JP3198633U - Management data label - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a management data label capable of reducing the amount of ink used with a simpler structure on condition that the amount of information can be freely increased or decreased. A rectangular frame line 21 and an inclined line 22 intersecting each other by connecting opposing vertices Q1 to Q4 of the frame line 21 are provided. The rectangular code frame is aligned on the left-right direction and / or the up-down direction and printed on the mount. Since the rectangular code frame has a rectangular frame line 21, the reader device (reading device) can recognize the vertical and horizontal directions, and the two inclined lines 22 connecting the opposing vertices Q1 to Q4 of the square. Since the reading angle can be corrected (or finely adjusted), the reading process can be stabilized at high speed. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a management data label used for management of products and the like.

  Conventionally, for example, a bar code and a QR code (registered trademark) are known as management data labels used for merchandise management and other various management / identifications.

  There are many types of barcodes. Currently, the barcode used in Japan (JAN code; Japan Article Number) is a number between 0 and 9 in the standard version, depending on the distance between the vertical bars. There is a function to display up to 13 digits. In the abbreviated version, up to 8 numbers from 0 to 9 are displayed.

  Bar codes currently used as many product management labels are one-dimensional codes that display vertical lines in a single line in the left-right direction. Two-dimensional codes (stacked type) in which a single bar code is stacked vertically. Two-dimensional codes) are also known.

  In contrast to such a stack type in which one-dimensional codes are stacked, a matrix type two-dimensional code that creates a data label using black and white alternating points called cells is also widely used. In this case, data points in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are arranged in a rectangular data frame line to increase the information density. The QR code (registered trademark) currently widely used in Japan is also of this type.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the QR code (registered trademark) has three cut-out symbols 2 with a slight gap (margin) provided at the corners in the rectangular data frame line 1 and three pieces. The small square cells (timing pattern) 4 displayed alternately between black and white are arranged between the cut-out symbols 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes an alignment pattern provided in order to increase distortion resistance.

  Then, by arranging small square black and white cells in the data cell area in the data frame line 1, data having significance in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is written.

  In this QR code (registered trademark), the ratio of the black-and-white pattern of the cutout symbol 2 in the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, and the diagonal direction connecting the corner vertices is always 1: 1: 3: 1: 1. Regardless of the direction in which the management data level is read, high-speed and stable data processing can be performed with the three cut-out symbols 2. The maximum amount of data that can be recorded is 7,089 characters for numbers only, 4,296 alphanumeric characters, and 1,817 kanji characters.

  Recently, as a technique for further increasing the information amount of such a management data label, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, a technique using display color density setting and color display has been proposed.

JP 2004-326582 A JP 05-094556 A

  Conventional management data labels have a track record of enduring practical use while solving various problems such as the amount of information and resistance to distortion. However, there is a problem that a relatively large printing area is required even when the amount of information is small.

  Even in the case of barcodes, which are one-dimensional codes, vertical lines (code display bars) are printed in an area with a certain width on the left and right, so the amount of ink required for printing is substantially constant regardless of the amount of information. It is.

  QR code (registered trademark), which is a two-dimensional code, needs to be dotted with a large number of black cells in a substantially square area, and at least three corners for high-speed and stable reading. Since it is necessary to provide a square cut-out symbol displayed in black and white, the amount of ink required for printing cannot be saved regardless of the amount of information.

  Of course, when the amount of information is small, improvements such as reducing the number of cut-out symbols and the number of black cells have been made, but the amount of printing for black display cannot be greatly reduced.

  In addition, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the management data label using display color density setting and color display has a problem that it cannot be used for transmission via a normal FAX using black and white display, and a printing apparatus (printer or the like). ) Or a high accuracy technique is required for the expression accuracy or reading accuracy of the reader device (reading device), and thus it is not suitable for the actual use situation.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of ink used with a simpler structure on condition that the amount of information can be freely increased or decreased.

  In order to achieve the above object, the management data label according to the present invention includes a rectangular frame line, an inclined line that intersects the opposing vertices of the frame line, and four blank areas partitioned by the inclined line. A rectangular code in which arbitrary characters such as numerals, letters, and symbols are entered is arranged in the left-right direction and / or the up-down direction.

  In the management data label according to the present invention, four blank areas are formed by intersecting slant lines in a rectangular frame line, and an arbitrary character is entered in each blank area (character entry area), and one unit is recorded. As the rectangular cord, the rectangular cord is arranged in the left-right direction and / or the up-down direction.

Arbitrary characters such as numbers, letters, symbols, etc. are entered in the four blank areas of one rectangular code. For example, only numbers from 0 to 9 are used in a limited manner. Can enter 10 kinds of numbers. Accordingly, there are 10 ⁴ (10,000) combinations of numbers that can be entered in the four blank areas.

