JP2021096235A - Measuring unit, measure, and method for manufacturing measure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a measuring unit and a measure that can reduce the width of a measure more.SOLUTION: A measuring unit 1 includes: a plurality of irradiation units 8 and light reception units 9 arranged in a length direction at regular intervals, the irradiation units and the light reception units optically reading a plurality of patterns from a measure 7A with a color pattern including a plurality of patterns arranged in a length direction at regular intervals; and a micro computer 3 for converting the pattern read by the light reception units 9 into a value of the notation system of base N (N is at least 3) and calculating the scale value of the measure on the basis of data which defines the relation between the value of the notation system of base N and the scale value of the measure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a measuring instrument, a tape measure, and a method for manufacturing a tape measure.

There is known a measurement system capable of directly inputting length data obtained by measuring the length of an object to an external terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this measurement system, a two-color dot pattern printed on a major is read, and the read pattern is converted into length data and transmitted.

Further, a handy terminal having a dimensional measurement function is known (for example, Patent Document 2). Further, a technique for optically reading a pattern printed on a major is known (for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-35535 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-105639 JP-A-2009-75013 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-272916 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-294238

In a measure in which a multi-line pattern with multiple patterns in the width direction is printed, one line pattern corresponds to one measured value. Therefore, if the length that can be measured by the measure is increased, one line is used. The number of patterns that make up the pattern of is also required to be large, and the width of the measure needs to be increased.

On the other hand, in the case of a curved measure such as a convex type steel measure, if multiple patterns are printed in the width direction of the measure, the distance between the sensor and each pattern changes depending on the position in the width direction. There is a risk that the reading result of each sensor will have an error. For example, in the case of a measure that is curved toward the sensor at the center, the sensor that is placed facing the pattern located in the center of the measure is close to the measure, but is located at the end of the measure in the width direction. Since the sensor is far from the measure, even if the pattern of the same color is read, the amount of light received by the center sensor and the end sensor may change, and the pattern color may not be detected accurately. There is. This problem can occur not only with a steel tape measure, but also with a resin tape measure when the detector is tilted or the tape measure is twisted.

One object of the present invention is to provide a measuring instrument and a tape measure capable of reducing the width of the tape measure. Another object of the present invention is to provide a measuring instrument and a tape measure for preventing a pattern reading defect caused by a distance between a sensor and a pattern. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a measuring instrument, a tape measure, and a method for manufacturing a tape measure, which can reduce the size in the length direction.

In order to achieve the above object, the measuring instrument disclosed in the specification optically reads the plurality of patterns from a measure having a color pattern including a plurality of patterns arranged at regular intervals in the length direction, and said that the plurality of patterns are optically read. A plurality of first reading means arranged at regular intervals in the length direction, a conversion means for converting a pattern read by the plurality of first reading means into an N-ary number (N is 3 or more), and the above. It is characterized by comprising a calculation means for calculating the scale value of the measure based on the data defining the relationship between the value of the N-ary number and the scale value of the measure.

According to the present invention, the width of the measure can be made smaller, and it is also possible to deal with a pattern reading defect caused by the distance between the sensor and the pattern in the curved measure.

It is a block diagram of the length measuring instrument which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example which the measuring instrument which has 3 sets of light receiving part reads a measure. It is a figure which shows an example of the table which assigned one scale value of a measure to three patterns. It is a figure which shows an example of the color pattern of a measure. It is a flowchart which shows the measurement process executed by a measuring instrument. It is a figure which shows the correspondence relationship between the color number detected by each light receiving part, and the detected voltage value. It is a flowchart which shows the color determination process of S4. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the color number, the voltage value, and the corresponding color number of two patterns when the light receiving part reads the boundary of two patterns. It is a figure which shows the example which the measuring instrument which concerns on 2nd Embodiment reads a measure. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the color number detected by three light receiving parts, and the light receiving part used for scale conversion. It is a flowchart which shows the measurement process executed by the measuring instrument which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the color determination process of S34. It is a flowchart which shows the color determination process of S34. It is a flowchart which shows the boundary determination process of S35. (A) is a diagram showing a first modification of the measuring instrument according to the first embodiment, and (B) is a diagram showing a second modification of the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment. .. (A) is a diagram showing a first modification of the measuring instrument according to the second embodiment, and (B) is a diagram showing a second modification of the measuring instrument according to the second embodiment. In (A) to (D), in order to read a color pattern using four light receiving units 9 arranged in a row in the width direction, a plurality of patterns arranged in a row in the length direction are arranged in the width direction. It is a figure which shows the method of converting into the color pattern arranged in 4 columns. It is a flowchart which shows the method of arranging the color pattern of 1 column of FIG. 17A in the color pattern of 4 columns of FIG. 17D. It is a figure which shows the correspondence relationship between the value read by the measure of FIG. In (A) to (D), a plurality of patterns arranged in one row in the length direction and four light receiving portions are arranged in two rows in the width direction and a plurality of patterns arranged in two rows in the width direction. It is a figure which shows the method of converting into four light receiving parts. In (A) to (D), a plurality of patterns arranged in one row in the length direction and four light receiving portions are arranged in two rows in the width direction and a plurality of patterns arranged in two rows in the width direction. It is a figure which shows the modification of the method of converting into four light receiving parts.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a length measuring instrument according to the first embodiment. The length measuring instrument is used for measuring in a clothing store, for example, but may be used for other purposes.

The length measuring instrument (hereinafter referred to as “measuring instrument”) 1 is a reading unit 2 that reads a color pattern attached to the measure 7A, and a microcomputer 3 (a microcomputer 3 that calculates the length of a measurement target from the data read by the reading unit 2). Micro Computer), a communication unit 4 that transmits the calculated length data of the measurement target to the external terminal 10 by wire or wirelessly, a switch 5 that instructs the microcomputer 3 to start measurement, a reading unit 2, and a microcomputer 3. A battery 6 for supplying power to the communication unit 4 and a storage unit 7 for storing the measure 7A are provided. The microcomputer 3 includes a buffer 3A for storing data, flags, and the like.

The measuring system that measures or determines the length of the object to be measured is not composed of the combination of the measuring instrument 1 and the external terminal 10 of FIG. 1, but may be configured by a single measuring instrument 1 that does not use the external terminal 10. Good. When the measuring instrument 1 and the external terminal 10 are combined, the process of calculating the length of the measurement target may be performed by the external terminal 10 instead of the microcomputer 3 of FIG. At this time, the measuring instrument 1 transmits the reading value read by the reading unit 2 to the external terminal 10. When the external terminal 10 is not used, the measuring instrument 1 may execute the function of the external terminal 10 described in the first to third embodiments. The measurement system may further include other devices such as servers, storage devices or any type of communication device.

