JP3207006B2 - Information reading device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information reading apparatus for reading information on an object to be read such as a two-dimensional data symbol.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, data symbol reading devices for reading patterns of two-dimensional data symbols have been developed. This data symbol reading device is roughly divided into
A configuration in which data symbol patterns are simultaneously read two-dimensionally using an area sensor such as a CCD;
A configuration in which a laser beam is swung in a reading unit and main scanning is performed line by line, and a reading unit and a data symbol are sub-scanned and two-dimensionally read by moving relatively in a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction (laser Scan method).

[0003] Among them, the configuration using the area sensor is excellent in that it is not necessary to relatively move the reading section and the data symbol for sub-scanning, and reading can be performed in a short time. In addition, there is a drawback that a symbol reading section in a wide area that can easily include two-dimensional data symbols must be set, and the reading section becomes large. Further, it is necessary to perform positioning so that all of the two-dimensional data symbols enter the symbol reading part. However, since the vicinity of the symbol reading part of the reading device is formed of an opaque member, the position of the two-dimensional data symbol is determined. It is difficult to confirm, and it takes time and effort for this alignment work, and there is a drawback that a reading error easily occurs.

On the other hand, in the laser scanning method, the alignment between the two-dimensional data symbol and the reading section is relatively easy, but an optical system (polygon mirror, fθ lens, etc.) for oscillating laser light is required. Therefore, the structure becomes complicated, the size of the apparatus becomes large, especially the size of the vicinity of the reading unit is increased, and the operability is deteriorated, and the cost is high and the power consumption is large. Further, since the optical system has a movable portion such as a motor for rotating the polygon mirror, it has various disadvantages such as being weak against vibration and the like.

In addition, the area sensor, the laser light source and the optical system for oscillating the laser light are all expensive, and there is a problem that the reading device is expensive.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information reading apparatus having a simple structure, capable of miniaturizing the apparatus, facilitating the manufacturing cost, and easily aligning the reading section with the object to be read. Is to provide.

[0007]

This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which is defined below as (1) to (5).

(1) A linear reading section is provided at the tip, and the reading section and the object to be read are relatively moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the reading section to obtain information on the object to be read. An information reading device for reading
A light source, a plurality of line sensors in which photoelectric conversion elements are linearly arranged, an illumination light guiding unit for guiding light emitted from the light source to the reading unit, and the line sensors for transmitting light from the reading unit. A light guide for video, and a casing for accommodating the light source, the line sensors, the light guide for illumination, and the light guide for video, and the light guide for illumination and the The information reading device, wherein each of the image light guide means is formed of a bundle of optical fibers, and each of the line sensors has a length shorter than a length of the reading unit.

(2) The illumination light guide means is a bundle of illumination optical fibers, one end of which is provided on the light emitting side of the light source, and the other end of which is linearly arranged along the longitudinal direction of the reading section. The image light guide means has one end disposed linearly along the longitudinal direction of the reading section and adjacent to the other end of the illumination optical fiber, and is divided on the way, and each of the divided ends is The information reading device according to the above (1), which is a bundle of optical fibers for video arranged linearly on the light receiving side of each photoelectric conversion element of each line sensor.

(3) The information reading device according to (1) or (2), wherein each of the line sensors is arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements.

(4) The information reading apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein a substantially transparent member having a function of protecting an end of each of the optical fibers is provided in the reading section.

(5) The information reading apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the object to be read is a two-dimensional data symbol.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An information reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the information reading apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the information reading apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in these figures, the information reading device 1A of the present invention has a casing 2A. The casing 2A has a grip portion 21 for gripping by hand on the base end side, is bent at a predetermined angle on the distal side from the grip portion 21, and the distal side from the bent portion 22 is directed toward the distal end 23. It has a shape whose thickness is gradually reduced.

A reading section 3 for reading a two-dimensional data symbol 15 to be described later is formed at the tip 23 of the casing 2A. As shown in FIG. 1, the reading unit 3 has a linear shape extending in the width direction of the casing 2A.

In the casing 2A, the light source 4, two line sensors 51 and 52, illumination light guide means for guiding the light emitted from the light source 4 to the reading unit 3, and the reading unit 3
And a light guiding means for video, which guides light from the camera to the line sensor 5. Hereinafter, these configurations will be sequentially described.

The light source 4 is installed near the bent portion 22 of the casing 2A. As the light source 4, for example, LE
A light emitting element such as D, a halogen lamp, a semiconductor laser, or the like can be used.