That is, since one square code has 10 ⁴ number combinations, when two square codes are combined, there are 10 ⁸ combinations, and the number of combinations is increased to 10 ¹² , 10 ^16. I can go. When other characters, such as uppercase letters and lowercase letters, are combined, the number of combinations that can be expressed by one rectangular code further increases.

  As the character, one of a number, a character, and a symbol may be used alone, or a combination of a number, a character, and a symbol may be used. The combination of the same type of character, for example, a combination of numbers and numbers, may be an appropriate combination such as a combination of different characters, for example, a combination of numbers and letters.

  Since the rectangular code has a rectangular frame line, the reader device (reading device) can recognize the vertical and horizontal directions, and the two inclined lines connecting the opposite vertices of the square can correct the reading angle ( Or fine adjustment), the reading process can be stabilized at high speed.

  In addition, since a code is made up of characters such as numbers and letters, even if the character is faded by FAX transmission, it is possible to transmit a substantially accurate code by processing such as guess correction. Compared to a conventional two-dimensional code using small black dots (cells), the erroneous conversion of the meaning content of the code due to fading or distortion due to FAX transmission or the like is reduced, and thus reliability can be ensured.

  When the amount of information is small, it can be converted into data using several square codes, so it may be possible to recognize the correctness by visual inspection without using an optical reader device. In retail stores, laundry stores, etc., there is an advantage that a communication opportunity with a customer can be ensured in a sound manner, for example, the code can be easily visually confirmed in the course of face-to-face conversation with the customer.

  In addition, since the configuration is simple, the amount of ink required for printing the code can be reduced. Regardless of the size of business, saving ink volume is a major challenge for both code issuers and recipients via fax and e-mail. The management data label according to the present invention reduces system costs. It is also excellent in that it can be reliably reduced.

  As a character to be entered, one of numbers, letters and symbols may be used alone, or a combination of numbers, letters and symbols may be used. When used in combination, not only the same type of character combination, for example, a combination of numbers and numbers, but also a combination of different characters, for example, a combination of numbers and letters, a combination of numbers and symbols, etc. .

  The rectangular cords may be arranged in a single line on the left and right sides (claim 2).

  When the amount of data is small, it is preferable to display and read using a horizontally long code label as in the conventional one-dimensional code. This is because a dedicated label having an adhesive on the back surface can be used at low cost. Since many optical readers read a long label in the horizontal direction, it is desirable to arrange the rectangular codes in a left and right row in order to reduce the introduction cost of the system.

  In some cases, rectangular code strings arranged in a line in the left-right direction are displayed in multiple layers in the vertical direction.

  Increasing the amount of data can be handled by overlapping rectangular code strings in the vertical direction. The characters may be overlapped as long as the reading device can accurately read the characters constituting the code, such as a two-stage arrangement or a three-stage arrangement.

  Preferably, the number of rectangular code strings arranged in the first, second, third,... For example, when the number of left and right arrangements of the first-stage rectangular code string is four, the number of arrangements of the second-stage square code string in the left and right direction is also four, and the third and subsequent stages are the same. .

  According to the management data label according to the present invention, the amount of information can be freely increased and decreased, and since the configuration is simple, the amount of ink used can be reliably reduced.

It is a figure which illustrates the management data label which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the square cord which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the preferable arrangement | positioning position of the character which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the case where a test character is displayed on the management data label shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the principle of the conventional two-dimensional code.

  FIG. 1 shows a management data label 10 according to the embodiment. This embodiment shows a case where an appropriate number, for example, three rectangular codes 20 are displayed side by side in the left-right direction, and characters (numeric characters, alphabetic characters, etc.) constituting the substance of the code are not shown. Reference numeral 11 denotes a mount for printing the rectangular code 20.

  The mount 11 is provided with an adhesive material on the back surface, for example, so that it can be attached to a product, a management notebook or the like. When the management data label 10 is used by being pasted on a document or the like in the PC device, or when pasted on a homepage screen on the WEB, the mount 11 is not necessarily required. However, instead of the mount 11, an area frame (not shown; the appearance is substantially the same as the mount 11 in FIG. 1) is provided around the rectangular code 20 for easy viewing when browsing on a monitor screen or when printing out. It is desirable to have it.

  FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the rectangular code 20. The rectangular code 20 includes a rectangular frame line 21, an inclined line 22 that intersects the opposing vertexes of the frame line 21, and four blank areas 25 that are partitioned by the inclined line 22. In each of 25, an arbitrary character C of numbers, letters and symbols is entered.

