JP2013114474A - Two-dimensional code - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a two-dimensional code capable of being integrated with a design without the feeling of incompatibility.SOLUTION: The two-dimensional code is configured by arranging a pattern code 13 which changes or is intermittent in a circumferential direction around a design 11 which has a circular outer shape and indicates visual information that a user can recognize, and is suitable for the two-dimensional code for adding digital information to a mark or seal 1 imitating sealing wax. Wax projected around the design 11 of the mark or seal 1 imitating the sealing wax is utilized as the pattern code 13 for indicating the digital information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a two-dimensional code integrated with a design without a sense of incongruity.

  In recent years, since it can be read not only by a dedicated reading device but also by a camera of a mobile phone or a smartphone, the spread of two-dimensional codes storing digital information is remarkable. There are various types of two-dimensional codes, and the standardized “QR code (registered trademark)” is the most common in Japan (Patent Document 1). A two-dimensional code (QR code (registered trademark)) disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a two-dimensional code in which data represented by a binary code is cellized and arranged as a pattern code on a two-dimensional matrix. A positioning symbol for a specific pattern code is arranged at at least two predetermined positions (Patent Document 1 and Claim 1).

  However, with only the two-dimensional code disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user cannot understand what kind of digital information is stored. Therefore, Patent Document 2 discloses a two-dimensional code (two-dimensional code pattern code) in which access information for accessing predetermined information related to a store, facility, structure, or service that can be acquired from a network by a mobile terminal is encoded. And a sheet that is related to the type or classification of the predetermined information or that is reminiscent of the type or classification of the predetermined information is proposed (Patent Document 2, Claim 1 to Claim) 3).

Japanese Patent No. 29383338 JP 2006-202264 A

  The sheet disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a design that represents visual information that can be recognized by a user and a two-dimensional code that stores digital information that can be recognized by a mobile terminal or the like in close proximity or in parallel. There is an advantage that digital information stored in the two-dimensional code can be easily guessed. However, the two-dimensional code exemplified in Patent Document 2 (the two-dimensional code disclosed in Patent Document 1) is accurate and high-speed in reading digital information, but lacks a sense of unity with the design and reduces the aesthetics of the design. . Therefore, in order to develop a two-dimensional code that can be integrated with the design without any sense of incongruity, we examined it.

  The two-dimensional code that has been developed as a result of the study is a circular outer shape (including an ellipse) and a pattern code that changes in the circumferential direction or is arranged around the design representing visual information that can be recognized by the user. It is. The present invention is suitable for a two-dimensional code for adding digital information to a mark or seal imitating a sealing wax. In this case, wax (wax) that protrudes around the mark imitating sealing wax or the design of the seal is used as a pattern code representing digital information.

  The two-dimensional code of the present invention is captured as an image integrated with a design by a dedicated reader or a camera of a mobile phone or a smartphone, and then specified digital information (for example, from a specific alphanumeric character) from a pattern code image by software processing. Read identification code). The digital information is sent to a dedicated server, and the corresponding other digital information (for example, a URL for displaying a specific page of the company HP) is sent back to the dedicated reading device, mobile phone, or smartphone, and the other digital information is converted to the other digital information as necessary. (When another digital information is the URL, the browser is started and a specific page of the company HP is displayed).

  The “pattern code that changes in the circumferential direction” means irregularities that enter and exit in the radial direction, such as wax that protrudes around the mark or seal design imitating sealing wax. A specific pattern code can include a combination of irregularities formed in the radial direction at a specific angle from the reference radial direction set in the design. “Formed in the radial direction of a specific angle” means that the digital information is related to the presence or absence, the size and shape of the convex or concave at each specific angle from the reference radial direction set in the design. In addition, the “pattern code intermittent in the circumferential direction” means a group of marks having a specific external shape that are separated in the circumferential direction and are arranged around the design, and the present invention is applied to a mark or seal imitating a sealing wax. Used for