Each of the line sensors 51 and 52 is shorter than the length of the reading section 3 described later (about 構成 of the length of the reading section 3 in the configuration shown). They are installed side by side along the direction. The line sensors 51 and 52 have photoelectric conversion elements such as photodiodes arranged linearly along the longitudinal direction, and are preferably CCDs (charge couplers).
ed device) is used. In this CCD, photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in one or several rows, and each photoelectric conversion element generates and accumulates charges corresponding to the amount of received light, and sequentially discharges the accumulated charges at predetermined times. It is configured to be.

According to the present invention, by using a line sensor which is less expensive than an area sensor or a laser scanning optical system, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced.
Since a plurality of line sensors shorter than the length of the reading unit 3 are used, the cost can be further reduced as compared with the case where one line sensor having the same length as the length of the reading unit 3 is used.

As will be described later, the installation positions of the light source 4 and the line sensors 51 and 52 are not limited to the vicinity of the bent portion 22 of the casing 2A.
In the vicinity of the gripping part 21 of FIG. Further, the light source 4 and the line sensors 51 and 52 may be located at separate positions.

The illumination light guiding means for guiding the light emitted from the light source 4 to the reading section 3 is constituted by a bundle 6 of optical fibers. One end 61 of the bundle of optical fibers 6 is arranged in a substantially columnar shape and installed on the light emitting side of the light source 4.
The light source 4 and one end 61 of the optical fiber bundle 6 are connected by a cylindrical holder 7. This holder 7
Is composed of a member having a light-shielding property and has a function of effectively guiding light emitted from the light source 4 to the bundle 6 of optical fibers.

The other end 62 of the bundle 6 of optical fibers is
The reading section 3 is linearly arranged along the longitudinal direction (the width direction of the casing 2A), and the end faces of the optical fibers are aligned. Thus, the light emitted from the light source 4 is introduced from one end 61 of the optical fiber bundle 6, passes through each optical fiber 60, exits from the other end 62, and illuminates the reading unit 3.

The light from the reading unit 3 is sent to a line sensor 5
The light guiding means for images leading to 1 and 52 is also constituted by a bundle 8 of optical fibers. One end 81 of the bundle of optical fibers 8 is arranged in the reading section 3 linearly along the longitudinal direction thereof and adjacent to the other end 62 of the bundle of optical fibers 6. The end face of each optical fiber 80 at one end 81 of the optical fiber bundle 8 is aligned in the same manner as the other end 62 of the optical fiber bundle 6.

The bundle 8 of optical fibers is divided into two parts on the way to form divided bundles 82 and 83. Further, the leading ends (divided ends 84 and 85) of both split bundles 82 and 83 are linearly arranged on the light receiving side of each photoelectric conversion element of line sensors 51 and 52 along the array direction of the photoelectric conversion elements. . The end faces of the optical fibers 80 at the split ends 84 and 85 are aligned so as to keep the distance from the photoelectric conversion element constant. The split ends 84 and 85 of the bundle 8 of optical fibers are fixed by potting materials 9 so as not to be displaced from the photoelectric conversion elements of the line sensors 51 and 52, respectively.

With such a configuration, data symbol 1
5, the other end 62 of the optical fiber bundle 6 is read.
From the data symbol 1 in the reading unit 3
5, the reflected light is introduced from one end 81 of the optical fiber bundle 8, passes through each optical fiber 80, exits from the split ends 84 and 85, and exits from the line sensors 51 and 5.
2 is received by each photoelectric conversion element.

The bundle 8 of optical fibers is formed in a plate shape that is curved in the middle, but as long as the one end 81 and the divided ends 84 and 85 are arranged linearly, any shape in the middle can be used. For example, the shape may be a shape in which the middle is bundled in a column shape, a shape in which the middle is twisted, or a shape in which the middle is further divided into a plurality of bundles. As for the bundle 6 of optical fibers, as long as the other end 62 is linear, the shape of the other portions may be any shape as described above.

In the information reading apparatus 1A having such a configuration, the reading unit 3 uses the linear optical fiber bundle 6
Since the end portions of the reading portion 3 and the end portion 8 are concentrated, the shape of the reading portion 3, that is, the shape of the front end 23 of the casing 2A can be reduced in thickness, and the reading of the data symbol 15 can be easily performed.

