JP2838801B2 - Barcode reader - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Summary] The present invention relates to a bar code reader, and particularly includes a laser light generating means, a scanning means for scanning the laser light, and a detecting means for detecting the reflected light of the laser light on the bar code. Have
Regarding a bar code reading device that reads a bar code of an article, it is necessary to make it easy to visually check whether or not a laser beam hits an article, that is, a bar code, even if a semiconductor laser is used for miniaturization, In order to detect the proximity of an article, a visible light generating means for generating visible light is provided along the vicinity of the optical path of the laser light. Article detecting means for detecting the position of the article by detecting visible light reflected from the article.

[Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a bar code reader, in particular, a laser light generating means, a scanning means for scanning the laser light, and a detecting means for detecting the reflected light of the laser light in the bar code And a bar code reading device for reading a bar code of an article.

[Conventional technology]

The above-described bar code reading device reads a bar code attached to the surface of a product, reads data into a POS system, and calculates a total amount of money for shopping and the like.

The following are such bar code reading devices. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 11 denotes a helium-neon laser tube for generating a laser beam, 12 denotes an optical system for narrowing down the generated laser beam, 13 denotes a step polygon mirror which is rotated by a motor 14 and scans in a predetermined pattern, 15 Is a fixed mirror,
20 is a light detecting means for detecting the reflected light from the bar code, 21
Indicates a signal processing unit that processes the signal detected by the light detection means 20, of the light scanned by the polygon mirror 13, the light reflected by the bar code 17 travels in reverse the optical path at the time of incidence, The light is reflected by the mirror 18, is focused by the lens 19, is detected by the light detecting means 20, and the written content of the bar code is output by a change in the reflection intensity.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for downsizing a bar code reader, and in response to the demand, a semiconductor laser has been used instead of a helium-neon laser generating tube.

However, the generation wavelength of the above-described semiconductor laser is 670 μm, which is longer than the generation wavelength of the helium-neon laser 630 μm.
However, there is a problem that it is close to the infrared region and is difficult to confirm with the naked eye. That is, the laser beam of the helium-neon laser even if the laser beam of the same output, it is easy to visually check whether or not the article, that is, the article is at the position hitting the bar code, There is a problem that it is difficult to confirm the position of an article because it is difficult for the light of a semiconductor laser to confirm the laser light with the naked eye. Separately, since the semiconductor laser has a shorter life than the above-described gas lasers and the like, the semiconductor laser is lit only when necessary, but for this reason, there is a demand that it is necessary to detect that an article has approached the device. is there.

Therefore, a first object of the present application is to provide a bar code reading device that makes it easy to visually check whether or not a laser beam hits an article, that is, a bar code, even when a semiconductor laser is used for miniaturization. I do. Another object of the second invention of the present application is to provide a bar code reader which can detect that an article has approached the apparatus by utilizing the configuration of the first invention.

[Means for solving the problem]

In the present invention, means for solving the above-mentioned problems include a laser light generating means, a scanning means for scanning the laser light, and a detecting means for detecting reflected light of the laser light on a bar code. A bar code reader for reading an article, a visible light generating means for generating visible light, and an article detecting means for detecting reflected light from the article irradiated by the visible light to detect an article position; ,
Wherein the visible light is scanned by the scanning means along the vicinity of the optical path of the laser light.

Further, according to the present invention, in the bar code reading device, in the bar code reading device, when an article is detected by the article detecting means, the laser light generating means is turned on.

[Action]