The measuring system may have, for example, a function of storing the measured length and a function of processing the measured length for a purpose such as measuring when making clothes. These functions can be realized by executing the software on the external terminal 10 or another device.

The reading unit 2 includes a plurality of irradiation units 8 that irradiate the color pattern with light, and a plurality of light receiving units 9 that receive the reflected light from the color pattern and output a current or voltage of a value corresponding to the amount of received light. ing. The irradiation unit 8 is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and the light receiving unit 9 is a phototransistor. The irradiation unit 8 irradiates light such as infrared rays, visible light, and ultraviolet rays, and the light receiving unit 9 receives the reflected light from the pattern. Unless otherwise specified, one irradiation unit 8 and one light receiving unit 9 are used as one set, but as described later, one irradiation unit 8 and a plurality of light receiving units 9 may be used as one set. Good. When it is necessary to distinguish a plurality of light receiving parts from each other, the reference numbers of the light receiving parts are displayed as 9A1 to 9A4, 9B1 to 9B4 or 9C1. Hereinafter, the set of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving unit 9 may be collectively referred to as the “light receiving unit 9”. The reading unit 2 may have at least a function corresponding to the light receiving unit 9.

The microcomputer 3 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a non-volatile memory, and functions as a conversion means, a calculation means, and a determination means. The microcomputer 3 controls the on / off of the irradiation unit 8 and reads the current value or the voltage value output by the light receiving unit 9. Since the reflectance of light differs depending on the color and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 9 varies according to the reflectance, the microcomputer 3 can determine the color of each pattern based on the current value or voltage value output from the light receiving unit 9. is there. Then, the microcomputer 3 converts the color detected by each light receiving unit 9 into a ternary or decimal value, and the scale of the measure 7A corresponding to the converted ternary or decimal value using the table described later. Find the value. As a result, the length of the object to be measured is calculated.

Scales are printed along the length direction on the front surface of the major 7A, and a color pattern using N (N ≧ 3, the same applies hereinafter) color is printed on the back surface. The details of the color pattern will be described later. The storage unit 7 is detachably attached to the housing of the measuring instrument 1. In FIG. 1, the measure 7A is housed in the storage unit 7, but the measure 7A may not be housed in the storage unit 7 or the measuring instrument 1 as long as the measuring instrument can read the measure. For example, the measuring instrument 1 may not accommodate the measure 7A and may include a slit through which the measure 7A is slidably passed.

The external terminal 10 is a communication terminal having a wired or wireless communication function such as a computer or a smart phone, receives data of a length to be measured from the communication unit 4, registers it in a database, and manages it. The database for registering the length data may be built in the external terminal 10 or may be provided outside the external terminal 10 in an accessible state. Further, software for processing the measured length data may be stored in the external terminal 10 or in another device accessible to the external terminal 10.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing an example of a color pattern printed on the back surface of the measure 7A according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, an example of reading the color pattern of the major 7A by using the measuring instrument 1 having three sets of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving unit 9 is shown. The vertical direction of FIG. 2 is the width direction of the measure 7A, the horizontal direction of FIG. 2 is the length direction of the measure 7A, and the moving direction of the measure 7A with respect to the measuring instrument 1.

On the tape measure 7A of FIG. 2, a color pattern composed of a plurality of patterns arranged in a row at regular intervals X in the length direction is printed. Each pattern has one of three different colors, and each color is assigned a value of 0, 1 or 2. In the example of FIG. 2, each pattern has a color of white, blue, or black, and is assigned a value of "0" for white, "1" for blue, and "2" for black. Has been done. In the pattern of FIG. 2, the values of "0" to "2" corresponding to the colors are shown, but these values are printed on the measure 7A for easy understanding. No need. Similarly, the boundaries between the patterns are also shown for ease of understanding, but it is not necessary to draw such boundaries on the measure 7A.

Further, in the example of FIG. 2, three patterns adjacent to each other in the length direction constitute one unit pattern, and one ternary value is assigned to one unit pattern.

It is not necessary to print each pattern in "different colors" or different hues because it is sufficient that the three values corresponding to "0" to "2" can be output by reading the reading unit 2. If each pattern can be optically distinguished, color patterns with different shades and reflectances of each pattern may be used, for example, "light red", "slightly dark red", "darker red", and so on. Patterns having different lightness and saturation depending on the hue may be printed. Further, if the reading unit 2 can distinguish the colors, the difference in color may not be visually distinguishable. In the present application, such a difference in brightness and saturation and other modes for realizing different reflectances are also treated as "different colors". The reflectance of the patterns may be different by changing the shape of each pattern, and if the "reflectance" of the pattern is focused on, these can also be regarded as "different colors" for convenience.

The interval X, which is also the length of the pattern, corresponds to the unit length measurable by the measure 7A. In the measuring instrument 1, three light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 and three irradiation units 8 for detecting the reflected light from the color pattern of the major 7A are arranged at the same interval X as each pattern. Each light receiving unit 9A reads any one of the patterns constituting the 1 unit pattern. The number of pairs of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving unit 9 may be two or four or more depending on the number of patterns constituting one unit pattern and the like. Further, as will be described later, the number of irradiation units 8 does not have to be the same as the number of patterns constituting one unit pattern.

The light receiving unit 9 outputs a voltage having a value corresponding to the reflected light from the pattern. The microcomputer 3 determines the color of each pattern based on the voltage value output from the light receiving unit 9. In the present embodiment, when the output voltage of the light receiving unit 9 is 2.0V, 1.5V or 1.0V, the microcomputer 3 determines that the pattern color is white, blue or black, respectively. The microcomputer 3 replaces the read color with the corresponding ternary values "0" to "2" as needed.

Since the moving direction of the major 7A and the arrangement direction of the patterns are the same, each time the major 7A moves by the length of one pattern, the patterns read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are also shifted by one in the length direction. The three light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 function as a plurality of first reading means.

The buffer 3A includes a table in which the scale values of the measure 7A are assigned to the unit patterns read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3. An example of the table is shown in FIG. 3, and the corresponding color pattern is shown in FIG.

