JP3708926B2 - Code reading system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a code reading system used for identifying and managing a large number of samples in drug discovery research and chemical substance analysis.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in drug discovery research, chemical substance analysis, and the like, a plurality of elongated containers called microtubes in which a solution in which a sample is dissolved are enclosed are accommodated side by side in a rack for storage and transportation. Then, in order to identify what sample is sealed in each microtube, a two-dimensional code called a data matrix or QR code is given to the bottom surface of each microtube. Furthermore, the inventors of the present invention also provide a code reading system in which a two-dimensional code is collectively read using a flatbed scanner while a plurality of microtubes are accommodated in a rack, and the results are stored in a computer and managed. Has already been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-004528 [0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the previously proposed code reading system, as shown in FIG. 3, the microtube 200 to be read must always be accommodated in the rack 180 and placed on the scanner surface 320 of the flatbed scanner 300. It was. In order to place the rack 180 at a predetermined position on the scanner surface 320, the code reading frame 100 which is formed of a synthetic resin or the like and has a plurality of rack holding portions 120, 140, 160 for holding the rack 180 is used. It was. Therefore, even when reading the identification codes of the two or three microtubes 200, the scanner needs to horizontally reciprocate the entire area where the rack 180 is placed, that is, the distance indicated by A in FIG. It contributed to longer reading time.
[0005]
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to read the identification code with the minimum necessary reading time, whether it is a case of a few microtubes or a large number of microtubes accommodated in a rack. It is to provide a code reading system capable of performing the above.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a scanner for a flatbed scanner for collectively reading the identification codes provided on the bottom surfaces of a plurality of containers by a horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A code reading frame used by being placed on a surface, wherein the rack guide holds at least one rack for vertically accommodating a plurality of containers, and the rack guide is perforated, and at least one of the containers is It has the container holding | maintenance part hold | maintained vertically.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the code reading frame according to the first aspect is used to collectively read the identification codes applied to the bottom surfaces of the plurality of containers by the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A system comprising a sensor for detecting presence / absence of a rack and / or container held in a code reading frame, and determining a moving distance of a horizontal reciprocating motion of a flatbed scanner based on an output signal of the sensor. It is a feature.
[0008]
In addition, the container in the present invention is a small long container called a microtube for storing a compound or the like dissolved in a solvent solution, a container called a vial for storing a powdered sample, a test tube, or the like. It can select suitably according to a use.
[0009]
[Action]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the identification code provided on the bottom surfaces of the plurality of containers is placed on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner so as to be collectively read by the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A code reading frame to be used, a rack guide for holding at least one rack for vertically accommodating a plurality of containers, and a container holding portion which is perforated in the rack guide and holds at least one of the containers vertically With this configuration, a small number (for example, a few) of containers can be reliably held upright on the scanner surface without using a rack.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the code reading frame according to the first aspect is used to collectively read the identification codes applied to the bottom surfaces of the plurality of containers by the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A system comprising a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a rack and / or container held in a code reading frame, and for determining a moving distance of a horizontal reciprocating motion of a flatbed scanner based on an output signal of the sensor, The identification code is read with the minimum required scanning.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0012]
FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram for reading an identification code 220 applied to the bottom surface of a microtube 200 by a code reading system using a code reading frame 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This code reading system reads a plurality of microtubes 200 enclosing samples of chemicals, compounds, and the like, a rack 180 for vertically accommodating these microtubes 200, and an identification code 220 given to the bottom surface of the microtubes 200. And a flatbed scanner 300. The rack 180 is held by the code reading frame 10 described in detail below and placed on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner 300.
[0013]
The identification code 220 assigned to the bottom surface of the microtube 200 is suitably a two-dimensional code having a very small area and an enormous amount of information. For example, a data matrix, a maxi code, a QR code, an aztec code, etc. Various registered codes can be used. Since these two-dimensional codes represent data in the vertical and horizontal directions as shown in FIG. 1, they can be displayed in an area of about one-tenth of the same information amount as a barcode. . Therefore, a vast amount of microtubes can be identified by a two-dimensional code installed in a small area on the bottom surface of the microtube.
[0014]
Next, an embodiment of the code reading frame 10 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
[0015]
In the code reading frame 10 shown in FIG. 2, a rack guide 20 having rack holding portions 12, 14, and 16 for holding a rack is integrally formed of a synthetic resin. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the rack guides 20 are formed by arranging the rack holding portions 12, 14, and 16 so as to hold the three racks in a row, but on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner. It is also possible to form the rack guide by arranging the rack holding portions in two or more rows so that a larger number of racks can be held as long as it can be placed.
[0016]
Furthermore, the code reading frame 10 has a plurality of (three in FIG. 2) container holding portions 18 that hold the microtube 200 in an upright position on the outermost side of the rack guide 20. The container holding portion 18 has a shape slightly larger than the side shape of the microtube and is formed perpendicularly to the outermost side of the rack guide 20. Since the microtube 200 is formed in a taper shape so as to become thinner toward the tip (bottom surface) as shown in FIG. 1, the microtube 200 erected on the container holding portion 18 is provided with the container holding portion 18. Without insertion, the bottom surface is placed just on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner.
