JPH04284587A - Method of correcting the bar code error in the job programming separator of an electronic reproduction/printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a system for correcting the bar code of a separator as a means which corrects the bar code by confirming the extinguished characters or unreadable characters of the bar code in an electronic graphic copying/ printing system. CONSTITUTION: When an even-numbered character, the second number 2 is an extinguished/unreadable character, the inspected sum CS of an invalid bar code is calculated by an expression I; CT=10-(MOD 10(K1*(odd-numbered character sum)+K2*(stay-numbered character sum)); CT is the character sum, K1 = constant 3 and K2 = constant 1, and an expression II; CS=MOD-(remainder in the case of MOD) by using a bar code 130'. For example, CT=10-(MOD 10 (3* (1+3+5)+(?+4); CT=27+4+? CT=31+? CS=(10-7)=3. Thus, the number of invalid bar codes is judged.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a job/page separator that utilizes barcodes to program jobs in high-speed electronic graphic reproduction/printing systems, and more specifically to a job/page separator that corrects barcode errors, correctly reads barcodes, Concerning improvements in decoding methods.

High speed electronic copiers, printing systems, reproduction systems and devices convert original images into image signals (pixels), process the image signals, and produce a desired output, usually as a print. This type of high-speed electronic copier, printing system, graphic reproduction system not only has the ability to process a large number of documents at once, but also has the ability to process various documents/images such as image cropping, image enlargement/reduction, image merging, etc. Equipped with processing function options. However, this requires a great deal of effort and time to program the job and load documents into the document feeder.

[0003]In order to increase productivity and reduce the need for restraint and burden on workers, management sheets (separators) (also called job tickets) are placed at specific locations in the document stack.
Sahay et al., U.S. Pat.
, 528, U.S. Patent No. 4 of Apple et al.
, 687,317 and Farrell, US Pat. No. 4,715,438. However, as will be described later, barcode reading accuracy is the most important condition for programming. As a means to prevent errors, barcodes typically include a checksum to check the accuracy of the barcode's content. However, if the barcode contains errors such as missing characters, ie, the barcode is inaccurate, then the job must be defaulted. Defaulting immediately saves money and wasted time because jobs are aborted rather than completed, but there is a penalty in the form of delays that require barcode correction, rescanning, and restarting the printing system. It will be imposed.

A different type of bar code is a reticular bar code that has two synchronization blocks that set the nominal width of each bar in the bar code, as described in Rosenthal US Pat. No. 4,567,36.
It is disclosed in No. 1. In addition, as a system for detecting barcode errors using check totals, a system in which telephone numbers are stored using bar codes with check total numbers recorded on dual sides for checking errors is developed by Hughes et al. Patent No. 4,535
, No. 204, and U with left and right characters.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,961 by Reed et al. describes a system that utilizes PC code, sums characters by an algorithm, and checks the result with a check character.
, No. 164, and a barcode error checking system using check numbers is disclosed in Nishida (Nishida).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,521 to Shepardson et al., and a barcode decoding system that uses a modulo 10 check character to detect errors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056 to Shepardson et al.
, No. 710.

The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by scanning a document as a job and outputting an image signal to generate a barcode consisting of a plurality of characters and one checksum. 1. A method for correcting errors in barcodes programming an electronic reproduction/printing system for printing a job, the method comprising: a scanner for producing a printed product with at least one job ticket containing system processing instructions for the process; Add up the odd numbered characters of the barcode, multiply said sum by a predetermined constant to obtain the total odd numbered characters, sum the even numbered characters of said barcode, and multiply said sum by a predetermined constant to obtain the total even numbered characters. , calculating the character total of the barcode by summing the odd character total and the even character total, dividing the calculated barcode total by a predetermined coefficient to obtain a modulo number and a remainder, and calculating the remainder from the predetermined coefficient. calculating a checksum value for the barcode by subtracting a computed checksum of the barcode characters and comparing the computed checksum with the barcode testsum to detect missing or illegible characters in the barcode; checking for characters and using the barcode checksum character if the checksum and the barcode checksum are not equal and one barcode character is missing or illegible; determining the correct barcode character total by subtracting the correct barcode character total from the barcode character total to determine the obliterated/unreadable barcode character. The aim is to provide a method for

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a top view detailing a job/page separator containing a bar code for programming an electronic graphic reproduction/printing system.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing details of the barcode of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of the sampled video obtained by scanning the bar code of FIG. 2 and the interrupt signal generated from said video.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system for decoding separator bar codes in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged views of an example barcode.

[0011] Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to this preferred embodiment. Dew. That is, it goes without saying that various other application embodiments are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0012] The above-mentioned Farr (Farr) can be cited in this book.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,438 to E.L.L. describes a method for detecting and reading barcodes on a control sheet (job ticket) as a job/page separator inserted interveningly within a document to be scanned by an electronic reproduction printing system. is disclosed. The barcode serves as a job programming input to program the system to process the document and produce prints.