  In order to read the digital information stored in the pattern code, distortion (deformation of the pattern or pattern code), rotation (in the plane containing the pattern or pattern code) from the image captured by the camera of a dedicated reader or mobile phone or smartphone ) And inclination (inclination with respect to the plane including the design and pattern code) must be removed. Therefore, the pattern code may include an outline of the design or a correction circle formed along the outline. The correction circle corrects the captured image to be circular (when the external shape of the design is circular) or a specific ellipse (when the external shape of the design is elliptical), and removes distortion. The correction circle can also have a function of enlarging or reducing the image so that the diameter has a specific length, and processing the pattern codes on the same scale.

  The pattern code includes a coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction provided radially outside the base point set around the design, and a coordinate code in the 6 o'clock direction provided radially outward from the periphery of the design at a point symmetrical with the base point. The image rotation can be corrected so that the straight line connecting the coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code in the 6 o'clock direction becomes the vertical axis. The coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code in the 6 o'clock direction can also have a function of enlarging or reducing an image read based on the interval between the two and processing the pattern codes on the same scale.

  If the coordinate code is a color or is composed of a plurality of cells, the digital information stored in the pattern code can be increased by the number of types of colors and the number of combinations of cells. For example, if the coordinate code in the 6 o'clock direction is a combination of three cells that can be painted in three colors, the digital information stored in the pattern code formed around the design is 9 times (= 3 × 3 times). . If the color of the coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction is associated with the number of radial angles of the specific angle at which the unevenness constituting the pattern code is formed, the identification of the unevenness to be read is determined from the color of the coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction. It is also possible to easily determine the angle.

  The present invention can integrate a two-dimensional code with a design without a sense of incongruity. This is because the pattern code for storing the digital information is configured only around the design and does not impair the aesthetics of the design, and the pattern code is naturally configured around the design. By making such a pattern code “a pattern code that changes in the circumferential direction”, it is possible to integrate the designs without a sense of incongruity by imitating the wax that protrudes from the sealing wax. In addition, by making the pattern code “pattern code intermittent in the circumferential direction”, the present invention can be easily applied to a mark or seal imitating sealing wax.

  The image obtained by photographing the two-dimensional code is to remove the distortion using the correction circle, to unify the scale by enlargement or reduction using the coordinate code, to remove the distortion using the coordinate code, Further, the pattern code can be read correctly by correcting the rotation and tilt directions. The correction circle is formed along the outer shape of the design or along the outer shape, and the coordinate code is provided on the outer side in the radial direction from the pattern code. Therefore, the aesthetics of the design is not impaired and the sense of unity between the design and the pattern code is not impaired. In addition to correcting the image, the coordinate code can be added with the function of increasing the digital information stored in the pattern code by color-coding by color and combining a number of cells.

It is a front view showing an example of the two-dimensional code of the present invention. It is a front view showing inclination correction of the image of the read two-dimensional code. It is a front view showing rotation correction of the image of the read two-dimensional code. It is a front view showing the expansion correction of the image of the read two-dimensional code. It is a front view showing the example of the code which can be read from a two-dimensional code. FIG. 2 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing an actual two-dimensional code. It is a flowchart showing from the reading of a two-dimensional code to the jump to HP.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described. The two-dimensional code of the present invention is suitably used for a seal or mark 1 simulating sealing wax, as seen in FIG. 1, for example. The pattern code 13 has a circular outer shape, and wax that protrudes around the design 11 (FIGS. 1 to 5 is not shown; refer to FIG. 6) representing visual information that can be recognized by the user. Convex 131 is formed concentrically with design 11 described above. In this example, for simplicity of explanation, the pattern code 13 having only one protrusion 131 is used. However, in accordance with the rules described later, the pattern code 13 can be configured by combining a number of protrusions or depressions (see below). 6).