According to the present invention, since the visible light irradiates the same line as the scanning line of the laser beam in the scanning range of the laser beam, it is possible to easily confirm whether the article or the barcode is in the scanning range of the laser beam, The detecting means detects the reflected light of the visible light from the article, and knows the proximity of the article to the laser beam scanning pattern to control the lighting of the laser light generating means.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a barcode reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a bar code reader according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the bar code reader uses a semiconductor laser as a light source of the laser for the reading. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 denotes a semiconductor laser, and 32 denotes a light emitting diode for generating visible light, which emits light having a wavelength of about 600 μm in this embodiment. Three
Reference numeral 3 denotes a mirror that combines light from a semiconductor laser and light from a light-emitting diode into one light beam, and uses, for example, a multilayer mirror or a reflection hologram. That is, since this mirror reflects light of a specific frequency (in this case, 600 μm) but transmits other light, light of two wavelengths is combined without loss as shown in FIG. The mirror 33 also plays a role of separating light of two wavelengths with respect to reflected light. Reference numeral 34 denotes a scanning polygon mirror, and reference numeral 35 denotes a fixed mirror (FIG. 4 shows an example of a laser beam scanning pattern). Reference numerals 36 and 37 denote Fresnel lenses for condensing reflected light, and reference numerals 38 and 39 denote laser light and light receiving elements for detecting an emitting diode, respectively. Here, these light receiving elements 38 and 39 are installed off the optical axes of laser light and visible light, respectively. In a bar code reader having such an optical system, control of the bar code reader is performed by a control device as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 41 denotes an article, and reference numeral 42 denotes a bar code attached to the article 41. Also,
43 is a barcode reading unit, 44 is an article intrusion detection unit that detects that the article 41 has approached the barcode reading device,
Reference numeral 45 denotes a central control unit for controlling the entire apparatus.
In the figure, 46 is a laser beam scanning unit for scanning laser light under the control of the central control unit 45, 47 is a light receiving unit receiving reflected light from a bar code, 48 is a detecting unit, and 49 is a signal for demodulating a signal. The bar code demodulation unit is shown. Further, 50 is a light emitting diode, 51 is a driver of the light emitting diode 50, 52 is a light receiving unit for receiving light reflected by the light emitting diode light hitting the article, and 53 is a light quantity change detecting that the article has entered by the state of this light reception. 4 shows a detection unit. 56 is CPU, 57
Denotes a timer for controlling the reading time.

Next, the operation of the barcode reader according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the bar code reader according to the present embodiment. The light emitting diode starts emitting light (ST1) and detects the entry of the article (ST
2). Then, the semiconductor laser is turned on to start reading (ST4). Next, a reading time control timer is started (ST5), reading is performed, and when reading is successful (ST6), a reading result is displayed (ST8), and the semiconductor laser is turned off (ST9). If the reading fails, the semiconductor laser is turned on until the timer counts up (ST7). Even if the reading does not succeed within the time, the result of unsuccessful reading is displayed after a certain period of time (ST8), and the semiconductor laser turns off. (ST9).

Therefore, according to the bar code reader according to the present embodiment, since visible light is scanned together with laser light,
Even if the laser light is difficult to see, visible light can hit the article or barcode, and the position of the article can be easily confirmed.

Also, since the article detecting means detects the position of the article by detecting the reflected light of the visible light from the article, it is possible to know that the article has approached the barcode reader, and the lighting control of the semiconductor laser light is separately controlled. This can be performed without providing the article detection device.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the scanned laser beam is difficult to see, the visible light irradiates the same line as the scanning line of the laser beam in the scanning range of the laser beam. In addition to being able to easily confirm whether or not it is within the light scanning range, the lighting control of the laser light generating means can be performed by reliably knowing the proximity of the article to the laser beam scanning pattern without providing another article detection device. Therefore, the steady light emission of the laser light generating means can be performed only when the article is in proximity, and the laser light generating means can be used for a long period of time by setting the lighting time of the laser light generating means to a shortest necessary minimum. It works.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical system of an embodiment of a barcode reader according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control system of an embodiment of the barcode reader according to the present invention, and FIG. Is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the bar code reader according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a view showing a scanning pattern of a laser beam of the bar code reader, and FIG. 5 is a view showing a conventional bar code reader. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser light generation means 2 ... Scanning means 3 ... Barcode 4 ... Detection means 5 ... Visible light generation means 6 ... Article detection means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-1-177687 (JP, A) JP-A-62-223718 (JP, A) JP-A-63-58588 (JP, A) 276283 (JP, A) JP-A-2-159687 (JP, A) JP-A-63-27962 (JP, U) JP-A-63-188763 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. ⁶ , DB name) G06K 7/10

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bar for reading a bar code of an article, comprising: a laser beam generating unit; a scanning unit for scanning the laser beam; and a detecting unit for detecting a reflected light of the laser beam on the bar code. A code reader, comprising: a visible light generating means for generating visible light; and an article detecting means for detecting reflected light from the article irradiated by the visible light to detect the position of the article. A bar code reader, wherein scanning is performed along the vicinity of the optical path of the laser beam by a scanning unit. 2. The bar code reader according to claim 1, wherein said laser light generating means is turned on when an article is detected by said article detecting means.