JP2012103092A - Reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reading device which can appropriately and easily associate read spectroscopic information with an object merchandise.SOLUTION: The reading device comprises: a merchandise information reading unit (code reader 11) for reading the merchandise information for identifying a merchandise; a spectroscopic information reading unit (merchandise measuring unit 12) for reading spectroscopic information of the merchandise with a hyper-spectral camera with a trigger of reading of the merchandise information by the merchandise information reading unit; and an information output unit (POSI/F section 36) for outputting the read merchandise information and the spectroscopic information in association with each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a reading device that reads spectral information of products.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of technology, there is known a multispectral imaging apparatus that measures the color component of an irradiated surface by irradiating the surface of an object with light and analyzing the reflected light (for example, Patent Document 1). reference). Furthermore, a freshness sensor that determines the freshness of an object by analyzing the reflected light of the object, mainly fresh foods, the freshness of which decreases over time, using such spectral information reading technology. Has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). According to this freshness sensor, the freshness of an object can be determined in a short time and in a non-destructive manner, so that it is possible to inspect all products and determine freshness in real time.

International Publication No. 2005-047833 JP 2007-108124 A

  By the way, from the viewpoint of product sales promotion and customer service, there is a demand for presenting information (freshness determination result) based on the above-described spectral information to the customer at the time of product sales. In order to meet this demand, it is necessary to manage each spectral information read for a plurality of products to be sold in association with the product. On the other hand, since the above technique is based on the premise that the user confirms the read spectral information (or information based on the spectral information) in real time at the time of reading, only the spectral information is output to an external device. Therefore, the above-described technology needs to acquire information for specifying a product from the outside and add it to the spectral information when there are a large number of target products or when it is desired to manage spectral information for each product. Is necessary or work efficiency is poor.

  In view of the above-described points, an object of the present invention is to provide a reading apparatus capable of appropriately and easily associating read spectral information with a target product.

  The reading apparatus of the present invention includes a product information reading unit that reads product information that identifies a product, a spectral information reading unit that reads the spectral information of the product with a hyperspectral camera, triggered by the reading of product information by the product information reading unit, And an information output unit that associates the read product information and spectral information with each other and outputs the information to an external device.

  According to this configuration, the product information for specifying the product and the information in which the spectral information of the product is associated are output, so that the target product and the spectral information can be appropriately and easily associated and managed. Moreover, since merchandise information and spectral information can be read by the same apparatus, an individual apparatus is not required for reading each information, and operation can be simplified. Thereby, when reading spectroscopic information for a large number of products, the reading operation can be performed efficiently.

  In this case, it is preferable that the spectral information reading unit includes a pair of light sources that illuminate the measurement position of the product when reading the spectral information.

  According to this configuration, the measurement position of the product can be illuminated uniformly with a sufficient amount of light. Therefore, since sufficient reflected light from the product can be obtained, more accurate spectral information can be read.

  In this case, it is preferable that the spectroscopic information reading unit further includes a laser pointer that irradiates a laser beam for specifying the measurement position of the product.

  According to this configuration, the user can read the spectral information after confirming the measurement position on the surface of the product. In addition, the user can select a measurement position at which accurate spectral information of a product can be read by avoiding labels and packaging materials on the surface of the product before reading the spectral information.

  In this case, it is preferable that the laser pointer stops the irradiation of the laser beam when reading the spectral information.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the reflected light of the laser light from being received and affecting the spectral information of the product.

  In this case, it is preferable that the user further includes a grip unit for gripping the spectral information reading unit toward the product.

  According to this configuration, it is convenient when reading spectroscopic information of a large product that is difficult to carry or a large amount of product. The reading device is preferably a handy type.

It is the schematic diagram which showed the structure of the reading system provided with the reader. It is the block diagram which showed the control structure of the reading system provided with the reading apparatus. It is the graph (a) of the wavelength-reflectance in the spectral information of a plum, and the graph (b) of freshness index-elapsed days. It is the figure which showed an example of the accounting receipt. It is the flowchart which showed the reading process of the reader.