  The pattern code 13 of this example is a radial direction from the correction circle 12 formed along the outline of the design 11 of the mark or the seal 1 imitating the sealing wax and the base point P in the 0 o'clock direction set around the design 11 It includes a coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction provided on the outer side and a coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction provided on the outer side in the radial direction from the periphery of the design 11 in a point-symmetrical position (6 o'clock direction) with the base point P. . The coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction are spaced radially outward from the pattern code 13 for clarity of illustration, but they may be provided closer or in contact with each other. In addition, in order to clearly read the outer peripheral edge of the pattern code 13, an edge may be provided on the outer peripheral edge.

  The correction circle 12 is used, for example, to correct an image captured by a smartphone camera so that the captured image becomes a circular shape and to remove distortion (see FIG. 2 below. FIG. 2 and the subsequent drawings omit illustration of the design 11). .same as below). Further, the correction circle 12 has a function of enlarging or reducing the image so that the diameter becomes a specific length and processing the pattern codes on the same scale (see FIG. 4 described later). The correction circle 12 of this example is provided in a positional relationship that borders the outer shape of the design 11, so that a sense of unity with the design 11 can be obtained, so that the outermost periphery of the design 11 in which a thin rope is wound in an annular shape It is formed along.

  The coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction has an outer shape of an equilateral triangle with the apex directed radially inward, and the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction in this example is red. The coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction includes four cells 151, 152, 153, and 154 that are colored differently. Each of the cells 151, 152, 153, and 154 is an equilateral triangle, and the second cell 152 from the left as viewed from the front has a vertex inward in the radial direction and has a point-symmetric relationship with the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction. In this example, the cell 151 is red, the cell 152 is blue, the cell 153 is black, and the cell 154 is green. The cells 151, 152, 153, and 154 constituting the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction may be a circle, a square, or a polygon other than a regular triangle.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the pattern code 13 is provided radially outward from the periphery of the design 11 orthogonal to the midpoint of the straight line 16 connecting the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction. It is good also as a structure containing either or both of the coordinate code | cord | chord of 3 o'clock direction or 9 o'clock direction. The pattern code 13 of this example corrects the inclination and size of the image captured together with the design 11 by using the correction circle 12. For example, the positional relationship and distance between the coordinate code in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code in the 3 o'clock direction The images may be corrected so as to be equal to each other, distortion may be removed, and rotation or tilt may be corrected. You may use together the correction | amendment by the correction | amendment circle | round | yen 12, and the correction | amendment by the coordinate code of the said 3 o'clock direction or 9 o'clock direction.

  In addition, when the coordinate code of 3 o'clock direction or 9 o'clock direction is used in addition to the coordinate code 14 of 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 of 6 o'clock direction, the present invention can be used even if the external shape of the design is elliptical. it can. That is, when the coordinate code of the 3 o'clock direction is used in addition to the coordinate code 14 of the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 of the 6 o'clock direction, for example, the design is an ellipse with a horizontally long and a major axis and a minor axis specified. When the coordinate code in the 9 o'clock direction is used, the design may be defined as an ellipse that is vertically long and has a major axis and a minor axis. In these cases, the correction circle 12 is also elliptical.

  As shown in the upper part of FIG. 2, for example, an image captured and captured by a smartphone camera is displayed on the left and right sides if the outer diameter D2 in the horizontal direction is shorter than the outer diameter D1 in the vertical direction of the correction circle 12. Judging that it is tilted in the direction (the right side is the depth of the paper and the left side is the front of the paper when viewed from the front), as shown in the lower part of FIG. 2, both the vertical direction and the horizontal method have the outer diameter D1. The tilt is corrected. Actually, the outer diameter of the correction circle 12 at more angles is acquired, and the inclination is corrected so that all the outer diameters are equal. As a result, the image is included in a plane parallel to the paper surface.