[0017]
Next, a method for reading the identification code by the code reading system using the above-described code reading frame 10 will be described.
[0018]
When reading the identification codes given to a large number of microtubes stored vertically in the rack, the rack is held in the rack holding unit 12 of the code reading frame 10, as in the conventional code reading system shown in FIG. 14 and 16 and placed on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner. Then, the operation terminal (the personal computer 400 in FIG. 1) designates the number of racks accommodated in the rack holding unit, and instructs the start of reading. The flatbed scanner that has received the reading start instruction determines the moving distance of the horizontal reciprocation according to the designated number of racks, and executes scanning. In the example shown in FIG. 2, when the number of racks is one, the scan distance is A1. Similarly, when the number of racks is two or three, the scan distance is A2 or A3.
[0019]
On the other hand, when reading the identification code of only one to three microtubes 200, the microtube 200 is accommodated in the container holder 18 that is perforated on the outermost side of the rack guide 20 of the code reading frame 10. Then, the reading of a small number of microtubes is designated from the operation terminal (personal computer), and a reading start is instructed. The flatbed scanner that has received the reading start instruction scans only the outermost side of the rack guide 20 (B in the example shown in FIG. 2) and reads the identification code given to the bottom surface of the microtube.
[0020]
In the above-described example, whether the target of code reading is a large number of microtubes accommodated in a rack or one to three individual microtubes is determined by an operation terminal connected to a flatbed scanner ( A flatbed scanner that detects whether the rack is held in the rack holding part of the code reading frame or whether the microtube is held in the container holding part. It is also possible to automatically determine the moving distance of the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner based on the output of this sensor.
[0021]
As a specific example of the sensor used at this time, for example, the light emitting element and the light receiving element are opposed to each other on the outermost side of the rack guide on the scanner surface, and the position corresponding to the rack holding portion, with the code reading frame interposed therebetween, It is possible to configure by installing. In addition, a plurality of sensors are installed near the scanner surface according to the pitch when the microtubes are held in the rack, and by detecting to which row of the rack the microtubes are stored, they are stored in the rack. It is also possible to automatically determine the movement distance of the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner according to the number of microtubes.
[0022]
The rack 180 used in the code reading system of the present invention has at least a bottom surface made of a transparent material, or a bottom surface provided with a through-hole that fits the bottom surface of each microtube. As a result, the identification code 220 provided on the bottom surface of each microtube 200 accommodated in the rack 180 can be collectively read via the scanner reading surface 320 as shown in FIG.
[0023]
As the flatbed scanner used in the present invention, a general-purpose desktop flatbed scanner of a reading head moving type fixed document reading method using a CCD line sensor can be used as it is. The data read by the scanner is transferred to the personal computer 400 as image data via a normal interface such as USB or IEEE 1394 serial interface, and subjected to predetermined image processing. For example, the identification code of each microtube is cut out from the image data, and by comparing and referring to the code data of the identification code and the information of the master database stored in advance in the personal computer, the contents of each microtube (for example, , Chemical name) can be displayed on the display of a personal computer, or printed out by a printer.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the identification codes provided on the bottom surfaces of the plurality of containers are placed on the scanner surface of the flatbed scanner so as to be collectively read by the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A code reading frame to be used, a rack guide for holding at least one rack for vertically accommodating a plurality of containers, and a container holding portion which is perforated in the rack guide and holds at least one of the containers vertically With this configuration, when reading the identification code for a small number (for example, 1 to 3) of containers, a general-purpose flatbed scanner can be used without requiring an expensive single read-only scanner. Can be used as is. Furthermore, by providing the container holding part on the outermost side of the rack guide, when only a small number of containers are read, it is possible to read the identification code with a slight horizontal reciprocation of the scanner, and the reading processing time is reduced. It can be greatly shortened.
[0025]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the code reading frame according to the first aspect is used to collectively read the identification codes applied to the bottom surfaces of the plurality of containers by the horizontal reciprocation of the flatbed scanner. A system comprising a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a rack and / or container held in a code reading frame, and based on an output signal of the sensor, to determine a moving distance of a horizontal reciprocating operation of the flatbed scanner, The necessary minimum scan is automatically performed, and the time and labor required for reading the identification code are greatly reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of identification code reading according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a code reading frame of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a reading mechanism by a code reading system according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10, 100 ... Code reading frames 12, 14, 16 ... Rack holder 18 ... Container holder 20 ... Rack guides 120, 140, 160 ... Rack holder 180 ... Rack 200 ... Microtube 220 ... Identification code (two-dimensional code)
300 ... Flatbed scanner 320 ... Scanner surface 400 ... Personal computer

Claims (2)

A code reading frame used to collectively read identification codes given to the bottom surfaces of a plurality of containers by a flatbed scanner,
The code reading frame includes a rack guide that holds at least one rack that vertically accommodates the plurality of containers, and a container holding portion that is perforated in the rack guide and holds at least one of the containers vertically. A code reading frame characterized by that. A code reading system that collectively reads identification codes given to the bottom surfaces of a plurality of containers by a flatbed scanner using the code reading frame,
A sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the rack and / or container held in the code reading frame;
The code reading system using the code reading frame according to claim 1, wherein a scanning distance of the flatbed scanner is determined based on an output signal of the sensor.

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