The measuring instrument 1 reads a 1-unit pattern composed of three patterns adjacent to each other in the length direction. In FIG. 3, the colors of the three patterns read by the measuring instrument 1, the ternary number corresponding to each unit pattern, the decimal number converted from the ternary number, and the scale value corresponding to the unit pattern are associated with each other.

The L-th unit pattern in FIG. 3 corresponds to a combination of the three L-th to L + 2nd patterns from the beginning among the color patterns in FIG. For example, the third unit pattern in FIG. 3 corresponds to a combination of the third to fifth patterns in FIG.

In the measure 7A, the patterns are arranged so that the configurations of the unit patterns from the beginning to the end do not overlap.

The color pattern of the present embodiment is represented by a ternary number, but in the table shown in FIG. 3, the ternary numbers corresponding to the unit pattern are not arranged in ascending or descending order. Furthermore, the decimal values converted from the ternary values are also not arranged in ascending or descending decimal order. On the other hand, the scale values arranged in the table in ascending order do not mathematically correspond to the ternary or decimal values of the table. For example, the ternary value "101" in the fourth row of FIG. 3 mathematically means the decimal number "10", but is assigned to the scale value "3". Therefore, in the present embodiment, the correspondence between the ternary value / decimal value that is not in ascending / descending order and the scale value in ascending order is determined by using a table.

The microcomputer 3 determines the scale values corresponding to the three patterns read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 based on the table of FIG. 3, and the communication unit 4 transmits the scale values to the external terminal 10.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a measurement process executed by the measuring instrument 1.

The irradiation unit 8 is turned off before the start of the length measurement process. When the user operates the switch 5 when measuring the length of the measurement target using the tape measure 7A, the measuring instrument 1 executes the measurement process shown in FIG.

When the switch 5 is operated to measure the length, the microcomputer 3 lights all the irradiation units 8 (S1). As a result, since the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 receive the reflected light from each pattern, the microcomputer 3 reads out the output voltage values of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 (S2), and then turns off the irradiation unit 8 (S3). Next, the microcomputer 3 performs color determination processing for each pattern from the output voltage of the light receiving unit 9 (S4). The details of the color determination process will be described later.

Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not an abnormality has been detected in the color determination process (S5). For example, if the output voltage value of any of the light receiving units 9 does not correspond to a predetermined voltage range to be detected, the microcomputer 3 determines that an abnormality has been detected. If an abnormality is detected in the color determination process (YES in S5), this process ends. If no abnormality is detected in the color determination process (NO in S5), the microcomputer 3 calculates the ternary value and / or the decimal value corresponding to the unit pattern from the color of the pattern read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3. (S6).

The microcomputer 3 initializes by setting the value of L corresponding to the scale value in the table of FIG. 3 to be compared with the value calculated in S6 to 0 (L = 0) (S7). Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the value calculated in S6 matches the L-th scale value in the table of FIG. 3 (S8). If the value calculated in S6 matches the L-th scale value (YES in S8), the microcomputer 3 saves the scale value in the buffer 3A (S11), and ends this process. The scale value stored in the buffer 3A is transmitted to the external terminal 10 using the communication unit 4. On the other hand, if the value calculated in S6 does not match the L-th scale value (NO in S8), the microcomputer 3 increments the L value by 1 (L = L + 1) (S9). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not all the scale values (L = 0 to 26) have been checked (S10). If all the scale values have not been checked (NO in S10), the process returns to S8. On the other hand, when all the scale value checks are completed (YES in S10), this process ends. If YES is determined in S10, the unit pattern corresponding to the read unit pattern is not set in the table of FIG. 3, and is treated as an error.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the color number of the pattern and the output voltage value which is the detected value of each light receiving unit 9. When the output voltage value of the light receiving unit 9 is 2.0 V ± 5%, the color number becomes 1. When the detected value of the light receiving unit 9 is 1.5 V ± 5%, the color number becomes 2. When the detected value of the light receiving unit 9 is 1.0 V ± 5%, the color number becomes 3. The microcomputer 3 performs the processing of S4 by utilizing such a correspondence relationship.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the color determination process of S4.

The microcomputer 3 sets the light receiving unit 9An, which is the target of the color determination process, to 9A1 as an initial value (n = 1) (S21). Next, the microcomputer 3 sets 1 as the initial value of the color number m to be determined (m = 1) (S22). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage value detected by the light receiving unit 9An is included in the voltage value range of FIG. 6 corresponding to the color number m (S23).

If the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9An is not included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (NO in S23), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of the color number m by 1 (m = m + 1) (S24). .. The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers has been completed (S25).

If the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is not completed (NO in S25), the process returns to S23. On the other hand, when the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is completed (YES in S25), the microcomputer 3 determines that the detection result is abnormal (S26), and ends this process.

When the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9An is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (YES in S23), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of the light receiving unit 9An by 1 (n = n + 1) (S27). ..

The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not all the light receiving units 9An have been checked (S28). If all the light receiving units 9An have not been checked (NO in S28), the process returns to S22 and the light receiving unit 9An + 1 is processed. When the checks of all the light receiving units 9An are completed (YES in S28), this process ends.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the light receiving portions 9 are arranged in a row in the length direction of the measure 7A at regular intervals, and the pattern is arranged at regular intervals in the length direction of the measure 7A. Read optically. Since it is sufficient that a single row of color patterns is printed on the measure 7A, the width of the measure can be made smaller, and a curved measure such as a convex type measure can be supported.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the color numbers of the two adjacent patterns, the voltage value output by the light receiving unit 9, and the color number corresponding to the voltage value when the light receiving unit 9 reads the boundary between the two patterns. It is a figure. The "color number (first color)" refers to a pattern located on one side of the measuring unit 7A in the length direction with respect to the light receiving portion 9, and the "color number (second color)" refers to a pattern located on the other side in the length direction. Point to. The detected values when the light receiving unit 9 reads the patterns of the color numbers 1, 2 and 3, are about 2V, about 1.5V and about 1V, respectively, as shown in FIG.

When the light receiving unit 9 reads the boundary between the pattern of color number 1 and the pattern of color number 2 as in the first or third stage of FIG. 8, the voltage values are 2.0 V and 1.5 V. It becomes about 1.75V which corresponds to the intermediate value of. However, since there is no corresponding color corresponding to the voltage of 1.75 V, the microcomputer 3 can determine that the detection result is abnormal. Similarly, when the light receiving unit 9 reads the boundary between the pattern of color number 2 and the pattern of color number 3 as in the fourth or sixth stage of FIG. 8, the voltage value is about 1 of the intermediate value. Although it becomes .25V, since there is no color corresponding to 1.25V, the microcomputer 3 can determine that the detection result is abnormal in this case as well.

