JPH06103395A - Dual type reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a polygon mirror contained in a hand-held scanner small in size and light in weight. CONSTITUTION:In the dual type reader which is provided with a hand-held scanner 2 provided with a polygon mirror 5 for emitting a scanning light, and also, photodetecting a signal light, and a first photodetector 41 for detecting the photodetected signal light, and a scanner main body 1 provided with an optical system for emitting the scanning light from the hand-held scanner, and photodetecting the corresponding signal light by the same optical path as the scanning light, and can select one of a first reading means by the hand held scanner, and a second reading means by the scanning light from the scanner main body, this reader is constituted so that an optical path separating means 3 for separating an optical path of the scanning light 50 and an optical path of the signal line 51, and a second photodetector 2 for detecting the separated signal light are provided in the scanner main body, and in the case a second reading means is selected, the signal light is detected by the scanner main body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in dual readers. Bar code readers (scanners) used in POS systems, etc., are handheld type for small stores such as convenience stores, and stationary type (fixed type) for large stores such as supermarkets. Is roughly divided into However, for stores handling small items such as stationery to large items such as timber, the scanner used (whether handheld or fixed)
It is inconvenient if the number is limited, and a dual-type scanner that can be arbitrarily selected by the scanner has been devised.

This dual type scanner is equipped with both a fixed type scanner and a handheld scanner. For small items such as stationery, the fixed type scanner is used to hold the item by hand. It is impossible to move a scanner to read a barcode and move a large product such as timber on the scanner.Therefore, take the handheld scanner to the barcode of the product and read the barcode. is there.

The reading by the handheld scanner is required to be downsized and lightened because it is carried by hand and scanned on a product, but the handheld scanner has a polygon mirror built in and is used for the fixed type scanner. In a dual-type reader that shares a polygon mirror, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of the polygon mirror.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional example, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the conventional example. FIG. 5 shows a dual type scanner having a handheld scanner 14 equipped with a polygon mirror 16 and a fixed type scanner utilizing the function of detecting scanning light and detecting the signal light of the handheld scanner 14.
The state where the handheld scanner 14 is attached to the scanner body 10 (functions as a fixed scanner) is shown. 5, the handheld scanner 14 includes a light source 4, a polygon mirror 16, a transmission hologram 33, a photodetector 31, and, as shown in FIG. 6, an emitting mirror 17, a collecting mirror.
18 are provided. Further, the scanner body 10 includes a transmission hologram 34, three three-sided split mirrors 13, a bottom mirror.
12, an optical system including the hollow window 11 and the like, and a processing unit 32 for converting a bar code into a predetermined numerical code and outputting it to a POS terminal device or the like are provided.

In this dual type scanner, when reading a large number of small product bar codes,
Used as a fixed scanner. In this case, when the handheld scanner 14 is mounted on the scanner body 10 as shown in FIG. 5, the scanning light emitted from the handheld scanner 14 is scanned.
Since 50 is emitted from the hollow window 11 via the three-sided split mirror 13 and the bottom mirror 12, the operator manually scans the product so that the barcode surface of the product hits the scanning light 50. In addition, when reading the barcode of a large product, the handheld scanner 14 is removed from the scanner body 10 and the handheld scanner 14 is placed on the barcode of the product.
And scan the light.

As described above, in the dual type scanner shown in FIG. 5, either the handheld scanner 14 or the fixed type scanner can be selected by attaching and detaching the handheld scanner 14. And since the handheld scanner 14 has a polygon mirror 16 built-in,
Since 50 is emitted from the handheld scanner 14, it is not necessary to scan it by hand and the operability is good, and the handheld scanner 14 is used when it is used as a fixed scanner.
It has a feature that it can use the function of generating scanning light 50 and the function of detecting signal light.

FIG. 6A shows the optical paths of the scanning light 50 and the signal light 51 when the handheld scanner 14 directly scans the product. The light emitted from the light source 4 is reflected by the emission mirror 17 behind the condensing mirror 18 (a hole is formed only in the optical path portion of the condensing mirror 18 for the light to be emitted), and the polygon mirror is further provided. It is reflected by 16 and emitted to the outside. The polygon mirror 16 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and scanning light 50 for scanning at a certain angle is obtained. Then, a part of the signal light 51 reflected by the reading target (bar code) 40 scanned by the scanning light 50 is received by the polygon mirror 16, and the light is electrically detected by the photodetector 31 via the converging mirror 18. Converted to a signal. This electric signal is input to the scanner body 10 via the cable 15 and converted into a numerical code by the processing unit 32. The transmissive hologram 33 allows the scanning light 50 to come to a relatively near point (A in FIG. 6 (b)).
The signal light 51 which is focused at the point
It is for imaging on 31.