  The frame line 21 includes upper and lower horizontal lines 21-1 and 21-2, and left and right vertical lines 21-3 and 21-4. Since the frame line 21 has a square shape, the lengths of the upper and lower horizontal lines 21-1 and 21-2 are the same, and the left and right vertical lines 21-3 and 21-4 are also the same. The four corners formed by the horizontal lines 21-1, 21-2 and the vertical lines 21-3, 21-4 are all 90 degrees.

  The inclined line 22 connects and intersects the opposite vertices Q1 to Q4 of the frame line 21, and four blank areas 25 are formed in the frame line 21 by the two inclined lines 22.

  One blank area 25 can be formed on each of the upper, lower, left and right sides. In this embodiment, the upper blank area is indicated as 25-1, the right blank area as 25-2, the lower blank area as 25-3, and the left blank area as 25-4.

  In each blank area 25, an appropriate character C for constituting the substance of the code is entered. In this embodiment, the case where the numbers 6 to 9 are assigned to the respective blank areas 25 is illustrated.

  Reference numeral C <b> 1 is a virtual line indicating the upper and lower center of the frame line 21, and C <b> 2 is a virtual line indicating the left and right center of the frame line 21. Although these virtual lines C1 and C2 are not entered in the actual management data label 10, it is desirable to display the character C (numbers 6 to 9) so as to be positioned on the virtual lines C1 and C2.

  FIG. 3 shows a preferable arrangement position of the character C (numbers 6 to 9). The character C (numbers 6 to 9) has a character C (at a position where the horizontal lines F1 and F2 which are virtual lines intersect with the virtual line C2 and a position where the vertical lines F3 and F4 which are virtual lines intersect with the virtual line C1. Numbers 6 to 9) are arranged, but this arrangement position is slightly outside the exact center position (position closer to the frame line 21).

  That is, if the distance between the vertical line F3 that is a virtual line and the central virtual line C2 is W1, and the distance between the vertical line F3 that is a virtual line and the vertical line 21-3 is W2, W1> W2. Preferably, W3> W4, where W3 is the distance between the horizontal line F1 and the central virtual line C1, and W4 is the distance between the horizontal line F1 and the horizontal line 21-1.

  This is because when W1 = W2 and W3 = W4, or when W1 <W2 and W3 <W4, the character C (numbers 6 to 9) approaches the intersection of the inclined lines 22 and the display space becomes narrower. For this reason, there is a possibility that accuracy during reading may be lowered.

  Since the rectangular code 20 includes the horizontal and vertical frame lines 21 and the inclined line 22 that can be set at a constant angle, the reading angle is not misidentified even when the optical reader device reads the rectangular code 20. This is because an accurate reading angle can be recognized by the reader device according to the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, and the angle of the preset inclination line.

  The character C entered and displayed in the square code 20 and the amount of information are as follows, for example.

  First, in the case of the present invention, in OCR (optical character recognition) processing via an optical reader device, in order to avoid misreading due to distortion or the like of the mount 11, each of the four blank areas 25 has a character number as large as possible. It is desirable to display.

  In principle, the character C can be displayed in each of the four blank areas 25 without limitation. However, in order to avoid misreading of the reader device when using label paper (mounting sheet 11) having a size that can withstand practical use. For example, 20 or less character C columns are displayed in each of the blank areas 25.

Considering the safety of misreading, for example, when 10 characters C are displayed in each of the blank areas 25, the types of characters C to be displayed are set to 0 to 9 in order to simplify the calculation. When the number is limited to only the numbers, the number of combinations of number strings that can be written in one blank area 25 is 10 ¹⁰ .

Since the square cord 20 has four blank area 25, the combination of digit sequence one rectangular cord 20 is made is 10 ^40.

Therefore, in the case of the three parallel rectangular codes 20 shown in FIG. 1 and limited to the case where ten digits of 0 to 9 are displayed in one blank area 25, the management data label 10 includes (10 ⁴⁰ ) ^Three codes can be entered.

  In the blank area 25, an appropriate character C, for example, an alphabet can be mixed and used, and in that case, the number of codes can be further increased.

However, when using the alphabet, there are problems such as the number “0” and the letter “O” being easily misread, so if you use 40 alphabets with a lower misreading rate, 20 uppercase letters and 20 lowercase letters in total. If you, in addition to numbers 0 through 9 are a single space region 25, a total of can be written 50 different character column C, the combination of the code is a street 10 ^50.

The number of combinations (P4) of the square codes 20 having four blank regions 25 is P4 = 10 ²⁰⁰ , and the number of combinations (P5) in the case of three parallel parallel codes 20 is P5 = (10 ²⁰⁰ ) ³ Street.