  In addition, as seen in the upper part of FIG. 3, for example, an image captured and captured by a smartphone camera is viewed from the front as a straight line 16 connecting the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction. When tilted, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3, the straight line 16 extends in the vertical direction around the midpoint of the distance connecting the opposite vertices of the second cell 152 from the left of the coordinate code 14 and the coordinate code 15. Correct the rotation so that they are aligned. As a result, the pattern code 13 formed in the radial direction (in this example, 1 o'clock) of a specific angle (in this example, 30 degrees) from the radial direction (in this example, 0 o'clock) of the base point P set in the design 11 The convex 131 can be read correctly.

  The image captured and captured by the camera of the smartphone is, for example, an image whose outer diameter D3 of the original image of the correction circle 12 reads the pattern code 13 as seen in the upper part of FIG. 4 (lower part of FIG. 4). When the corrected outer diameter D4 is smaller than the corrected outer diameter D4 in the reference circle 12), as shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, enlargement correction is performed until the outer diameter D3 becomes the outer diameter D4. If the outer diameter D3 is larger than the outer diameter D4, reduction correction is performed. The enlargement correction and the reduction correction are collectively referred to as size correction. For the size correction, the inner diameter of the correction circle 12 may be used, or the distance connecting the opposing vertices of the second cell 152 from the left of the coordinate code 14 and the coordinate code 15 may be used.

  Tilt correction, rotation correction, and size correction may be performed in any order. However, since the rotation correction and the size correction are corrections in the same plane, an image captured by a smartphone camera is first subjected to inclination correction so that it is included in a plane parallel to the paper surface. Then, rotation correction or size correction may be performed. For example, the size correction using the correction circle 12 can be performed prior to the rotation correction because the image is rotated as long as the inclination correction is completed. The size correction using the distance connecting the opposite vertices of the second cell 152 is that the straight line 16 connecting the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction is aligned vertically. For this reason, it is desirable to carry out after rotation correction.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the image corrected in this manner is a combination of a pattern code 13, a coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction, and a coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction, and reads digital information consisting of 14-digit alphanumeric characters. Make it. First, the first two-digit alphabetic character is specified by the combination of the color of the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the color of the second cell 152 from the left of the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction. In this example, red is “A”, green is “C”, blue is “D”, and black is “E”. From now on, since the first two digits of this example are red for the coordinate code 14 at 0 o'clock and blue for the second cell 152 from the left of the coordinate code 15 at 6 o'clock, the English character "AD" is read. .

  Next, from the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction, the English character “AEC” is read from the first, third, and fourth cells 151, 152, and 154 from the left, excluding the second cell 152 from the left. Here, the “AEC” means that the number of divisions in the circumferential direction for determining a specific angle at which the pattern code 13 is read = 12 means that the pattern code 13 can be easily read. In addition, for example, the pattern code 13 in the radial direction in the middle of the specific angle is read to read that the convex at the specific angle is straddling the radial direction of the specific angle on both sides, or sandwiched by the convex. It is also possible to read indents and acquire specific digital information.

  The number of digital information to be read is specified by the projections that make up the pattern code 13 each having a unit radius of n pieces, the projection amount of m unit projections, and the radial direction it is facing. Is done. The n unit radii are determined from the line segment connecting the intersection of the radial direction of the specific angle and the convex outer shape and two points away from the intersection. The number m of unit protrusions is determined by how much the intersection between the radial direction of a specific angle and the outer shape of the protrusion protrudes from the reference line with the outer peripheral edge of the pattern code 13 having no protrusion as a reference line. . If a convex protrusion is confirmed, it is determined which radial direction the convex is directed. The pattern code 13 may change only the size of the convex or concave, or only the amount of protrusion.

  The two-dimensional code of this example uses a pattern code 13 provided with a protrusion 131 having a protrusion amount of “1 (= unit protrusion amount × 1)” and a radius of “1 (unit radius × 1)” in the 1 o'clock direction. ing. Accordingly, the first three digits are “001” representing the radius “1” of the convex 131. If the radius is “2”, “002” is obtained, and if the radius is “3”, “003” is obtained. The next two digits are “01” representing the protrusion amount “1” of the protrusion 131. If this is a protrusion amount “2”, it is “02”, and if the protrusion amount is “3”, it is “03”. The last four digits represent the 1 o'clock direction in which the protrusion 131 protrudes and is “0001”. If this is the 2 o'clock direction, it will be “0002”, and if this is the 3 o'clock direction, it will be “0003”.