FIG. 6B shows the scanning light 50 and the signal light when the handheld scanner 14 is attached to the scanner body 10.
It shows the optical path of 51. Handheld scanner 14
The scanning light 50 emitted from the polygon mirror 16 sequentially and repeatedly scans the three sets of three-sided split mirrors 13. As a result, the scanning light 50 is divided into scanning light 50 in three directions, and then the bottom mirror 12
Is reflected by and enters the hollow window 11. A hologram corresponding to the scanning light 50 is formed on the hollow window 11, and the light is diffracted in different directions. Then, scanning light 50 in three directions is generated by the hollow window 11, and the barcode 40 is scanned. The signal light 51 scattered from the bar code 40 is collected by the hollow window 11, passes through the bottom mirror 12, the three-sided split mirror 13, and the polygon mirror 16, enters the focusing mirror 18, and is guided to the photodetector 31. Then, the electric signal converted by the photodetector 31 is input to the processing unit 32 and converted into a numerical code. In addition, the transmission hologram 34 causes the scanning light 50 emitted from the handheld scanner 14 to move to a predetermined position (B
It is for the purpose of focusing.

As described above, in the dual type reader having the built-in polygon mirror 16 in the handheld scanner 14, when it is used as a fixed type, the emitting and condensing functions of the handheld scanner 14 are used.

[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Handheld scanner
Although the 14 is required to be held and scanned by hand, downsizing and weight reduction are required, but in the dual-type reading device with the polygon mirror 16 built into the handheld scanner 14 described above, the polygon mirror 16 is particularly downsized and lightweight. Is required.

However, the polygon mirror 16 has a scanning light 50
Is generated and the scattered signal light 51 is received, and it is necessary for each surface of the polygon mirror 16 to receive the amount of light necessary for detecting the barcode. Therefore, there is a limit in reducing the size of each surface of the polygon mirror 16, especially the thickness (h in FIG. 6B, usually 10 to 30 m / m) to make the handheld scanner 14 compact. .

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual type reading device in which a polygon mirror incorporated in a handheld scanner is made thin and lightweight.

[0013]

In the principle diagram of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a handheld scanner, which reflects a light emitted from a light source while rotating and generates a scanning light 50 and corresponds to the scanning light 50. The polygon mirror 5 that receives the signal light 51 from the reading target 40 and the first photodetector 41 that detects the signal light 51 received by the polygon mirror 5 are provided. Reference numeral 1 denotes a scanner body, which is an optical system for receiving and emitting scanning light 50 from a handheld scanner 2 mounted at a predetermined position and receiving signal light 51 corresponding to the scanning light 50 in the same optical path as the scanning light 50. Equipped with. Reference numeral 3 denotes an optical path separating means provided in the scanner main body 1, which is an optical path of the scanning light 50 and the received signal light 51.
Separate from the optical path of. A second photodetector 42 provided in the scanner body 1 detects the signal light 51 separated by the optical path separating means 3 and guided in a direction different from that of the polygon mirror 5.

[0014]

[Function] Of the signal light 51 scattered corresponding to the scanning light 50 scanning the reading object 40, the signal light reflected on the optical path of the scanning light 50
The optical path separating means 3 guides 51 to an optical path different from the optical path to the polygon mirror 5, and the second photodetector 42 provided in the scanner body 1 detects it. Accordingly, since the polygon mirror 5 provided in the handheld scanner 2 does not need to receive the signal light 51 from the scanner body 1, its size, mainly its thickness, generates the scanning light 50.
It may be determined in consideration of only the amount of received light when the handheld scanner 14 is used alone.

When the handheld scanner 14 is used alone, it is received by the polygon mirror 5 in the handheld scanner and detected by the first detector 41 as in the conventional case, but in this case, it passes through the scanner body 1. Since the optical path length to the product is shorter than in the case of scanning, the degree of scattering of the signal light 51 in the polygon mirror 5 is small and the light intensity is strong. Therefore, the size of each surface of the polygon mirror 5 (see FIG. (Thickness) can be made smaller than the conventional one, and the handheld scanner 5 can be made thinner and lighter.

[0016]

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of one embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a detection mechanism of one embodiment. Note that the same reference numeral represents the same object throughout the drawings.

