JPS5948433B2 - Optical information reading device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved optical information reading device for reading information recorded on paper, and particularly to an improved light source unit for an optical information reading device equipped with a color discrimination function. It is.

OMR is an optical information reading device that uses photoelectric conversion elements such as CCD image sensors and photodiode arrays to read characters and figures recorded on paper.
, OCR, facsimile transmitter, and various graphic input devices are well known.

When identifying color information written in different colors in such an optical information reading device, the page to be read is sequentially illuminated with a light source of a color corresponding to the color to be identified,
It is also already known to extract color information by mutually combining information signals obtained in response to illumination light of each color and performing logical operations. Conventionally, light source units to provide the above-mentioned color discrimination function have either installed multiple color light sources in parallel and switched on and off electrically, or installed multiple color filters in front of a single light source. Many are installed and mechanically switched. However, all of these conventional light source units occupy a large amount of space, and especially in relation to their arrangement with the reading photoelectric conversion element, it takes a considerable amount of space to install them without interfering with each other's optical paths. There was a disadvantage that it was necessary. Although such disadvantages are not so obvious in optical information reading devices that rely exclusively on paper feeding to scan the paper surface to be read, it is possible to alleviate the limitations on the reading function due to paper quality and size. In an optical information reading device that scans the paper surface by fixing the paper side and moving a seven-sensor unit consisting mainly of a light source unit and a photoelectric conversion element, it is extremely difficult to mount both units on a single carrier. It becomes an obstacle. In view of the above-mentioned conventional situation, the present invention is directed to an optical information reading device with a color discrimination function that performs reading scanning sequentially under illumination of light sources of different colors, and which is small in size and combined with a photoelectric conversion element. The object of the present invention is to provide a unique light source unit that is advantageous for.

Briefly stated, the optical information reading device according to the present invention includes a pair of side plates each supported by a rotary shaft extending outward on a common axis above the paper surface to be read, and two side plates are provided between the side plates.
Three sets of illumination lamps for different color light sources each consisting of one set of lamps are installed in parallel with a predetermined gap apart so that they are positioned in an angular relationship of 120 degrees to each other on the same circumference with respect to the axis, and further above the axis. A photoelectric conversion element is arranged along the axis, and the reflected light at the position irradiated by the set of lighting lights facing the plane of the paper is reflected between the installation gap between the lighting lights in that set and between the sets of lighting lights of other colors. The light source is characterized in that the light is made to enter the light source conversion element through the construction gap.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the overall general configuration of a large-sized drawing reading device employing a light source unit according to the present invention.
A paper mounting table 20 and a carrier 30 are mounted on a frame 10 with wheels.
Or installed. The paper mounting table 20 is made of a metal box-shaped member with an intake hole 21 for sucking paper on the back side.
It is coupled to a vacuum pump 22 via a valve and duct (not shown). In this way, the paper P to be read can be fixed to the upper surface of the mounting table 20 by vacuum suction. On the other hand, the carrier 30 located above the paper mounting table 20 has legs 31 and 32 connected to a pair of linear shafts 3.
3 and 34, and is connected to a guide screw 36 driven by a pulse motor 35 via a ball-nel structure transfer mechanism 37.

In this case, four sensor units 40 are mounted in a row on the horizontal head portion 38 of the carrier 30, facing the sheet P to be read. Further, between the opposing legs 31 and 32 of the carrier 30, three color light source units 50 are rotatably attached. Figure 2 shows the above sensor unit 4.
3 is a cross-sectional view more specifically showing the structure and arrangement relationship of the light source unit 50 and the light source unit 50, and FIG.

In FIG. 2, each sensor unit 40 includes, for example, a 1024-bit CCD 1-line image sensor 41 having a bit pitch of 13μ, a fine adjustment mechanism 42 for adjusting the position of the sensor in the horizontal plane and in the vertical plane, and the 13μ bit pitch. The light source unit is installed between such a sensor unit 40, which is attached to the head section 38 of the carrier 30 and has a lens 43 for adjusting the pitch to correspond to a resolution of, for example, 125μ on the paper surface P, and the paper mounting table 20. There are three sets of red, blue, and green fluorescent lights 5152 and 53, each consisting of two sets of fluorescent lights.
A pair of side plates 5 with reflective covers 54, 55 and 56
7 in parallel at 120 degree intervals.

