JPH04441Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention relates to a disk-shaped information medium, and its purpose is to provide a medium suitable for collecting information when information sources are dispersed. It is something.

(Conventional technology and problems) Nowadays, computers have become widespread in society and the use of computers has led to highly efficient management, but in some areas it is difficult to properly grasp the original information, so computers efficiency is not fully utilized,
It is also causing great social loss.

Taking product distribution as an example, it is extremely difficult to grasp the performance of retail sales, which is the final stage of distribution. There are a few cases where barcode-based media or POS (Points of Sales System) are used within the same store or company, but some types of products are sold over a wide area, for example, across the country. Currently, there is no way to quickly, easily, and economically collect information on sales of these products from retail stores.

The above-mentioned system using barcode media requires some skill to read because it is read manually, and it is expensive because it requires as many readers as there are sites where sales information is generated. Furthermore, since the POS system is an online system, it takes a lot of time and money to set up, and terminals are also placed at the sites where sales information is generated, and operators need to be skilled to input keys, and there are as many terminals as there are sites. It is very expensive as it requires

(Means for solving the problem)
-76118), proposed a method and device for processing disk recording media suitable for collecting information when information sources are dispersed over many sources. In this method and apparatus, a disk-shaped information medium that can be attached to a product or the like is used, and the disk-shaped information medium is collected in one place and necessary information is aggregated and processed.

When using disc information media, a special machine is required to read it, but the processing center only needs to have a few machines depending on the processing volume, and it is easy to handle and has excellent processing performance. It will also be highly economical. Therefore, the problem of grasping sales performance at the retail stage of product distribution can be solved by a system using a disc information medium, and the problem of collecting similar information can also be solved at the same time.

In other words, with the disk information medium of this invention, information for computer input is recorded in advance on one side of the medium, and the same information is recorded on the other side in numbers and letters that humans normally use, and this is used to store products, etc. affix it to the computer, peel it off as necessary, and use it as a computer input medium. This medium is read by an optical method.

That is, in the disc information medium of this invention, an information storage section for optical reading is provided with non-transparent paint on the surface of a disc made of a transparent material, and a transparent information storage section is provided on the back surface of the disc. It is characterized by a visible information storage section made of photosensitive paint.

(Example) Next, an example of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The disc information medium 1 is a small disc 1a made of a material such as transparent acrylic or vinyl chloride and having appropriate hardness, and one surface thereof (this is called the surface).
An information storage section 3 having a slightly smaller diameter is provided concentrically with the center of the disk 1a. A required number of codes 4 are recorded as information in the information storage section 3 at positions slightly apart from the center and radially from the center. Any code can be used for code 4, for example, EBICIDIC or ASCII
etc. The necessary number of bits 5 constituting the code 4 are printed so as to remain transparent and the other parts are filled with non-transparent paint, for example, a pigment containing lead. Bits other than the code are written in the first code 4, and the information is set as a start mark 7. In addition to the code, an end mark 8 is provided in the last code 4 of the information at a position that can be distinguished from the start mark 7. These two bits indicate the beginning and end of information. In addition, a center bit 6 is provided to indicate the center of the information storage section. The start mark 7, end mark 8 and center bit 6 are all left transparent like the other bits 5. Information storage section 3
An annular peripheral transparent portion 2 is provided around the periphery of the information storage portion 3, and the purpose of the peripheral transparent portion 2 is to protect the periphery of the information storage portion 3 and to accurately recognize the image during optical reading. On the back side, the information recorded on the front side is printed with numbers and letters 9 using transparent ink. In this way, handling of information becomes extremely easy.

Next, reading of this disc information medium 1 will be explained.

If one of the front or back sides of the disc information medium 1 is irradiated with light of the same color as the transparent ink on which the numbers and letters 9 are printed, and the other side is photographed with an electronic camera, the non-transparent ink will appear. The printed information storage area 3 and the transparent bits 5, start mark 7, end mark 8, and center bit 6 are obtained as images, and the numbers and letters 9 printed on other sides can be ignored. I can do it. If the image obtained by the electronic camera is sent to a computer and decoded, the information will be input. In decoding, it is possible to determine whether the front or back reading is based on the front and back relationship between the start mark 7 and the end mark 8, and to make necessary corrections.

