JPH0521164Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention is a simple barcode that reads display barcodes printed or affixed to products for product identification or used in place of computer system keyboards. Regarding leaders.

[Prior art]

In product shipping departments of factories, supermarkets, department stores, etc., barcode symbols are used to identify large quantities of products, and systems are used to grasp various information about products and manage product input/output and inventory management. .

Conventional barcode reading devices of this type can be roughly divided into two types: laser type, which uses a gas laser as a light source, and light emitting device type, which uses LED. Lasers are large, so small devices such as pen-type barcode readers are light-emitting devices using LEDs.

Examples of conventional light-emitting element type barcode readers are shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 (in the figures, parts with the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts).

Light emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 2
A light emitting element 3 serving as a light source is provided inside the casing 2, and the light from the light emitting element 3 is guided to the tip reading section 5 of the casing 2 through an optical fiber 4, and the reflected light from the barcode is collected through the reading hole 6 and the light emitting element 3 that serves as a light source. optical lens 7
The light is led to a light-receiving element 8 such as a phototransistor, and the output of the light-receiving element 8 is amplified by an amplifier 9 and then led to a subsequent circuit. In the subsequent circuit, the output signal of the amplifier 9 is waveform-shaped into a precise pulse signal, which is then input to an electronic computer system, where the contents of the barcode are decoded.

Light emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 3
2, a ball lens 13 is provided in the reading unit, and light 14 is projected onto the barcode through a portion of the ball lens 13 close to the optical axis, and the reflected optical signal 15 is the light of the ball lens 13. 14 through the light receiving element 8
It is becoming more and more focused.

Light-emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 4
7 is a combination of the light emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in FIG. 2 and the light emitting element type barcode reader 12 shown in FIG.
3, the bar code is irradiated from the ball lens 13, and the reflected light is guided to the light receiving element 8 via the optical fiber 16.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the light-emitting element type barcode readers shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 have the following drawbacks.

Light emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 2
Since the projected light cannot be focused along the optical axis of the lens 7, the utilization of the projected light is poor and the current consumption of the light emitting element 3 is large.In addition, the optical fiber 4 and the lens 7 are both expensive, and the structure is complicated and costly. rise is inevitable.

Light emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 3
2, the read optical signal is introduced by passing through the outside of the ball lens 13 away from the optical axis, so there is a risk that the amount of light may be insufficient and the code content may not be read. Furthermore, since the ball lens 13 is used, an increase in material costs and manufacturing and assembly costs is unavoidable.

Light-emitting element type barcode reader 1 shown in Fig. 4
7, the light emitting element 3 consumes a large amount of current, and the use of many optical fibers 4 and 16 and the use of the ball lens 13 inevitably increases the cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting element type simple barcode reader that can extremely reduce material and manufacturing and assembly costs.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a simple barcode reader with a cylindrical lens at the tip facing the barcode of the barcode reader casing, and the optical length of the cylindrical lens in the axial direction is restricted. A hole is provided to improve the resolution in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylindrical lens, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged behind the cylindrical lens in the casing and in the axial direction of the cylindrical lens, and the cylindrical lens is removed from the light emitting element. Light is projected onto the display barcode through the hole and the reflected light from the display barcode is guided to the light receiving element through the cylindrical lens and the hole, and the display barcode is read from the output of the light receiving element.

[Effect]

By configuring the simple barcode reader as described above, there is a slight restriction that the simple barcode reader must scan in such a way that the direction of the barcode and the axis of the cylindrical lens do not deviate too much. Since there is no need to use ball lenses or optical fibers, the material cost is low, and manufacturing and assembly are simple, resulting in cost reduction.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the head portion of a simple barcode reader according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A' in FIG. A concave notch 21 is formed at the tip of the casing 33 of the simple barcode reader 20, and a fitting groove into which a cylindrical cylindrical lens 23 is fitted is formed in the center of the notch 21. 22 is provided, and further,
A hole 28 is provided in the center of the fitting groove 22 to allow light 26 from the light emitting element 24 and reflected light 27 from the display barcode to pass through. A light emitting receiver 29 having a light emitting element 24 and a light receiving element 25 is provided above the hole 28 . Also, the light emitting receiver 29
A lead wire 30 for supplying light emitting current to the light emitting element 24 and a lead wire 31 for guiding the output from the light receiving element 25 to the outside are provided on the upper part of the light emitting element 24 . It is preferable to use a light-emitting diode as the light-emitting element 24 and a phototransistor as the light-receiving element in the light-emitting light-receiving device 29, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Further, as the cylindrical lens, a cylindrical acrylic rod may be cut into a predetermined length and used, but the invention is not limited to this.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned simple barcode reader will be explained. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the simple barcode reader, in which the light emitting element 24, the light receiving element 25 and the cylindrical lens 23
This shows the extracted state. Light 2 from light emitting element 24
6 is focused on a straight line by a cylindrical lens 23,
Display barcode 32 where display barcode is displayed
is irradiated onto the Light 27 reflected from the display barcode 32 passes through the cylindrical lens 23 and is collected on the light receiving element 25. At this time, as shown in the figure, the range of the display barcode 32 irradiated from the light projecting element 24 is d1, whereas the range covered by the light receiving element 25 is d2, which is shifted from d1. Therefore, in the displayed barcode, the straight line portion X where d1 and d2 overlap will be read.