A slit 59 is formed in the center of the upper part of each reflective cover in correspondence with the installation gap between the fluorescent lamps forming a set, and when the paper P is irradiated with the lower red fluorescent lamp 51 as shown by the arrow 60, the reflection Light enters the upper sensor unit 40 through the slit 59 and another set of light source gaps. The light source unit 50 can manually or automatically take three rotational positions about the shaft 58 of the side plate 57 for attachment, and illuminates the paper P with light sources of different colors according to each rotational position. In relation to FIG. 3, one side plate 57 supporting three sets of fluorescent lamps of three colors is pivotally supported by the leg portion 31 of the carrier 30 with a rotating shaft 58, and is fixed to the side plate 57. gear 61 and another gear 62
The handle 64 of the switching shaft 63 is connected to the handle 64 of the switching shaft 63 through engagement with the handle 64 of the switching shaft 63. A ball stopper 65 for positioning is provided between the leg portion 31 and the handle 64, and is adapted to correctly regulate the facing position of each set of fluorescent lamps and the sheet P. Thus, in this embodiment, the color of the illumination light for the paper P can be switched by manually rotating the handle 64, and the reflected light from the paper P under each color of illumination light is sent to the sensor unit through the same optical path. 40. Now, in the above configuration, the paper P to be read is placed on the paper mounting table 20 and is sucked by the vacuum pump 22, and the red fluorescent light 5 is used as an example on the side facing the paper.
With 1 on, the carrier 3 is activated by the pulse motor 35.
0 at a predetermined sub-scanning speed, a video signal can be obtained from the sensor 41 in which red information on the paper is excluded.

After scanning the paper under red illumination, the carrier 30
The light source unit 50 is returned to its original position once, and then the light source unit 50 is
By rotating the paper by 20 degrees and scanning the paper with the blue fluorescent lamp 52 turned on, a video signal in which blue information is excluded can be obtained. If the light source unit 50 is subsequently rotated 120 degrees and the paper is scanned under line color illumination in the same manner, a video signal in which green information is excluded can be obtained. 3 obtained in this way
If two or three types of video signals are combined and logically processed, color information corresponding to each illumination light can be identified and extracted. Here, in the present invention, as mentioned above, a rotary switchable light source unit is adopted, and the reflected light of the information to be read enters the sensor unit through the arrangement gap between the fluorescent lamps of each color. It is extremely advantageous in that it is small and lightweight.

Although the present invention is suitable for application to the sensor moving type optical information reading device as described in the above embodiments,
The present invention can be similarly applied to a scanning type device using paper feeding, and is extremely advantageous in improving the space factor between the light source unit and the sensor unit.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was explained in which the light source is manually switched for each frame, but it is also possible to automatically switch the light source mechanically or electrically in conjunction with the return of the carrier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of an optical information reading device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a sensor unit and a light source unit, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of essential parts of the light source unit. It is. 10: Frame, 20: Paper mounting table, 30: Carrier, 40:
Sensor unit, 50: Light source unit, 51-53: Different color fluorescent lamp, 54-56: Reflective cover 57: Side plate, 58: Rotating shaft, 59: Slit, 64: Handle.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an optical information reading device that has a plurality of light sources of different colors and uses a photoelectric conversion element to sequentially read information on a page illuminated by illumination light from each light source, a A pair of side plates each supported by a rotary shaft extending outward on a common axis are provided, and between the side plates three sets of illumination lamps for different color light sources each consisting of two lamps are arranged on the same circumference about the axis. The lamps are installed in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval so as to have an angular relation of 120 degrees to each other, and furthermore, a photoelectric conversion element is arranged above the axis along the axis, and a set of illumination lights facing the plane of the paper is installed. The optical information reading device is characterized in that the reflected light from the irradiated position is made to enter the photoelectric conversion element through the installation gap between the illumination lights of the set and the installation gap between the sets of illumination lights of other colors. Device.