiated by the LED light source 22, the image of the barcode 204 attached to the side of the specimen box 200 is reflected by the mirror 14 and enters the camera 24. On the other hand, when light is irradiated by the LED light source 22, the image of the barcode 206 attached to the bottom of each specimen tube 202 enters the camera 24 directly through the glass plate 12. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 9(B), one image 106 including the image 106a of the barcode 204 and the image 106b of each barcode 206 can be obtained by one image capture by the camera 24. This can improve the efficiency of image processing.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the image processing system. Note that the flow of information processing shown here is one example, and the order may be changed as long as no contradictions or inconsistencies arise in the results of the information processing, and other processes not mentioned here may be added, and these implementations are not excluded.

Until the switch 16 is turned on (step S11; NO), the information processing device 114 is in a standby state. When the user places the specimen box 200 on the positioning member 10 of the imaging device 100 and the switch 16 is turned on by contact with the specimen box 200 (step S11; YES), the information processing device 114 uses this as a trigger to send an instruction to the controller 112 to turn on the LED light source 22 (step S12) and control the camera 24 to capture an image of the underside of the specimen box 200 (step S13). After the image is captured by the camera 24, the information processing device 114 turns off the LED light source 22 (step S14).

Note that in step S11, the switch 16 being turned on may mean that the switch 16 is in a conductive state, or conversely, may be in a non-conductive state. In other words, this means that the information processing device 114 has been able to detect a change in the state of the switch 16.

Next, the information processing device 114 performs a predetermined pre-processing on the image 106 obtained from the camera 24 (step S15). The pre-processing here refers to, for example, image contrast adjustment, distortion correction, tilt correction, etc. In particular, in this embodiment, tilt correction, direction correction, etc. are performed on the image 106a of the barcode 204 obtained by the mirror 14 and the image 106b of each barcode 206.

Next, the information processing device 114 performs image recognition processing on each of the images 106a and 106b included in the image 106, and reads the information included in each of the barcodes 204 and 206 (step S16). The read information is displayed on the display of the information processing device 114 as appropriate, and is also temporarily stored.

Next, the information processing device 114 records the incoming data or outgoing data, including the read information and information appropriately input by the user using an input means such as a keyboard, in a storage device (not shown) (step S17). Then, the process returns to step S11.

As described above, the imaging device of this embodiment and the image processing system using the same can obtain clear images even when the specimen box, which is the object from which the image is to be read, is at an extremely low temperature, making it difficult for obstructing factors such as condensation and fog to occur.

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the above-described embodiment illustrates the handling of specimens derived from living organisms, but the application is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to various cases, such as managing frozen items such as food, and managing reagents that require cold storage.

In the imaging device of the above embodiment, the through hole is formed in the groove provided in the housing and the underside of the positioning member, but the through hole may be formed in the housing alone. Also, the through hole does not necessarily have to be formed. In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which two grooves and a protrusion are provided between them, but the protrusion may be omitted and a single groove is used. Also, the switch may be provided in any position as long as it can operate in contact with the sample box when it is placed on the sample box. In the above embodiment, a barcode is described as an example of an optically readable printed pattern, but this is not limited to this and anything that is optically readable may be used.

10: Positioning member 12: Glass plate 14: Mirror 16: Switch 18: Groove 20: Housing 22: LED light source 24: Camera 100: Imaging device 102: Gap 104: Cold air 106: Image 200: Sample box 202: Sample tube 204: (One-dimensional) barcode 206: (Two-dimensional) barcode

Claims (9)

An apparatus for photographing an object placed on the apparatus, comprising:
A transparent plate having a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, the transparent plate being disposed so that at least the first surface is obliquely intersecting with a vertical direction;
a housing that positions and disposes the object on the first surface side of the transparent plate such that a gap is formed between the transparent plate and the object;
a camera that captures an image of the object from the second surface side of the transparent plate;
An imaging device comprising: the housing has a groove portion that is connected to the gap when the object is placed and opens below the transparent plate,
The imaging device according to claim 1 . the housing has a side wall provided on the first surface side of the transparent plate,
The groove portion is provided so as to communicate with the gap, which is a space defined by the side wall and the first surface of the transparent plate.
The imaging device according to claim 2 . The groove portion has a bottom wall having a surface that is continuously connected to the first surface of the transparent plate.
The imaging device according to claim 2 or 3. A light source that irradiates light onto the object from the second surface side of the transparent plate,
The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The device further includes a switch that is operated by contacting the object when the object is placed on the device,
The camera photographs the object in response to an operation of the switch,
The light source irradiates the light in response to an operation of the switch.
The imaging device according to claim 5 . The camera further includes a reflecting member that reflects light from a side of the object toward the camera.
The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
an information processing device that controls an operation of the imaging device and performs image processing on image data obtained by photographing an object with the camera;
2. An image processing system comprising: the object is marked with an optically readable printed pattern containing information related to the content of the object;
the information processing device reads the information included in the print pattern based on the image data;
The image processing system according to claim 8.

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