  In consideration of normal usage, code notation with a large number of digits exceeding 10 digits is not necessarily required. Practically, a code of 2 to 3 digits is written in one blank area 25 using numbers from 0 to 9 and / or alphabets (uppercase and lowercase letters) that are difficult to misread, that is, about 50 kinds of characters C. It is desirable. In the case of optical character recognition, the size of the displayed character is also related to the misreading rate. Therefore, it is better to reduce the number of digits in the character C column displayed in one blank area 25 and to display the character C in a larger size. This is because it can be improved.

  Even if only a 2-3 digit character C column code is displayed in one blank area 25, a sufficient amount of data is available for various uses such as normal use, for example, merchandise management, inventory management, deadline management, etc. It can be secured.

  Therefore, according to the management data label 10, a simple data label can be configured using the character C such as a number. For this reason, the amount of ink at the time of printing can be suppressed, and the character C such as a number can be visually confirmed. For example, when the data content is simple, for example, the purchase date and the date of manufacture are added to the front square code 20. When the expiration date is described, there is an advantage that it can be easily confirmed without using a reader device.

  In order to increase the amount of information to be loaded, a plurality of rectangular codes 20 may be arranged and described in the horizontal direction and / or the vertical direction.

  When the reading device including the reader device is systematized on the assumption that a predetermined number of rectangular codes 20 are read, the predetermined number of rectangular codes 20 are arranged and displayed, and the rectangular code 20 that does not need to enter the character C is displayed. The blank area 25 is left blank, or a predetermined character C which means that the rectangular code 20 has no information is entered in the blank area 25. In this case, it is sufficient to fill in at least one of the four blank areas 25.

  The management data label 10 according to the present invention is made so that the optical reader can recognize the direction, but a cut-out symbol used in the two-dimensional code may be provided as necessary. In the above-described embodiment, the rectangular cord having a horizontally long rectangle is illustrated, but it may be a vertically long rectangle or a square.

  In the above description, as the character C to be used, numbers and alphabets have been described as examples. However, characters and symbols in other languages may be used. However, if there is a high possibility of misreading with the OCR device, such as the number “1” and the alphabet “I” and the alphabet “D” and “O”, you can create a system under the condition that at least one of them is not used from the beginning. Thus, the reading accuracy can be further increased.

  When arranging a plurality of rectangular codes 20 in alignment, it is not necessary for all the rectangular codes 20 to use the same number (or number of digits) of characters C. This is because even if the number of characters C and the number of digits are not unified, each rectangular code 20 may have a function of displaying independent meaning contents. For example, the first square code 20 may be a two-digit number string, the second square code 20 may be displayed as a single digit, and the third square code may be displayed as three alphabetic characters. Absent.

  The square code 20 may display a test character for detecting misreading of the reader device. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the test character K is displayed inside the character C constituting the data.

  The test character K uses, for example, a predetermined number / character, and is more likely to be misread than the display position of the character C constituting the data, for example, near the intersection of the inclined line 22 or at the corner of the blank area 25. indicate.

  The test character K is displayed under conditions that are more likely to be misread than the character C constituting the data, for example, with a smaller character size. Since the misreading rate varies depending on the font in the OCR device, for example, the character C constituting the data uses a font that is difficult to misread, and the test character K uses a misreading font to reduce the misreading probability. It is desirable to make it.

10 Management Data Label 11 Mount 20 Square Code 21 Frame Line 22 Slope Line 25 Blank Area 21-1, 21-2 Horizontal Line 21-3, 21-4 Vertical Line 25-1 Blank Area 25-2 Right Blank Area 25 -3 Lower blank area 25-4 Left blank area C1 Virtual line indicating the vertical center of the frame line C2 Virtual line indicating the horizontal center of the frame line F1, F2 Horizontal line that is a virtual line F3, F4 Vertical line that is a virtual line K Test character Q1 to Q4 Vertex W1 Distance between vertical line (F3) and central imaginary line (C2) W2 Distance between vertical line (F3) and vertical line (21-3) W3 Horizontal line (F1) and central imaginary line Distance between line (C1) W4 Distance between line (F1) and line (21-1)

Claims (3)

A square border,
An inclined line that intersects and intersects the opposite vertices of the frame line,
In each of the four blank areas partitioned by the inclined line,
A square code consisting of numbers, letters and symbols
A management data label characterized by being arranged in the horizontal direction and / or the vertical direction. The square code is
2. The management data label according to claim 1, wherein the management data label is arranged in a left-right column. Square code strings arranged in a line in the left-right direction
The management data label according to claim 1, wherein the management data label is displayed in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction.

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