On the other hand, when the light receiving unit 9 reads the boundary between the pattern of the color number 1 and the pattern of the color number 3 as in the second or fifth stage of FIG. 8, the output voltage value of the light receiving unit 9 is about. It becomes 1.5V. Since the voltage value of 1.5 V corresponds to the color of the color number 2, the light receiving unit 9 of the microcomputer 3 has the light receiving unit 9 even though the boundary between the pattern of the color number 1 and the pattern of the color number 3 is read. It is determined that the detection result is normal as if the pattern of color number 2 was read. That is, the microcomputer 3 determines whether the light receiving unit 9 reads the pattern of the color number 2 or the boundary between the pattern of the color number 1 and the pattern of the color number 3 only by the voltage value from the light receiving unit 9A. I can't judge.

In order to determine whether or not the boundary between the two patterns has been read, the measuring instrument 1A according to the second embodiment has four sets of light receiving units 9 (9A1 to 9A3) in addition to the three sets of light receiving units 9 (9A1 to 9A3). 9 (9B1 to 9B3, 9C1) is provided.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the measuring instrument 1A according to the second embodiment reads the measure 7A. The light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 function as a second reading means, and the light receiving units 9C1 function as a third reading means.

Although omitted in FIG. 9, the measuring instrument 1A includes a microcomputer 3, a buffer 3A, a communication unit 4, a switch 5, a battery 6, a storage unit 7, and the same as the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment. It has a major 7A. The number of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving unit 9 of the measuring instrument 1A is different from that of the measuring instrument 1, but the other configurations are the same.

The light receiving parts 9A1 to 9A3 of FIG. 9 are arranged at intervals X in the same manner as the light receiving parts 9A1 to 9A3 of FIG. On the other hand, the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 in FIG. 9 are arranged at intervals X on the left side of the drawing in the length direction with a distance Y from each of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3. The light receiving unit 9C1 is arranged at a position separated from the light receiving unit 9A1 in the length direction by an interval Z on the right side of the drawing. Interval Y and Interval Z are shorter than Interval X. One of the intervals Y and the interval Z may be large or the same. Although the light receiving unit 9C1 in FIG. 9 is arranged corresponding to the light receiving unit 9A1, it may be arranged on the opposite side of the light receiving unit 9B2 with respect to the light receiving unit 9A2, and the light receiving unit 9B3 may be arranged with respect to the light receiving unit 9A3. It may be located on the opposite side.

The light receiving parts 9A1 to 9A3 are light receiving parts used for normal length measurement. On the other hand, when the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 read the boundary between the two patterns, the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are used for length measurement instead of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3. Since the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are arranged at intervals X equal to the length of one pattern, when the light receiving unit 9A1 is reading the boundary between the two patterns, the light receiving units 9A2 and the light receiving unit 9A3 are also 2 Read the boundaries between the two patterns. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are used for length measurement, it is necessary to determine whether or not any one of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3, for example, the light receiving unit 9A1 is reading the boundary. It is enough. Whether or not the light receiving unit 9A1 is reading the boundary can be determined by the microcomputer 3 based on the colors of the patterns read by the light receiving unit 9A1, the light receiving unit 9B1, and the light receiving unit 9C1.

Since the set of the light receiving unit 9A and the set of the light receiving unit 9B are displaced by the distance Y from each other, when the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are used for length measurement, the microcomputer 3 uses the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3. The length may be measured by subtracting the interval Y from the scale value of the measure 7A calculated from the reading result of.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the color numbers detected by the light receiving unit 9A1, the light receiving unit 9B1 and the light receiving unit 9C1 and the light receiving unit used for scale conversion (length measurement).

The light receiving unit 9B1 and the light receiving unit 9C1 are arranged from the light receiving unit 9A1 so that at least one of the light receiving unit 9B1 or the light receiving unit 9C1 reads the same pattern as the light receiving unit 9A1 when the light receiving unit 9A1 reads only one pattern. It is arranged at a position separated by an interval Y and an interval Z shorter than the interval X. In this case, as shown in the 1st to 5th lines of FIG. 10, when the color of the pattern read by the light receiving unit 9A1 and the color of the pattern read by at least one of the light receiving unit 9B1 or the light receiving unit 9C1 are the same, the microcomputer 3 is used. , It is determined that the light receiving unit 9A1 does not read the boundary between the two patterns. When it is determined that the light receiving unit 9A1 is reading a single pattern, the light receiving unit used for length measurement is the light receiving unit 9A1 to 9A3.

On the other hand, when the light receiving unit 9A1 reads the boundary between the pattern of the color number 1 and the pattern of the color number 3, the light receiving units 9B1 and 9C1 have the color number 1 or as shown in the 6th to 7th lines of FIG. While the light receiving unit 9A1 outputs the detection value corresponding to the color number 3, the light receiving unit 9A1 outputs the detection value corresponding to the color number 2 corresponding to the middle between the color number 1 and the color number 3, so that the light receiving unit 9A1 receives the light. The colors of the patterns detected by the unit 9B1 and the light receiving unit 9C1 are different from each other. When the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 is different from the color detected by the light receiving unit 9B1 and the light receiving unit 9C1, the microcomputer 3 determines that the light receiving unit 9B1 is reading the boundary between the two patterns. In this case, the light receiving units used for length measurement are the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3.

In the above, the light receiving unit 9B determines whether or not the light receiving unit 9A is reading the boundary between the two patterns, and measures the length instead of the light receiving unit 9A when the light receiving unit 9A is reading the boundary. It is used for the purpose. The latter requires the same number of light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 as the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3. On the other hand, when used for the former purpose, any one of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 may be provided.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a measurement process executed by the measuring instrument 1A according to the second embodiment.

When the switch 5 is operated, the microcomputer 3 lights all the irradiation units 8 (S31). After that, the voltage values of all the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3, 9B1 to 9B3, and 9C1 are read out (S32), and the irradiation unit 8 is turned off (S33). Next, the microcomputer 3 performs color determination processing and boundary determination processing based on the output of the light receiving unit 9 (S34, S35). Details of the color determination process and the boundary determination process will be described later.

Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not an abnormality has been detected in the color determination process, as in S5 (S36). If an abnormality is detected in the color determination process (YES in S36), this process ends. If no abnormality is detected in the color determination process (NO in S36), the microcomputer 3 determines from the result of the boundary determination process whether or not the light receiving unit used for the length measurement is the light receiving unit 9A1 to 9A3. (S37).

When the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are used for length measurement (YES in S37), the microcomputer 3 calculates a ternary value or a decimal number value from the color of each pattern detected by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 (YES in S37). S38). When the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are used for length measurement (NO in S37), the microcomputer 3 calculates a ternary value or a decimal number value from the color of each pattern detected by the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 (NO in S37). S39). After S38 and S39, the microcomputer 3 sets L corresponding to the scale value (row) in the table of FIG. 3 to be compared with the value calculated in S38 or S39 to 0 (L = 0) (S40). Next, the microcomputer 3 refers to the table of FIG. 3 and determines whether or not the value calculated in S38 or S39 matches the L-th scale value (S41). If the value calculated in S38 or S39 matches the L-th scale value (YES in S41), the microcomputer 3 saves the scale value in the buffer 3A (S44) and ends this process. The scale value stored in the buffer 3A is transmitted to the external terminal 10 using the communication unit 4.

On the other hand, if the value calculated in S38 or S39 does not match the L-th scale value (NO in S41), the microcomputer 3 increments the L value by 1 (L = L + 1) (S42). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not all the scale values (L = 0 to 26) have been checked (S43). If all the scale values have not been checked (NO in S43), the process returns to S41. On the other hand, when all the scale value checks are completed (YES in S43), this process ends.

12 and 13 are flowcharts showing the color determination process of S34.

The microcomputer 3 sets the light receiving unit 9An, which is the target of the color determination process, to 9A1 (n = 1) (S51), and sets the color number m to 1 (m = 1) (S52). Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9An is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (S53). When the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9An is not included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (NO in S53), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of m by 1 (m = m + 1) (S54). The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers has been completed (S55).

If the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is not completed (NO in S55), the process returns to S53. When the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is completed (YES in S55), the microcomputer 3 sets the abnormal value flag indicating the abnormality of the light receiving unit 9An in the buffer 3A (S56), and proceeds to S59. ..

On the other hand, when the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9An is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (YES in S53), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of the light receiving unit 9An by 1 (n = n + 1) (n = n + 1). S57). The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not all the light receiving units 9An have been checked (S58). If the checks of all the light receiving units 9An have not been completed (NO in S58), the process returns to S52. When all the light receiving units 9An have been checked (YES in S58), the process proceeds to S59 to perform processing related to the light receiving unit 9B.

The microcomputer 3 sets the light receiving unit 9Bi, which is the target of the color determination process, to 9B1 (i = 1) (S59), and sets the color number m to 1 (m = 1) (S60). Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9Bi is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (S61). If the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9Bi is not included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (NO in S61), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of m by 1 (m = m + 1) (S62). The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers has been completed (S63).

If the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is not completed (NO in S63), the process returns to S61. On the other hand, when the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is completed (YES in S63), the microcomputer 3 sets the abnormal value flag indicating the abnormality of the light receiving unit 9Bi in the buffer 3A (S64), and S67. Proceed to.

When the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9Bi is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (YES in S61), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of the light receiving unit 9Bi by 1 (i = i + 1) (S65). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not all the light receiving units 9Bi have been checked (S66). If the checks of all the light receiving units 9Bi have not been completed (NO in S66), the process returns to S60. When all the checks of the light receiving unit 9Bi are completed (YES in S66), the process proceeds to S67 and the process related to the light receiving unit 9C1 is performed.

The microcomputer 3 sets 1 as the color number m (m = 1) (S67). Next, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (S68). If the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is not included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (NO in S68), the microcomputer 3 increments the value of m by 1 (m = m + 1) (S69). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers has been completed (S70). If the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is not completed (NO in S70), the process returns to S68. When the check of the voltage values corresponding to all the color numbers is completed (YES in S70), the microcomputer 3 sets the abnormal value flag indicating the abnormality of the light receiving unit 9C1 in the buffer 3A (S71), and performs this process. finish.

If the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is included in the voltage value range corresponding to the color number m (YES in S68), this process ends.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the boundary determination process of S35.

The microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage values of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are normal values (S81). When the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9 is included in the voltage value range corresponding to any of the color numbers m, the microcomputer 3 determines that the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9 is a normal value. When the voltage values of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are normal values (YES in S81), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are normal values (S82). .. If the voltage values of any of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are not normal values (NO in S82), the microcomputer 3 measures the length using the voltage values of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 (S84). End the process.

On the other hand, when the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are normal values (YES in S82), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 matches the color detected by the light receiving unit 9B1. Judgment (S83). If the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 matches the color detected by the light receiving unit 9B1 (YES in S83), the process proceeds to S84. On the other hand, when the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 does not match the color detected by the light receiving unit 9B1 (NO in S83), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is a normal value. (S85).

If the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is not a normal value (NO in S85), the microcomputer 3 determines that the detection result is abnormal (S88), and ends this process. On the other hand, when the voltage value of the light receiving unit 9C1 is a normal value (YES in S85), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 matches the color detected by the light receiving unit 9C1. (S86). If the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 matches the color detected by the light receiving unit 9C1 (YES in S86), the process proceeds to S84. On the other hand, if the color detected by the light receiving unit 9A1 does not match the color detected by the light receiving unit 9C1 (NO in S86), the microcomputer 3 measures the length using the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 (NO). S87), this process is terminated.

When any of the voltage values of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 is not a normal value (NO in S81), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are normal values (S89). If any of the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 is not a normal value (NO in S89), the microcomputer 3 determines that the detection result is abnormal (S91), and ends this process. On the other hand, when the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are normal values (YES in S89), the microcomputer 3 measures the length using the voltage values of the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 (S90). End the process.

FIG. 15A is a diagram showing a first modification of the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 15B is a diagram showing a second modification of the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment.

In the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the length X of the pattern is longer than the length required for arranging the light receiving unit 9 and the irradiation unit 8 in the length direction. The plurality of sets of light receiving units 9 are arranged in a row in the length direction of the measure 7A.