  Hereinafter, a reading apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the reading device of the present embodiment is used by being connected to a POS terminal in a retail store that handles fresh food, and reads product information and spectral information of fresh food at the time of accounting and outputs them to the POS terminal. On the other hand, the POS terminal generates information (for example, freshness of the product) based on the product information and the spectral information, and prints the information on the accounting receipt. Note that “fresh food” refers to fruits and vegetables (fruits and vegetables), fresh fish and meat. “Product information” is information about the product (for example, product name, price, etc.) included in the product barcode attached to the product, and “spectral information” is the measurement of the surface of the product. It is the reflected light spectrum obtained in this way.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a reading system SY provided with a reading device 1. As shown in the figure, the reading system SY performs the accounting process with the reading device 1 that reads the product barcode BC attached to the product and measures the surface (measurement position A) of the product to read the spectral information. A POS terminal 2 that generates receipt information for issuing an accounting receipt R and a receipt printer 3 that prints the accounting receipt R are also included. The POS terminal 2, the reading device 1, and the receipt printer 3 are connected to each other by a serial interface (for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the reading device 1 includes a code reading unit 11 (product information reading unit) that scans a product barcode BC, a surface measurement unit 12 (spectral information reading unit) that measures the surface of the product, and a code. A hood 13 covering each of the reading unit 11 and the surface measurement unit 12, a measurable lamp 14 indicating that measurement of the surface is possible, a measurement button 15 for starting measurement of the surface, and the user reads the code reading unit 11 And a grip 16 for gripping the surface measuring unit 12 toward the product, and a connection cord 17 for transmitting various information to the POS terminal 2.

  That is, the reading apparatus 1 is a handy type combined reading apparatus in which a barcode scanner that reads a product barcode BC and a measurement device that measures the surface of the product are integrated. Further, the reading device 1 measures the surface of the product by the surface measuring unit 12 using the reading of the product barcode BC by the code reading unit 11 as a trigger. Actually, when the product bar code BC is read, the measurable lamp 14 is turned on, and the surface of the product is measured by the user pressing the measurement button 15 with the surface measuring unit 12 facing the surface of the product. (Detailed later). Note that the reading device 1 and the POS terminal 2 may be wirelessly connected.

  The POS terminal 2 includes various operation buttons for performing accounting processing, a touch panel 21 for displaying accounting processing results, and a customer display 22 for presenting accounting processing results to customers. The accounting process is performed by the operator operating the reading device 1 and the touch panel 21 described above.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the reading device 1 and the reading system SY. As shown in the drawing, the reading device 1 includes a light source driving unit 31, a laser pointer driving unit 32, and an image data processing unit 33 in addition to the above-described code reading unit 11, surface measuring unit 12, measurable lamp 14, and measurement button 15. , A CPU 34, a memory 35, and a POSI / F unit 36 (information output unit), which are bidirectionally connected via a bus 37.

  The code reading unit 11 illuminates the commodity barcode BC to be read, a diffusion mirror 42 that diffuses illumination light from the light source, a CCD 43 that senses reflected light, and forms an image of reflected light on the CCD 43. And an imaging lens 44. The illumination light emitted from the light source 41 composed of red LEDs is diffused by the diffusion mirror 42 and uniformly illuminates the product barcode BC to be read. The reflected light reflected from the product barcode BC passes through the imaging lens 44 and is received by the CCD 43. The CCD 43 converts the received optical signal of the reflected light into an image signal and outputs it to the image data processing unit 33 described later.

  Note that the code reading unit 11 of the present embodiment is configured by a touch-type scanner that starts reading without trigger when the reading port (code reading unit 11) of the hood 13 is applied to the product barcode BC. Note that the code reading unit 11 may be configured by a laser scanner using laser light instead of LED as illumination light. Further, a trigger button may be provided, and reading of the product barcode BC may be started by pressing the trigger button.

  The surface measurement unit 12 includes a pair of light sources 51 that illuminate the measurement position A of the product, a pair of diffusion optical systems 52 that diffuse illumination light from the pair of light sources 51, and reflected light from the irradiation surface to a CCD 55 described later. An imaging optical system 53 for forming an image, a wavelength variable filter 54 that separates and extracts only light of a specific wavelength from the reflected light, and a CCD 55 that senses reflected light that has passed through the imaging optical system 53 and the wavelength variable filter 54. ,have.

  Illumination light emitted from the light source 51 composed of LEDs is diffused by the diffusion optical system 52 and uniformly illuminates the measurement position A of the product and its periphery. Then, the reflected light reflected from the measurement position A is imaged on the CCD 55 by the imaging optical system 53. The reflected light reflected from the measurement position A is separated for each wavelength by the wavelength variable filter 54 and received by the CCD 55. The CCD 55 converts the received optical signal of the reflected light into an image signal and outputs the image signal to the image data processing unit 33 described later. Thereby, the spectrum of each wavelength range contained in reflected light can be obtained. That is, the surface measuring unit 12 is configured by a so-called hyperspectral camera that can obtain the reflection spectrum of the measurement object with high accuracy. The wavelength tunable filter 54 is preferably composed of any of a Fabry-Perot tunable filter (FPTF), an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF), and a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF).