[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1-4, Farr
There is an optically detectable bar code 130 on the separator 127 of the type disclosed in the Ell patent. In use, specific job instructions are input along with a specific job number represented by barcode 130. Next, the separator is inserted into the document at the correct position in the document tray, the separator is scanned, the obtained image signal is decoded, the job number is confirmed, and the job instruction corresponding to the number is determined. Program the system to access and perform jobs.

[0014] The barcode 130 is ``Matrix 2 of 5''.
Code (matrix 2 of 5 code)
”. As described below, the "matrix 2 of 5 code" consists of a series of bars 139-- each consisting of a wide black bar 140 and a narrow black bar 141 and an intervening wide white bar 144 and narrow white bar 145. 1, 139-2, 13
9-3...139-n. In this type of code, a binary "1" is represented by a white bar 140 or a wide space 144, and a narrow bar 14
1,145 represents a binary "0". One complete barcode 130 includes one start pattern 147 and five
It consists of one message character 148, one checksum character 149, followed by one stop pattern 150.

Decoding is performed by software; an interrupt signal 162 is generated each time the switching sensor 158 switches from 1 to 0 (black to white switching) and every time it switches from 0 to 1 (white to black switching). Interrupt signal 162 is generated by microcontroller 16, which is programmed by decoding software.
0, detects the presence of separator 127, and decodes barcode 130 of separator 127. In this process, wide bars and narrow bars are identified by a software loop in which software measures the time between interrupts and increments a width count by counter 172. The interrupt service routine reads the counter 172, stores its value in buffer 174, the counter is reset to zero, and the counting loop is reset.

Characters of bar code 130 are determined by converting the width count in buffer 174 to a binary "1" or a binary "0" depending on whether the bar width is greater or less than the set black/white limit. Read. printing system 163 to execute a particular print job;
Data for programming is input to the control unit 161 of the printing system 163.

FIG. 2 and the attached software program “
Checksum: Procedure” and “J
uggle:Procedure” (Copyright (C) 19
89, Xerox Corporation. The method of use is to read the barcode 130 on the separator 127 and determine the values of the message character 148 and checksum 149. Subsequently, the values of the barcode characters 148 are summed according to a predetermined calculation formula to obtain a character total (CT), and then a check sum (CS) is calculated. Compare the computed checksum (CS) to the barcode's checksum 149 and calculate all barcode characters 148
is present and legible.

The checksum (CS) is calculated using the following formula: (1
) CT=10-(MOD10 ((K1* (total of odd characters)) + K2* (total of even characters)); Here, CT is the total of characters, and K1 is a constant (=
3), K2 is a constant (=1), and MOD10 is the remainder of the number when the tens place is removed. (2) CS=MOD10-REMAINDER

0
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a six-character barcode 130' has five informational characters as a string of numbers (value 12345) and one checksum 149 (value 7). According to the above formula, the total characters of barcode 130' are calculated as follows. :CT=10-(MO
D10((3*(1+3+5))+(2+4)))C
T=10-(MOD10((3*(9))+(6))
)CT=10-(MOD10((27+6)))CT=
10-(MOD10(33))

Using the character summation CT obtained from Equation 1, the checksum CS of barcode 130' is calculated as follows: CS=MOD10-REMAINDER=10-(3)
=7

In this example, the barcode 130' is valid because the computed checksum (CS) and encoded checksum 149 of the barcode 130' are equal (7). If the computed checksum (CS) differs from the checksum 149 read from barcode 130', this is evidence of the presence of unreadable/obliterated barcode characters 148, and the barcode is invalid.

To correct invalid barcodes, missing/unreadable barcode characters are found and replaced. The procedure is to sum up the values of the existing barcode characters 148 using equation 1 to obtain the character total (CT) of the invalid barcode. Because one barcode character is missing or illegible, the resulting character total (CT) does not accurately represent the total character of the barcode, and the characters present or legible in the barcode It simply represents the total character of the character. The true total character (CT) of a barcode (i.e. the total character CT of the same barcode with no obliterated/unreadable characters) is a checksum of 14
9 and subtracted from the calculated character total (CT) to calculate the value of the obliterated/unreadable barcode character.

If the missing/unreadable character is an odd numbered character, the obtained character value is divided by the constant K1 in Equation 1. In this case, since K1=3,
Divide the character value by 3 to find the missing/unreadable character. Since K2=1, if the erased/unreadable barcode character is an even number character, the obtained character value is the erased/unreadable character.