However, as shown in FIG. 15A, when the length X of the pattern is shorter than the length P required for arranging one set of light receiving parts 9 in the length direction, a plurality of sets of light receiving parts are set. 9 cannot be arranged in a row in the length direction of the measure 7A. In this case, as shown in FIG. 15A, a plurality of sets of light receiving units 9 (9A1 to 9A3) may be arranged in a plurality of rows by shifting them in the width direction of the measure 7A. Even with such an arrangement, the length of the object to be measured can be measured as in the first embodiment, and the measurement with higher resolution becomes possible.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15B, one irradiation unit 8 may be arranged within the range 15 in which the plurality of light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 can receive the reflected light. In this case, the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the measure 7A. Even with such an arrangement, the length of the object to be measured can be measured as in the first embodiment, and the number of irradiation units 8 can be reduced. Therefore, the power consumption and the manufacturing cost of the measuring instrument 1 can be reduced.

FIG. 16A is a diagram showing a first modification of the measuring instrument 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16B is a diagram showing a second modification of the measuring instrument 1 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16A, a plurality of sets of light receiving units 9 (9A1 to 9A3, 9B1 to 9B3, 9C1) may be arranged in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the measure 7A. Even with such an arrangement, the length of the object to be measured can be measured as in the second embodiment, and measurement with higher resolution becomes possible.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, one irradiation unit 8 is arranged within the range 16A in which the plurality of light receiving units 9A1, 9B1 and 9C1 can receive the reflected light, and the light receiving units 9A1, 9B2 and 9A2 are the reflected light. One irradiation unit 8 may be arranged in the range 16B capable of receiving light, and one irradiation unit 8 may be arranged in the range 16C in which the light receiving units 9A2, 9B3 and 9A3 can receive the reflected light. In this case, the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3, 9B1 to 9B3, and 9C1 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the measure 7A. Even with such an arrangement, the length of the object to be measured can be measured, and the number of irradiation units 8 can be reduced. Therefore, the power consumption and the manufacturing cost of the measuring instrument 1 can be reduced.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the microcomputer 3 has a light receiving unit 9A1 and a light receiving unit 9B1 separated from the light receiving unit 9A1 in the length direction by an interval Y shorter than the interval X. The light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 read the boundary based on the color read by the light receiving unit 9C1 in the length direction from the light receiving unit 9A1 and away from the light receiving unit 9B1 by the interval Z shorter than the interval X. Judge whether or not. Therefore, even if the output value of the light receiving unit 9A1 when reading a certain pattern is the same as the output value of the light receiving unit 9A1 when reading the boundary between the two patterns, the microcomputer 3 has two light receiving units 9A1. It can be determined whether or not the boundary of the pattern has been read, and the length of the object to be measured can be accurately measured.

When the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 detect the boundary between the two patterns, the light receiving units 9B1 to 9B3 are used instead of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3, so that the length of the object to be measured can be measured accurately. it can.

In the above embodiment, one unit pattern is composed of three adjacent patterns, but the number of patterns constituting the unit pattern may be two or four or more. Further, the plurality of patterns constituting the one unit pattern do not have to be adjacent to each other.

In the above embodiment, the pattern is expressed by a ternary number, but it may be an N-ary number in which N exceeds 3.

In the above embodiment, the number of patterns constituting the unit pattern and the number of the light receiving units 9A or the light receiving units 9B are the same, but the number of the light receiving units 9A and 9B arranged may exceed the number of the unit patterns. In this case, it is possible to perform measurement using a plurality of types of measures having different numbers of patterns constituting the unit pattern with a single measuring instrument. Functions can be switched by operating switches or switching / rewriting software.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

In the above-mentioned measure 7A, by arranging a plurality of patterns in a row in the length direction, the problem of increasing the width of the measure 7A and the problem of increasing the number of light receiving portions 9 arranged in the width direction are solved. There is.

However, if it is desired to increase the length that can be measured by the tape measure 7A, it is necessary to increase the number of patterns read by the light receiving unit 9, so that the number of light receiving units 9 arranged in a row in the length direction must be increased. It doesn't become. Therefore, when the light receiving units 9 are arranged in a row in the length direction, the measuring instrument 1 may expand in the length direction, which may deteriorate usability. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the size of the light receiving unit 9 or the measuring instrument 1 in the length direction.

Therefore, in the third embodiment, the size of the measuring instrument 1 in the length direction is reduced by arranging two or more rows of light receiving units 9 in the width direction and assigning individual color patterns to each row.

In the third embodiment, the pattern reading method and processing flow of the measure 7A are the same as those in the first or second embodiment described above. Therefore, the software or firmware executed by the microcomputer 3 does not need to be changed from the software or firmware of the first or second embodiment, and the arrangement of the pattern of the major 7A and the arrangement of the light receiving unit 9 are changed. Will be done. The structure of the light receiving unit 9 is not changed, and the arrangement of the light receiving unit 9 is changed.

17 (A) to 17 (D) show a plurality of patterns arranged in a row in the length direction in order to read a color pattern using the four light receiving units 9 arranged in a row in the width direction. It is a figure which shows the method of converting into the color pattern arranged in 4 columns in the width direction. In the following, a color pattern in a row in the length direction may be described as a color pattern in a row.

On the tape measure 7A of FIG. 17A, a color pattern having a plurality of patterns arranged in a row at regular intervals X in the length direction is printed. Each pattern has one of three different colors and is assigned a value of 0, 1 or 2. FIG. 17A does not show an example of a pattern to which "2" is assigned, but as in FIG. 2, each pattern has one of white, blue, and black colors, and each of them has a color of white, blue, or black. On the other hand, values of "0", "1", and "2" are assigned. The values of "0" to "2" in the pattern of FIG. 17A are for easy understanding, and it is not necessary to print these numerical values on the measure 7A. Similarly, the boundaries between the patterns are also shown for ease of understanding, but it is not necessary to draw such boundaries on the measure 7A.

Further, in the example of FIG. 17A, four patterns adjacent to each other in the length direction constitute one unit pattern, and one ternary value is assigned to one unit pattern.

The interval X, which is also the length of the pattern, corresponds to the unit length measurable by the measure 7A. In the measuring instrument 1, four light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 and four irradiation units 8 for detecting reflected light from the color pattern of the major 7A are arranged at the same interval X as each pattern. Each light receiving unit 9A reads one pattern. In FIG. 17A, the length Y1 in the width direction of the pattern is the same as the length of the interval X, but may be larger or smaller than the length of the interval X. The number of pairs of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving unit 9 may be two or four or more depending on the number of patterns constituting one unit pattern and the like. Further, as described above, the number of irradiation units 8 does not have to be the same as the number of patterns constituting one unit pattern.