In view of the characteristics of the optical fiber, the light source 4 and the line sensor 51 can be formed by deforming or dividing the middle of the optical fiber bundles 6 and 8 into an arbitrary shape and adjusting the lengths of the optical fiber bundles 6 and 8. 52 and the like can be installed at an arbitrary position, and the design width in the installation space is widened, which is advantageous for downsizing the information reading device 1A.

At the other end 62 of the bundle 6 of optical fibers, one end 81 of the bundle 8 of optical fibers, and divided ends 84, 85, optical fibers 60, 8 as shown in FIG.
Either a configuration in which 0s are arranged in one row or a configuration in which the optical fibers 60 and 80 are arranged in a plurality of rows as shown in FIG.

The bundles of optical fibers 6 and 8 are as follows.
For example, optical fibers 60 and 80 having a circular cross section made of quartz, plastic, multi-component glass, etc.
An epoxy-based or acrylic-based adhesive or the like is used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reading section 3 includes the other end 62 of the optical fiber bundle 6 and the optical fiber bundle 8.
A substantially transparent transparent member 10 is provided to protect one end 81 of the transparent member. This transparent member 10 is, for example,
It is made of a transparent material such as various kinds of glass or resin, and is fitted in a long and narrow opening (slit) 24 formed in the front end 23 of the casing 2A. The end faces of the optical fiber bundles 6 and 8 are in contact with the surface of the transparent member 10 inside the casing 2A.

The thickness T of the transparent member 10 is set so as not to affect the input to the line sensors 51 and 52 due to MTF attenuation. The transparent member 10 is not limited to a plate-like member as shown in the figure, but may be a lens such as a cylindrical lens or a prism. When an optical system such as a lens is used as the transparent member 10, the distance between the tip 23 of the casing 2A described later and the data symbol 15 can be increased.

In the illustrated configuration, the data symbols (symbol codes) 15 are composed of black or white (or transparent) mosaics arranged in n rows × m columns (n and m are integers of 2 or more). . The black or white of this mosaic represents, for example, 0 or 1 in a binary system, and desired information is specified by this combination. The data symbols 15 are not limited to those having the configuration as shown.

The object to be read by the information reading apparatus of the present invention is not limited to data symbols,
For example, any character, figure, barcode, etc. may be used as long as it is two-dimensional.

Next, an example of a method for reading the data symbols 15 by the information reading apparatus 1A of the present invention will be described.

Data symbol 1 to be read on reference plane 17
5, while the gripper 21 is gripped by hand, and the reading unit 3 of the information reading device 1 </ b> A is positioned on one side of the data symbol 15.

Next, by operating a trigger switch (not shown) which is provided outside the casing 2A, the light source 4
And the line sensors 51 and 52
Activate The reading unit 3 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the direction indicated by the arrow A in the figure) while maintaining the lighting of the light source 4 and the operating state of the line sensors 51 and 52.

Thus, the line sensors 51 and 5
2, the reflected light from the left half and the right half in FIG. 1 of the data symbol 15 transmitted via the optical fiber bundle 8 is read every one or several lines (main scanning), and the arrow A Sub-scan is performed in the direction
Thereby, the pattern of the data symbol 15 is read two-dimensionally.

In reading such a data symbol 15, since the shape of the reading portion 3, that is, the shape of the tip 23 of the casing 2A is thin, it is easy to confirm the position of the data symbol 15, and to read easily and reliably. It can be carried out.

In the information reading apparatus 1A of the present invention, when reading the data symbol 15, the leading end 23 of the casing 2A is connected to the data symbol 15 (the reference surface 1).
7), the casing 2A as shown in FIG.
May be separated from the data symbol 15 by a predetermined distance (for example, within an allowable MTF attenuation range or within the depth of field of the optical system).

The reading of the data symbol 15 is as follows.
The sub-scanning may be performed by fixing the information reading device 1A side and moving the data symbols 15 with respect to the reading unit 3.

FIG. 3 is a perspective perspective view showing another example of the configuration of the information reading apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the information reading apparatus shown in FIG. The information reading device 1B shown in these figures differs from the information reading device 1A in the arrangement of the line sensors 51 and 52 and the shape of the casing 2B based on the arrangement, and other configurations are the same. Hereinafter, the differences will be described.

In the information reading device 1B, the line sensors 51 and 52 are arranged side by side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements, that is, in the thickness direction of the casing 2B. 82
And 83 are arranged so that the divided ends 84 and 85 also overlap in the same direction.