  In this way, the two-dimensional code of this example combines the pattern code 13 with the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction to read digital information consisting of alphanumeric characters “ADAEC001010001”. This digital information is only identification information associated with another digital information (for example, URL of company HP) acquired and transmitted to a dedicated server described later. Thus, the digital information read from the two-dimensional code of the present invention does not need to be a serial number, and may be unique (unique) that is individually related to the other digital information.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the actual two-dimensional code is a mark or seal 1 integrated with a sealing wax pattern 11 (in this example, a crown). The sealing wax is given a partial impression that gives a three-dimensional effect. In order to prevent reading errors due to such imprints, the correction circle 12 may be thickened in black, or the outer peripheral edge of the pattern code 13 may be outlined in black. The cells 151, 152, 153, and 154 that constitute the coordinate code 14 and the coordinate code 15 may be blackened. Further, an interference band that highlights the difference from the surrounding printed matter may be provided in the background of the pattern code 13, the coordinate code 14, and the coordinate code 15. In addition, for error correction, the same digital information is stored in the pattern code 13, the coordinate code 14 in the 0 o'clock direction, and the coordinate code 15 in the 6 o'clock direction, respectively, and one supplements the other or is obtained from both An error may be corrected by collating digital information.

  As an example of a mode in which the two-dimensional code of the present invention is used for a mark or seal 1 imitating sealing wax, a procedure for photographing the mark or seal 1 with a camera of a smartphone and guiding it to the company HP will be described. In the smartphone, a dedicated application for reading the two-dimensional code of the present invention is activated. First, as seen in FIG. 7, a mark or seal 1 simulating sealing wax is photographed with a camera of a smartphone to capture an image. When the image has been imported, the tilt correction, rotation correction, and size correction described above are automatically executed, and the digital information of “ADAEC001010001” as described above is acquired from the corrected image, and is once dedicated from the smartphone. The digital information is transmitted to the server.

  The dedicated server that has received the digital information from the smart phone extracts another digital information (URL of the company HP) related in advance and returns the other digital information to the smartphone. Then, on the smartphone, based on the other digital information, for example, a browser is automatically started to jump to the URL of the received company HP, or the other digital information is displayed on the screen to let the user confirm. After that, the browser is started by the user's operation, and the URL is jumped to the corporate HP URL.

1 Mark or seal imitating sealing wax
11 design
12 Correction circle
13 Pattern code
131 convex
14 0 o'clock coordinate code
15 6 o'clock coordinate code
151 First cell
152 Second cell
153 3rd cell
154 4th cell
16 Straight line P connecting the coordinate code of the 0 o'clock direction and the coordinate code of the 6 o'clock direction
D1 Longitudinal outer diameter
D2 Lateral outer diameter
D3 Outer diameter of original image
D4 Corrected outer diameter

Claims (6)

A two-dimensional code having a circular outer shape and a pattern code that changes in the circumferential direction or is arranged around a pattern representing visual information that can be recognized by the user. The two-dimensional code according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pattern code is a combination of irregularities formed in a radial direction at a specific angle from a reference radial direction set in the design. The pattern code is a two-dimensional code according to either 1 or 2 including an outline of a design or a correction circle formed along the outline. The pattern code includes a coordinate code of 0 o'clock direction provided radially outside the external shape of the design in the reference radial direction set in the design, and a radial direction from the external shape of the design in a point symmetrical position with the coordinate code of the 0 o'clock direction The two-dimensional code according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a coordinate code in the 6 o'clock direction provided outside. The two-dimensional code according to claim 4, wherein the coordinate code is a color. The two-dimensional code according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the coordinate code is composed of a plurality of cells.