The disc information medium 1 may be attached to a product by any method and used as a product tag, price tag, etc.
When used for clothing, etc., a threading hole 10 is punched in the peripheral transparent portion 2, and the thread can be hung with a thread and attached to the clothing.

Thus, the use of the disk information medium of this invention has the following effects.

Conventional computer input media include those with bar codes, magnetic stripes,
Some have OCR characters printed or handwritten.
All of these are used for product tags, price tags, book sales slips, etc., but all of them are sequential reading methods, that is, they are sequential reading methods starting from the first code of the information. It requires a certain amount of time to be moved, and if it is done mechanically, it would be a complicated mechanism.

Although the purpose of this type of media is to easily and quickly read a large amount of generated information and input it into a computer, this purpose has not been fully achieved, and its widespread use has been delayed.

When using the disk information medium of this invention, the reading method is to illuminate one side with light and set up an electronic camera on the other side to photograph the information storage area, so there is no need to move the reading device or the medium. The time required for this is the sum of the time it takes for the electronic camera to scan the image, the time it takes to transmit the image to the computer, and the time it takes for it to be decoded inside the computer, all of which are electrically operated and therefore extremely short. At the same time, since no mechanical elements are included in the reading mechanism, the structure is simple. When decoding the inside of a computer, the information is arranged in codes in the information storage section radially and at equal intervals, so it is easy to search for it and the time required can be extremely reduced.

For the above reasons, it is possible to dramatically improve reading speed compared to conventional media reading devices.

The number and character display on the back of the information storage section of the medium allows you to visually understand what kind of information is stored in the medium, and at the same time, using this display, the medium itself can be used as a product tag, price tag, inventory number tag, etc. I can do it. For example, in the case of retail sales of products, a medium is pasted onto the product in advance, and upon sale, it is peeled off and sent to a location where a reader is located. You can read the media with a reader and understand the sales results.

Normally, when reading, the light of the same color as the transparent ink on the back side where numbers and letters are printed is irradiated, and the numbers and letters are not exposed to light. I can do it.

For example, attach two pieces of media, one each with numbers and letters printed in red and blue, to the same product.
When the product leaves the warehouse, the media with red numbers and letters printed on it is peeled off and sent to the reader, and when the product is sold at a retail store, the remaining media with the blue numbers and letters printed on it is sent to the reader. Suppose you want to send it to a certain place.

There are two types of media that are input into the reader: red and blue. When first irradiated with red light and read, the information on the media printed with red numbers and letters is read, and the information on the media printed with red numbers and letters is read. The information on the media on which the characters are printed is sent to the computer as an image of the code combined with numbers and letters, and is treated as an error if it cannot be deciphered. Media with errors shall be classified as correctly read media and ejected. Therefore, it is possible to classify media with red printing and blue printing. Information can be input by re-entering the blue-printed medium that was treated as an error and scanning it with blue light. In this way, by using a combination of the printing color and the color of the irradiated light beam, it is possible to classify and tally the media.

The above example shows a method for understanding each of the shipping results and the sales results.

Disc information media is hard, so it is resistant to moisture and magnetism during the process from information generation to reading, and because it is small and robust, it does not break during normal handling, making it more durable than other media. It can be said that it is an extremely easy-to-handle medium.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, this invention has the effect of making it possible to read information in a short time using a simple device.

In addition, a visible information storage area made of translucent paint is provided on the back side, so the contents of the information storage area on the front side can be visually recognized, and the media can be classified by the color of the light emitted by the reader. This has the effect of making classification and aggregation easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of this invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view, and FIG. 3 is a side view. 1...Disc information medium, 1a...Disc, 3...Information storage section, 4...Code, 5...Bit, 6...
Center bit, 7...Start mark, 8...
End mark, 9...numbers/letters.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. An information storage section for optical reading made of non-transparent paint is provided on the surface of a disc made of a transparent material, and a transparent material is provided on the back surface of the disc. A disc information medium 2 characterized in that a visible information storage section is provided with a transparent paint. Disc information medium 3 according to claim 1. The disc information medium according to claim 1, wherein the information storage section includes a start mark, an end mark, and a center bit.