  In addition, the surface measurement unit 12 further includes a laser pointer 56 that irradiates a laser beam to a position serving as an index of the measurement position A in order to specify the measurement position A of the product. The laser pointer 56 is designed so that the irradiation position of the laser pointer 56 is the same position as the measurement position A. For example, the measurement is designed so that the irradiation position of the laser pointer 56 = the measurement position when measured in a state approximately 10 cm away from the surface of the product to be measured.

  The image data processing unit 33 performs predetermined processing on the image data obtained from the CCD 43 of the code reading unit 11 and the CCD 55 of the surface measurement unit 12. Specifically, the image data obtained from the CCD 43 of the code reading unit 11 is amplified and A / D converted. Further, compression processing or the like is performed on the image signal obtained from the CCD 55 of the surface measuring unit 12.

  The light source drive unit 31 drives the light source 41 provided in the code reading unit 11 and the pair of light sources 51 provided in the surface measurement unit 12 based on a control signal from the CPU 34. Similarly, the laser pointer driving unit 32 drives the laser pointer 56 based on a control signal from the CPU 34.

  The CPU 34 comprehensively controls each unit of the reading device 1. Further, the CPU 34 performs processing for associating the image data obtained from the code reading unit 11 and the image data obtained from the reading device 1. The memory 35 stores a processing program executed by the CPU 34 and image data obtained from the code reading unit 11 and the surface measuring unit 12.

  The POS I / F unit 36 is an interface for the reading device 1 to communicate with the POS terminal 2 and outputs image data associated with the CPU 34 to the POS terminal.

  On the other hand, the POS terminal 2 includes an image data analysis unit 61 that analyzes image data obtained from the reading device 1, an accounting processing unit 62 that performs accounting processing, and receipt information generation that generates receipt information for printing accounting receipts. Part 63.

  The image data analysis unit 61 acquires product information (product name, price, etc.) of the product from the image data obtained by reading the product barcode BC. Further, image data (spectral information) obtained by measuring the surface of the product is analyzed to determine the freshness level of the product. Note that the image data analysis unit 61 holds a database (not shown) of product information and a freshness level of products that serve as indexes for data analysis.

  Specifically, the determination of the freshness level by the image data analysis unit 61 is based on image data (spectral information) that is a detection value in each wavelength range, and the amount of main components that changes over time (for example, water content, sugar content, etc.). The freshness index affected by the color of the surface and the surface is calculated, and the freshness level of the product is determined from the freshness index. The analysis method of spectroscopic information (reflected light spectrum) is largely divided into two types, qualitative analysis type and quantitative analysis type. The former includes principal component analysis and cluster analysis, and the latter includes multiple regression analysis and principal component regression analysis. and so on. If these already known analysis methods are used, freshness determination can be easily performed, but in this embodiment, a simple method is adopted. The following is a discriminating method devised with reference to a normalized vegetation index (NDVI) known for remote sensing, which can be analyzed even by a CPU with low processing capability. For example, FIG. 3 (a) is a wavelength-reflectance graph for fruit plums. A wavelength section of 575-625 nm is an A section, and a wavelength section of 625-725 nm is a B section. FIG. 3B is a graph showing the freshness index-elapsed days by defining the formula (B−A) / (B + A) as a freshness index. The freshness index increases as the freshness deteriorates. In this embodiment, the freshness index is less than 0.15 in “Lv1: Fresh”, less than 0.15-0.25 in “Lv2: Semi-fresh”, and 0.25 or more in “Lv3: Non-fresh”. Shall be divided. Note that this freshness level is different for each product in consideration of the characteristics of the product (a component that easily changes over time).

  Returning to FIG. 2, the accounting processing unit 62 performs accounting processing based on the product information and each information input from the touch panel 21. The receipt information generation unit 63 is not illustrated in accordance with the accounting processing result of the accounting processing unit 62, the freshness level of the product obtained by analyzing the image data obtained by measuring the surface of the product, and the freshness level. Receipt information in which advice information for the product extracted from the storage unit is associated is generated. Then, the generated receipt information is output to the receipt printer 3.