In order to read the displayed barcode with the simple barcode reader 20, the straight line portion X where d1 and d2 overlap (this coincides with the axis of the cylindrical lens 23)
The direction of the displayed barcode must match so that it does not deviate too much. If the direction of the straight line portion X and the barcode deviates and a plurality of bars enter the straight line portion X, it will be impossible to read the barcode. Therefore, the smaller the straight line portion where d1 and d2 overlap, the more freedom the barcode reader has in the scanning direction. That is, the cylindrical lens 23
The resolution in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is improved. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the hole 28 provided in the center of the fitting groove 22
This is provided to restrict the overlapping portion of d1 and d2, and if the size of the hole 28 is set appropriately to the width of the display barcode, restrictions on the scanning direction of the display barcode can be eliminated.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing the head portion of another simple barcode reader according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B' in FIG. As shown in the figure, the cylindrical lens 23 protrudes from the tip of the casing 33, and the light from the light emitting element 24 is configured to be focused on the tip surface of the cylindrical lens 23. With this configuration, compared to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the barcode reader 20 can be tilted freely, increasing the degree of freedom in scanning the displayed barcode, but the cylindrical lens 23
The disadvantage is that the surface is easily scratched.

As mentioned above, when the cylindrical lens 23 is used as a lens for emitting light and receiving light, the cylindrical lens can be made by simply cutting a round bar material such as transparent plastic or glass into a predetermined size. There is no need to process it into a spherical shape, and it can be easily assembled by simply pasting it into the cylindrical lens fitting groove 22 with an adhesive or the like, so manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the cost can be further reduced by using a light emitting/receiving device incorporating a commercially available LED and a phototransistor as the light receiving/emitting element.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, a cylindrical cylindrical lens is used as a light emitting/receiving lens, and
regulating the axial optical length of the cylindrical lens;
Since a hole is provided to improve the resolution in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylindrical lens, material, structure, and assembly costs can be significantly reduced, and a simple barcode using a spherical lens as the light emitting/receiving lens. Although it is slightly inferior to a reader, it has the extremely excellent effect of providing an inexpensive and simple barcode reader that has a high degree of freedom of operation, that is, a good resolution in the direction perpendicular to the barcode.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the head part of a simple barcode reader according to the present invention, FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are views showing the structure of a conventional light emitting element type barcode reader. Figure 5 is A- in Figure 1.
A sectional view taken along the line A', FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the simple barcode reader according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows the structure of the head section of another simple barcode reader according to the present invention. The side sectional view, FIG. 8, is a sectional view taken along the line B-B' in FIG. 7. In the figure, 20...Simple barcode reader, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Notch, 22... Fitting groove, 23... Cylindrical lens, 24... Light emitting element, 25... Light receiving element, 2
8... Hole, 29... Light emitting receiver, 30, 31...
Lead wire, 33...Casing.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cylindrical lens is provided at the tip of the simple barcode reader casing facing the barcode, and a hole is provided to regulate the optical length of the cylindrical lens in the axial direction and improve the resolution in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylindrical lens. At the same time, a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are arranged behind the cylindrical lens in the casing and in the axial direction of the cylindrical lens, and the light-emitting element projects light onto the display barcode through the cylindrical lens and the hole. A simple barcode reader characterized in that reflected light from a display barcode is guided to the light receiving element through the cylindrical lens and the hole, and the display barcode is read from the output of the light receiving element.