In this embodiment, a bar code reader is taken as an example, and when it is used as a handheld scanner (first reading means), it is the same as the conventional one. Therefore, a fixed type scanner (second reading means) is selected. A case where signal light is detected in the scanner body will be described. Further, an example in which the three-sided split mirror 13 shown in the conventional example of FIG. 5 is used as the optical path separating means 3 provided on the scanner body 1 side of FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the signal light 51 separated by the three sets of optical path separation three-sided splitting mirrors 7A, 7B, and 7C are respectively separated by the second photodetectors 42A, 42B, and 42C. To be detected. These three sets of three-way splitting mirrors 7A, 7B, 7C
Since the second photodetectors 42A, 42B, 42C corresponding to and have the same configuration and perform the same operation, one set will be described in the following description.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a portion of the optical path separating tri-plane dividing mirror 7B at the center. The mirror surface of the three-way splitting mirror 7B for optical path separation has an angle θ between the central strip-shaped surface (scanning surface 7a) scanned by the scanning light 50 and both sides of the scanning surface 7a and between the scanning surface 7a. It is composed of the light receiving surface 7b of the signal light 51. Then, the scanning surface 7a and the polygon mirror 5 are arranged so that the scanning light 50 is emitted to the outside of the device through a predetermined optical path.
And face each other. As a result, the signal light 51 reflected in the vicinity of the same optical path as the scanning light 50 is reflected in the direction D different from that of the polygon mirror 5 by the light receiving surface 7b, and the second photodetector installed on that optical path. Detected by 42B. The width of the scanning surface 7b is wide enough to detect the barcode from the signal light 51 reflected by the scanning surface 7b.

When the signal light 51 whose optical path has been separated is detected at an intermediate position between the polygon mirror 5 and the optical path separating trihedral dividing mirror 7B, it is detected that the scanning light 50 is moved and the optical path is separated. Parallel to the trihedral mirror 7B, Fig. 2
C in the second photodetector 42B because it moves in the X direction of
A charge storage time in the CCD 42B is defined as a period during which the scanning light 50 scans the three-way splitting mirror 7B for optical path separation using a CD (Charge Coupled Device, CCD 42B). For this reason, optical noise may be incident on the surfaces of the CCD 42B other than the surface on which the signal light 51 is incident, and the noise may be accumulated on the electric charge of the signal light 51. Is placed on the light-receiving surface of the CCD 42B, which has a window W that moves corresponding to the above and has a window W that transmits only the signal light 51.

FIG. 4 shows a detection mechanism in which a liquid crystal is used as a photomask and three CCD line image sensors are used in parallel as the second photodetector 42 [second photodetector in FIG. The mask and the processing unit 45 (the part shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4)] are shown. The reason for using three line sensors is that the line sensors can be used in parallel when the light quantity of the signal light 51 is insufficient, and even if one line sensor is used. Of course, a two-dimensional sensor may be used. When the two-dimensional sensor is used, the image of the reading target 40 is accumulated, and the barcode can be read by image processing or the like.

Here, in order to control each CCD and the optical mask in synchronization with the scanning light 50, the three-face splitting mirror 7 for separating each optical path.
For each of A, 7B, and 7C, the scanning light 50 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 2 (the rotation direction of the polygon mirror 5 is set as the counterclockwise direction in the drawing).
Optical sensors 46A, 46B, and 46C for detecting are respectively provided.
Then, triggered by the detection of the scanning light 50 by the optical sensors 46A, 46B, 46C, charge accumulation control, read control of the CCDs 42A, 42B, 42C and window control of the optical masks 44A, 44B, 44C are performed. .

Now, when the scanning light 50 is detected by the optical sensor 46B, the CCD timing signal generating circuit 49 determines that the time interval T
An accumulation time T0 for generating a shift signal having 0, receiving the signal light 51, and accumulating the electric charge thereof (corresponding to the time for the scanning light 50 to scan the optical path separating trihedral mirror 7B).
To the CCD 42B. Here, when the shift signal is at the low level, the charge corresponding to the incident light is stored in the storage section of the CCD 42B, and when it is at the high level, the stored charge is transferred to the charge transfer section of the CCD 42B. I am trying. Then, the charge accumulated in the charge transfer portion is sequentially read out for each pixel by the read signal.

On the other hand, the window control section 47B keeps all the Y direction terminals of the optical mask 44B as a liquid crystal ON, and when the scanning light 50 is detected by the optical sensor 46B, while using the timer 48B, it operates in the X direction. Select terminals from X0 to Xn sequentially, and width T1
The ON signal of is applied. The time T1 and the selection time interval t0 are determined on the basis of the width of the window W and the scanning time of the three-side splitting mirror 7B for separating the optical path of the scanning light 50.

As described above, the window (transmission window) W for passing only the effective signal light 51 moves corresponding to the scanning light 50, and the charge of only the effective signal light 51 is accumulated in the CCD 42B. Will be.

The above operation is performed by the three-face splitting mirror 7 for separating the optical path.
The same applies to A and 7C, and the above control is performed at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed of the polygon mirror 5 and the number of faces (number of sides of the polygon).