  The receipt printer 3 prints the receipt information acquired from the POS terminal 2 on receipt paper and issues an accounting receipt R.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the accounting receipt R on which the freshness level is printed. The receipt R shown in FIG. 4 includes a first print area E1 in which store information and transaction information are printed in the upper part, and a second print area E2 in which the freshness level of the merchandise processed and the advice information are printed in the lower part. have. As shown in the drawing, the freshness level and the advice information are printed in the second printing area E2 for “La France” and “Avocado” that have been accounted for. In the present embodiment, “date and time of eating”, “storing method”, and “recommended how to eat” are printed as advice information. In addition, information that should be conspicuous, such as “freshness level” and “date and time of eating”, may be printed in the first print area E1 along with the print line of the target product. Note that the freshness level and advice information may be printed as a coded image (for example, a QR code). In this case, for example, when a coded image is read by a code reading function mounted on a customer's mobile phone, the freshness level and advice information are displayed on the display. Thereby, the printing space of the accounting receipt R can be reduced.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a reading process of the reading device in the present embodiment will be described. First, when the product reading barcode BC is scanned by the code reading unit 11 (S01), the reading device 1 stores the image data obtained by the scanning in the memory 35 (S02). Then, the light source 41 of the code reading unit 11 is turned off (S03). Then, the laser pointer 56 of the surface measuring unit 12 is turned on (S04), and the measurable lamp 14 is turned on (S05). When the measurement button 15 is pressed (S06: Yes), the laser pointer 56 is turned off (S07), the light source 41 of the surface measurement unit 12 is turned on (S08), and scanning of the surface of the product is started (S08). S09). Then, the image data obtained by scanning is stored in the memory 35 in association with the image data of the product barcode BC obtained immediately before (S10). Then, these image data are output to the POS terminal 2 (S11).

  According to the reading device 1 and the reading system SY described so far, the image data including the product information for specifying the product and the image data that is spectral information that can calculate the freshness level of the product are shared. Since they are acquired by the apparatus and are output in association with each other, the spectral information and the product can be easily associated and managed. Further, since the reading device 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration connected to the POS terminal 2, the product information and the spectral information are read without adding a new operation to the scanning operation performed at the time of accounting, and the spectral information is sent to the customer. Information (freshness level) can be presented.

  Further, by providing the reading device 1 with a pair of light sources 51 for irradiating the surface of the product, the measurement position A of the product can be illuminated with a sufficient amount of light and uniformly. Further, according to the reading device 1 described above, after scanning the product barcode BC, the light source 41 of the code reading unit 11 is turned off, the measurable lamp 14 is turned on, and the measurement of the surface is performed by pressing the measurement button 15 of the user. By starting, the product barcode BC is prevented from being read erroneously during the surface measurement of the product. Further, by turning off the laser pointer 56 during the measurement of the product, adverse effects on the measurement by the laser light are suppressed.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that all products subject to accounting are fresh foods. However, if the products subject to accounting include products other than fresh foods, whether or not the products are fresh foods A configuration in which the POS terminal 2 determines using the information on the product name and product category included in the barcode BC and sends a command to the reading device 1 to start measuring the product when the target product is fresh food. It is also good.

  Further, the external device connected to the reading device 1 may be a server or other PC instead of the POS terminal 2. Further, the reading device 1 of the present invention can be used not only at the time of merchandise accounting, but also at various occasions where merchandise is measured, such as when merchandise is displayed or shipped.

  In the reading apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the code reading unit 11 and the surface measuring unit 12 are configured by separate reading units, and these are configured by a common light source, a diffusion optical system, an imaging optical system, and a CCD. It may be realized by the reading means. Further, the surface measurement unit 12 may have a structure in which a plurality of light sources having different color components are provided, and the measurement position A of the product is sequentially illuminated by each light source to detect the reflection spectrum in each wavelength region.

  1: Reading device 2: POS terminal 11: Code reading unit 12: Surface measuring unit 16: Grip unit 36: POSI / F unit 51: Light source 54: Wavelength variable filter 56: Laser pointer A: Measurement position BC: Product barcode SY : Reading system

Claims (5)

A product information reading unit for reading product information for specifying a product;
Using the product information reading unit as a trigger to read the product information, a spectral information reading unit that reads the spectral information of the product by a hyperspectral camera,
An information output unit that associates the read product information and spectral information and outputs the information to an external device.   The reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spectral information reading unit includes a pair of light sources that illuminate a measurement position of the product when reading the spectral information.   The reading device according to claim 1, wherein the spectral information reading unit further includes a laser pointer that irradiates a laser beam for specifying a measurement position of the product.   The reading device according to claim 3, wherein the laser pointer stops irradiation of the laser beam when reading the spectral information.   The reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a grip part for a user to hold the spectral information reading part toward the product.

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