In the state of FIG. 17A, the light receiving units 9A1, 9A2, 9A3, and 9A4 read the rightmost pattern, the second pattern from the right, the third pattern from the right, and the fourth pattern from the right, respectively.

When the measure 7A is moved to the right by an interval X from the state of FIG. 17 (A) or the measuring instrument 1 is moved to the left by an interval X, the light receiving unit 9A1 is in the state of FIG. 17 (A). Read the pattern that 9A2 was reading. When the measure 7A is moved to the right by an interval of 2X or the measuring instrument 1 is moved to the left by an interval of 2X from the state of FIG. 17 (A), the light receiving unit 9A1 is read by the light receiving unit 9A3 in FIG. 17 (A). Read the pattern that was there. When the measure 7A is moved to the right by an interval of 3X or the measuring instrument 1 is moved to the left by an interval of 3X from the state of FIG. 17 (A), the light receiving unit 9A1 is read by the light receiving unit 9A4 in FIG. 17 (A). Read the pattern that was there.

Therefore, in order to arrange the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 in a row in the width direction of the measure 7A and read the color pattern, the color patterns in the 2nd to 4th rows read by the light receiving units 9A2 to 9A4 are set in the length direction (FIG. 17 (A) ) To the left) by an integral multiple (1, 2, 3 ...) Of the interval X, the color pattern of the first line may be shifted from the color pattern of the first line read by the light receiving unit 9A1 and arranged in the width direction of the color pattern of the first line.

FIG. 17D shows an example of a four-line color pattern on the measure 7A. The color patterns on the second, third, and fourth lines are the same color patterns as the color patterns on the first line, which are arranged on the left side of the drawing with a gap X, a gap 2X, and a gap 3X, respectively. As a result, the values read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in a row in the width direction of FIG. 17 (D) are the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in a row in the length direction of FIG. 17 (A). It will be the same as the value read in.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a method of arranging the one-line color pattern of FIG. 17 (A) in the four-line color pattern of FIG. 17 (D).

First, the color pattern of the first line including a plurality of patterns arranged at regular intervals in the length direction of FIG. 17A is copied, and the color pattern of the first line is an integer of the length Y1 in the width direction of the pattern. The color patterns of the 2nd to 4th lines shown in FIG. 17B are generated by shifting the colors by a factor of 2 in the width direction (S101). Note that FIG. 17B also illustrates a state in which the set of the irradiation unit 8 and the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 are virtually shifted in the width direction in order to show the relationship between the pattern of each row and each light receiving unit 9. There is. In FIG. 17B, the light receiving unit 9A4 that reads the fourth color pattern from the right is arranged on the color pattern on the first row. The light receiving unit 9A3 that reads the third color pattern from the right is arranged on the color pattern on the second line. The light receiving unit 9A2 that reads the second color pattern from the right is arranged on the color pattern on the third line. The light receiving unit 9A1 that reads the rightmost color pattern is arranged on the color pattern on the fourth line.

Next, as shown in FIG. 17 (C), the color patterns in the second to fourth rows are arranged in the length direction (to the left in FIG. 17 (C)) at 1 times, 2 times, and 3 times the interval X, respectively. They are arranged at positions deviated from the color pattern on the first line by a factor of 2 (S102). On the other hand, each of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A3 shown in FIG. 17C is shifted in the length direction by the amount of the color pattern of each row shifted with respect to the arrangement shown in FIG. 17B. Have been placed. As a result, the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 are arranged side by side in the width direction.

From the above, it is possible to obtain a four-line color pattern as shown in FIG. 17 (D) from the state of FIG. 17 (A). The "pattern No. 0" shown in FIG. 17 (D) corresponds to the unit pattern from the rightmost pattern to the fourth pattern from the right in FIG. 17 (A), and the "pattern No. 4" is It corresponds to the unit pattern from the fifth pattern from the right to the eighth pattern from the right in FIG. 17 (A).

The measure 7A of FIG. 17 (D) created by the conversion method of FIG. 18 has (1) a color pattern on the first line including a plurality of patterns arranged at intervals X in the length direction, and (2) one line. The Nth line (N) is shifted from the color pattern of the eyes in the width direction and is shifted from the color pattern of the first line by an integral multiple (1, 2, 3 ...) Of the interval X in the length direction. = 2 or more integers) and has a color pattern. The color patterns in the second to fourth rows of FIG. 17D are deviated from the color pattern in the first row by an integral multiple (1, 2, 3 ...) Of the length Y1 in the width direction.

When using the four rows of color patterns as shown in FIG. 17D and the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in one column in the width direction, the same measurement processing as in FIG. 5 is executed. That is, the microcomputer 3 converts the pattern read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 into an N-ary value (N is 3 or more), and is based on the data defining the relationship between the N-ary value and the scale value of the measure 7A. Then, the scale value of the measure 7A is calculated.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the values read by the major light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 of FIG. 17A, the pattern No., and the conversion values of the binary number and the decimal number. The pattern No. is an identification number of the unit pattern and corresponds to the scale value of the measure 7A.

For example, when the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 read the pattern No4, the light receiving units 9A1 and 9A4 detect the value of "1", and the light receiving units 9A2 and 9A3 detect the value of "0". It can be seen that the values of the patterns No. 4 read by the light receiving units 9A4 to 9A1 of FIG. 19 correspond to the color patterns of the first to fourth rows corresponding to the patterns No. 4 of FIG. 17 (D), respectively.

Therefore, from FIG. 19, the values read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in a row in the length direction of FIG. 17 (A) are the light receiving units arranged in a row in the width direction of FIG. 17 (D). It can be seen that the values are the same as those read by 9A1 to 9A4.

20 (A) to 20 (D) are diagrams showing a method of converting a color pattern in which a plurality of patterns are arranged in one row in the length direction into two color patterns arranged in two rows in the width direction. is there.

The light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in one row in the length direction and the color pattern in one row of FIG. 20 (A) were arranged in two columns in the two rows of color pattern and the width direction of FIG. 20 (D). When converting to the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4, the same method as in FIG. 18 is adopted.

Specifically, the color pattern of FIG. 20A is copied and pasted by shifting the color pattern of the first line by an integral multiple (here, 1 time) of the length Y1 in the width direction of the pattern. Generates the color pattern of the second line with (S101 in FIG. 18). FIG. 20B shows each of the light receiving units 9A1 and 9A2 in a state of being virtually shifted in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 20B, the light receiving units 9A3 to 9A4 are arranged on the color pattern of the first line without moving in the length direction, and the light receiving parts 9A1 to 9A2 move in the width direction 2 It is arranged on the color pattern of the line.