By arranging the two line sensors 51 and 52 in this manner, the portion of the casing 2B for accommodating the line sensors 51 and 52, that is, the width W of the grip portion 2 is made smaller than that of the information reading device 1A. Therefore, the size of the information reading device 1B can be further reduced, and the grip portion 2 can be easily gripped by hand, so that operability is improved.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing another configuration example of the information reading apparatus of the present invention. The information reading device 1C shown in the figure differs from the information reading devices 1A and 1B in the arrangement of the line sensors 51 and 52 and the shape of the casing 2C based on the arrangement, and the other configuration is the same. Hereinafter, the differences will be described.

In the information reading apparatus 1C, the line sensors 51 and 52 are arranged side by side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the grip 21 of the casing 2C. Along with this, the divided bundles 82 and 83 are arranged so as to overlap in the thickness direction of the casing 2C, and the optical fibers are respectively disposed near the divided ends 84 and 85 in the casing 2C.
It is curved so as to face the thickness direction.

By arranging the two line sensors 51 and 52 in this manner, the portion of the casing 2C for accommodating the line sensors 51 and 52, that is, the width of the grip portion 2 can be made smaller than that of the information reading device 1A. Can,
In addition, the thickness Y of the gripping portion 2 can be made smaller than that of the information reading device 1B, so that the information reading device 1C can be further downsized, and the gripping portion 2 can be easily gripped by hand. Is further improved.

The information reading devices 1A to 1C
In each of the embodiments, the reflected light from the reading unit 3 is received by the two line sensors 51 and 52. However, in the present invention, the number of line sensors installed is not limited to this, and three or more line sensors are provided. May be used. In this case, all the line sensors can be arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction, or at least two line sensors can be arranged side by side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements.

Although the information reading apparatus of the present invention has been described with reference to the configuration examples shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0050]

As described above, according to the information reading apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the reading section, especially the thickness thereof, and to easily align the reading section with the object to be read. The reading can be reliably performed, and accurate reading can be performed. Further, when the line sensors are arranged side by side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements, a portion of the casing for housing the line sensor can be further reduced in size. For this reason, the information reading device of the present invention is excellent in operability.

Further, the information reading apparatus of the present invention does not have a movable part such as a motor, so that it is resistant to vibration and the like. Further, the information reading apparatus of the present invention has a simple configuration, has low manufacturing costs, and consumes little power.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of an information reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the information reading apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another example of the configuration of the information reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the information reading apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing another configuration example of the information reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view illustrating a configuration example of an end of an optical fiber bundle in a reading unit of the information reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing another configuration example of the end of the optical fiber bundle in the reading unit of the information reading apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A, 1B, 1C Information reading device 2A, 2B, 2C Casing 21 Grasping part 22 Bending part 23 Tip 24 Opening 3 Reading part 4 Light source 51, 52 Line sensor 6 Bundle of optical fibers 60 Optical fiber 61 One end 62 Other end 7 Holder 8 Optical fiber Bundle 80 Optical fiber 81 One end 82, 83 Split bundle 84, 85 Split end 9 Potting material 10 Transparent member 15 Data symbol 17 Reference surface

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An information processing apparatus includes a linear reading unit at a leading end, and relatively moves the reading unit and an object to be read in a direction substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the reading unit. An information reading device for reading, comprising: a light source; a plurality of line sensors in which photoelectric conversion elements are linearly arranged; an illumination light guide unit that guides light emitted from the light source to the reading unit; and the reading unit. A light guiding unit for video that guides light from the light to each of the line sensors, and a casing that houses the light source, the line sensors, the light guiding unit for illumination, and the light guiding unit for video, The illumination light guide unit and the image light guide unit are each configured by a bundle of optical fibers, and the length of each line sensor is shorter than the length of the reading unit. Information reading device. 2. The illumination light guide means is a bundle of illumination optical fibers, one end of which is provided on a light emitting side of the light source, and the other end of which is linearly arranged along a longitudinal direction of the reading unit. The light guide means for video is arranged linearly at one end along the longitudinal direction of the reading unit and adjacent to the other end of the optical fiber for illumination, and is divided on the way, and each divided end is each of the respective ends. The information reading device according to claim 1, wherein the information reading device is a bundle of image optical fibers linearly arranged on a light receiving side of each photoelectric conversion element of the line sensor. 3. The information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the line sensors is arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the photoelectric conversion elements. 4. The information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a substantially transparent member having a function of protecting an end of each of the optical fibers is provided in the reading unit. 5. The information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be read is a two-dimensional data symbol.