As an example, a barcode 130' shown in FIG.
, and assuming an even character (the second digit (2) is a missing/unreadable character), the checksum (CS) for an invalid barcode is calculated by equations 1 and 2 as follows: CT=10 -(MOD10( 3* (1+3+5)
+(?+4)CT=27+4+? CT=31+? CS=(10-7)=3

In this example, the checksum 149 of barcode 130' yields the correct character total CT=33. When calculating the character total (CT) from the check total 149, from the previous calculation, the character total (CT
) must end with 3. However, since the character total (CT) is based on MOD10, any MOD10 weight can be applied. However, since the code numbers of the barcode 130' are limited to a range of 0 to 9, the range of MOD10 weights is also limited. Therefore, the total character (CT) obtained from the barcode inspection total of 149 is 0 to 9.
According to the range definition, it must be 33 (>31, <41). The character total (CT) cannot be 13 or 23; 13, 23 are less than 31.

The character totals (CT) for the invalid barcode and the obtained barcode check total 149 are subtracted from each other to determine the extinguished barcode number. In this example it is the extinguished barcode number 2 (i.e. 33-31).

Odd character (for example, third digit (3))
is a missing/unreadable character in barcode 130', then the character sum (CT) and checksum (CS) of the invalid barcode are calculated as follows: CT=10
-(MOD10 3* (1+?+5)+(2+4)
CT=3* 1+3*? +3* 5+6CT=24+
3*? CS=(10-7)=3

From the checksum 149, it can be seen that the last number of the character sum must end in three. Since the number must be >24, <(24+27)=51, only 33 and 43 are possible. 33 and subtract the calculated character total (CT) (i.e. 33-2
4) 9 is obtained, and dividing this by 3 gives 3, which is the extinct character.

In this case, if we choose 43 as the character total for the barcode, we get 19 by subtracting the associated character total (CT) from the barcode check total of 149 (ie, 43-24). However, since 19 is not divisible by 3, the character total (CT) = 43 is discarded.

As another example, consider the case where one odd character (fifth digit (5)) of barcode 130' is a missing character or an unreadable character. Total (C
S) is calculated as follows: CT=10-(MOD10 3* (1+3+?)+
(2+4)CT=3* 1+3* 3+3* ? +6C
T=18+3*? CS=(10-7)=3

[0031] Character total (CT) is >18, <45
(i.e. 18+27), so 23
, 33, and 43 are allowed. Character total (CT)
If you choose =23, the difference is 5 (i.e. 23-18),
Throw it away because it can't be broken by 3. Character total (CT) = 3
If you choose 3, you get 15 (that is, 33-18), and dividing this by 3 gives you 5, which is the extinct character. If we choose character total (CT) = 43, we get 25 (ie 43-58), which is also not divisible by 3, so we discard it.

[0032] The printing system 163 corrects invalid barcodes by identifying missing/unreadable barcode characters, accurately decodes barcodes and input data, and correctly executes print jobs according to barcode programming instructions. Can be programmed.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments introduced above, and that various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0034] Appendix

[0035]

[Table 1]

[0036]

[Table 2]

[0037]

[Table 3]

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a job/page separator containing a barcode for programming an electronic graphic reproduction/printing system.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing details of the barcode in FIG. 1;

3 is a timing chart of a sampled video obtained by scanning the barcode of FIG. 2 and an interrupt signal generated from said video; FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system for decoding separator barcodes in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a barcode as an example.

6 is a list showing the specifications of the barcode shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

127 Separator, 130 Barcode, 130
'Character barcode, 148 Unreadable/obsolete barcode character, 149 Checksum

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. At least one job ticket containing system processing instructions as a barcode consisting of a plurality of characters and a checksum by scanning a document as a job and outputting an image signal. 1. A method for correcting errors in barcodes programming an electronic reproduction/printing system for printing jobs, comprising a scanner for producing printed matter with a printed matter, the method comprising the steps of: a) Checking the barcode for missing or illegible characters by calculating a checksum value of the barcode: 1) summing the odd numbered characters of the barcode and multiplying the sum by a predetermined constant to determine the odd numbered characters; 2) summing the even numbered characters of the barcode and multiplying the sum by a predetermined constant number to obtain a total even numbered character; 3) summing the odd numbered characters and the even numbered characters; calculating the total character of the code; 4) dividing the calculated barcode total by a predetermined coefficient to obtain a modulo number and remainder; 5) subtracting the remainder from the predetermined coefficient to obtain a calculated checksum of the barcode character; 6) comparing said calculated checksum to said barcode checksum; b) indicating that said checksum and said barcode checksum are not equal and one barcode character is missing or illegible; If so, confirming the disappeared/unreadable characters by the following steps: 1.
2) subtracting the correct barcode character sum from the calculated barcode character sum to obtain the obliterated/unreadable barcode characters; 2. The method of claim 1, comprising the step of calculating the barcode character sum by the formula: Y
-(MOD Y (total of odd characters) + K2 (total of even characters) Here, Y is a predetermined coefficient, and K1 and K2 are constants. 3. The method of claim 2, including the step of dividing the resulting obliterated/unreadable bar code character by K1 if the obliterated/unreadable bar code character is an odd numbered character. 4. The method of claim 2, including the step of dividing the obliterated/unreadable bar code character by K2 if the resulting obliterated/unreadable bar code character is an even numbered character.