Next, as shown in FIG. 20 (C), the color pattern in the second line is shifted from the color pattern in the first line in the length direction (to the left in FIG. 20 (C)) by an integral multiple of the interval X. It is arranged at the position (S102 in FIG. 18). In the example of FIG. 20, the color pattern of the second row is arranged so as to be offset by an interval of 2X with respect to the color pattern of the first row. Each of the light receiving portions 9A1 to 9A2 is arranged so as to be displaced by an interval of 2X in the length direction (left side in the drawing) with respect to the position in FIG.

From the above, it is possible to obtain a two-line color pattern as shown in FIG. 20 (D) from the state of FIG. 20 (A). In FIG. 20 (D), the color pattern is read by using the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in 2 × 2, and the length is measured.

21 (A) to 21 (D) show a modified example of a method of converting a color pattern having a plurality of patterns arranged in one row in the length direction into a color pattern arranged in two rows in the width direction. It is a figure.

The color patterns of FIG. 21 (A) and the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in one column in the length direction are shown in the two rows of color patterns of FIG. 21 (D) and the light receiving units 9A1 arranged in two columns in the width direction. When converting to ~ 9A4, the same method as in FIG. 18 is adopted.

21 (A) to 21 (D) change the type of set of the light receiving unit 9 to be shifted and the amount of shift of the color pattern in the second row as compared with FIGS. 20 (A) to 20 (D). ..

In FIG. 21C, the color pattern in the second row is shifted to the left side of the drawing by an interval of 2X with respect to the color pattern in the first row. In line with this, the even-numbered light receiving units 9A2 and 9A4 read the color pattern of the first line, and the odd-numbered light receiving units 9A1 and 9A3 read the color pattern of the second line. The light receiving unit 9A2 and the light receiving unit 9A1, the light receiving unit 9A4 and the light receiving unit 9A3 are arranged in the width direction, respectively. Further, the light receiving unit 9A1 and the light receiving unit 9A3, and the light receiving unit 9A2 and the light receiving unit 9A4 are separated from each other by a distance of 2X in the length direction. The other processes of FIGS. 21 (A) to 21 (D) are the same as the processes of FIGS. 20 (A) to 20 (D).

As in FIG. 18, the color patterns in one row are shifted to form a total of three rows of color patterns, and the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in one column in the length direction are arranged in two columns in three rows. It is also possible to read the color pattern of.

Further, in the third embodiment, only the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 are used, but as in the second embodiment and FIG. 9, the measuring instrument 1 of the third embodiment is the light receiving unit 9A1. In addition to ~ 9A4, light receiving units 9B1 to 9B4 and light receiving units 9C1 may be provided. In this case, the measuring instrument 1 of the third embodiment can also execute the measurement process of FIG. 11, the color determination process of FIGS. 12 and 13, and the boundary determination process of FIG.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the arrangement and color of the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 are not changed without changing the values read by the light receiving units 9A1 to 9A4 arranged in a row in the length direction. Since the number of lines of the pattern can be changed, the width of the measure 7A and the light receiving unit 9 or the width of the measuring instrument 1 can be changed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.

1 Length measuring instrument, 2 Reading unit, 3 Microcomputer, 3A buffer, 4 Communication unit, 5 Switch, 6 Battery, 7 Storage unit, 7A measure, 8 Irradiating unit, 9,9A1-9A4,9B1-9B4,9Bi, 9C1 Light receiving part, 10 external terminals

Claims (10)

A plurality of first reading means for optically reading the plurality of patterns from a measure having a color pattern including a plurality of patterns arranged at regular intervals in the length direction and arranging the plurality of patterns at regular intervals in the length direction. When,
A conversion means for converting a pattern read by the plurality of first reading means into an N-ary number (N is 3 or more), and a conversion means.
A calculation means for calculating the scale value of the measure based on the data defining the relationship between the N-ary value and the scale value of the measure, and
A measuring instrument characterized by being equipped with. A second reading means arranged at a position separated in the length direction by a distance shorter than the fixed interval from at least one of the plurality of first reading means.
With a third reading means arranged at a position shorter than a fixed interval from any one of the plurality of first reading means in a direction opposite to the length direction of the second reading means. ,
Based on the reading results of any one of the plurality of first reading means, the second reading means, and the third reading means, the first reading means reads the boundary between two adjacent patterns. The measuring instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a determination means for determining whether or not the presence is present. The second reading means includes a plurality of second reading means arranged at positions separated from each of the plurality of first reading means by a distance shorter than the fixed interval in the length direction.
When the determination means determines that the first reading means is reading the boundary of the plurality of patterns, the conversion means replaces the reading result by the first reading means with the plurality of second reading means. The measuring instrument according to claim 2, wherein the length is measured using the reading result. The measuring instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first reading means is arranged in a plurality of rows in the length direction. The measuring instrument according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first reading means and the second reading means are arranged in a plurality of rows in the length direction. A measure characterized by being read by the measuring instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A first color pattern arranged at regular intervals in the length direction and a first color pattern shifted from the first color pattern by an integral multiple of the fixed intervals in the length direction and arranged in the width direction of the first color pattern. A first reading means for optically reading the first color pattern from a measure having two color patterns,
A second reading means, which is arranged at a position shifted in the width direction from the first reading means and optically reads the second color pattern,
A calculation means for calculating the scale value of the measure based on the patterns read by the first reading means and the second reading means, and
A measuring instrument characterized by being equipped with. The patterns read by the first reading means and the second reading means optically read a plurality of patterns included in the first color pattern and a plurality of readings arranged at regular intervals in the length direction. The measuring instrument according to claim 7, wherein the pattern is the same as the pattern read by the unit. The first color pattern arranged at regular intervals in the length direction,
It is characterized by having a second color pattern shifted from the first color pattern in the width direction and arranged at a position shifted from the first color pattern by an integral multiple of the fixed interval in the length direction. Major to do. Copy the first color pattern arranged at regular intervals in the length direction,
The copied first color pattern as the second color pattern is placed at a position shifted in the width direction of the first color pattern and shifted from the first color pattern by an integral multiple of the fixed interval in the length direction. A method for manufacturing a measure, which comprises arranging and generating a measure including the first color pattern and the second color pattern.

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