Now, assuming that the CCD 42B is composed of three line sensors, the signal light 51 transmitted through the window W is 51.
Are accumulated as electric charges in the respective line sensors and are synchronously read out. Then, after each pixel signal is added and amplified by the adding amplifier 21B, it is converted into a binary signal by the binarizing circuit 22B.
After being digitized, it is input to the bar width conversion unit 27 through the switching circuit 23 and the switching circuit 24, and after being converted into the white / black bar width, the bar code recognition unit 28 verifies whether or not the bar code is present. It When the barcode is recognized, it is stored in the memory 29 and then converted into a numerical code by the demodulation unit 30. It should be noted that the switching circuit 23 causes the CCD timing signal generation circuit 49 to switch the CC signals according to the detection signals of the optical sensors 46A, 46B, 46C.
Switch according to the read period of D 42A, 42B, 42C. Therefore, if the product is scanned with a stationary scanner, each CCD
Bar code signals read by 42A, 42B, 42C are stored in memory 29.
Therefore, the demodulation unit 30 determines whether or not the bar code can be read by performing verification such as matching of each bar code. Also,
The switching circuit 24 is switched to the switching circuit 23 side by a signal from the limit switch 6 which is turned on when the handheld scanner 2 is attached to the scanner body 1.

As described above, when the handheld scanner 2 is mounted on the scanner body 1, the scanning light 50 emitted from the handheld scanner 2 is generated by the three sets of three-way splitting mirrors 7A, 7B, 7C for separating the optical path of the scanner body 1. The strip-shaped scanning surface 7a is sequentially and repeatedly scanned, and the signal light 51 corresponding to the scanning is divided into three optical path separating mirrors 7A,
The light receiving surfaces 7b of 7B and 7C guide the light to a different optical path from the polygon mirror 5 and are detected in the scanner body 1.

When the handheld scanner 2 is removed from the scanner body 1, the limit switch 6 is turned off and the switching circuit 24 switches to the handheld scanner 2 side. As a result, the bar code signal scanned and read by the handheld scanner 2 is bar width converted through the switching circuit 24, and then converted into a numerical code by the above-described processing.

As described above, when used as a fixed type scanner, since the polygon mirror 5 built in the handheld scanner 2 is configured not to receive the signal light, the light received when the handheld scanner 2 alone scans and reads. Since the strength is high, the thickness of each surface of the polygon mirror 5 can be reduced.

[0030]

As described above, in the dual type reader of the present invention, the optical system in the scanner body is constructed so as to detect the signal light without passing through the polygon mirror built in the handheld scanner. When used as a handheld scanner, the intensity of the received light is high, so that the thickness of the polygon mirror can be reduced, and the effect of contributing to downsizing of the handheld scanner in the dual type reader is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a detection mechanism according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Scanner Main Body 2 Handheld Scanner 3 Optical Path Separation Means 4 Light Source 5 Polygon Mirror 6 Limit Switch 7A, 7B, 7C Three-sided Split Mirror for Optical Path Separation 7a Scanning Surface 7b Light-Receiving Surface 10 Scanner Main Body 11 Hollow Window 12 Bottom Mirror 13 Three-sided Mirror 14 Handheld Scanner 15 Cable 16 Polygon mirror 17 Exit mirror 18 Focusing mirror 21A, 21B, 21C Summing amplifier 22A, 22B, 22C 2
Value conversion circuit 23 Switching circuit 24 Switching circuit 25 Amplifier 26 Binarization circuit 27 Bar width conversion section 28 Bar code recognition section 29 Memory 30 Demodulation section 31 Photodetector 32 Processing section 33 Transmissive hologram 34 Transmissive hologram 40 Read target 41 First photodetector 42 Second photodetector 42A, 42B, 42C C
CD 44A, 44B, 44C Optical mask 45 Processing unit 46A, 46B, 46C Optical sensor 47A, 47B, 47C Window control unit 48B Timer 49 CCD timing signal generation circuit 50 Scanning light 51 Signal light

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The scanning light (50) is generated by rotating and reflecting the light emitted from the light source (4), and the scanning light is an object to be read.
Handheld scanner provided with a polygon mirror (5) for irradiating (40) and receiving the reflected signal light, and a first photodetector (41) for detecting the signal light received by the polygon mirror.
(2) and a scanner having an optical system for receiving and emitting the scanning light from the handheld scanner mounted at a predetermined position and receiving a signal light corresponding to the scanning light in the same optical path as the scanning light A first reading means having a main body (1) for scanning and reading an object to be read by the handheld scanner; and a first reading means for emitting scanning light emitted from the handheld scanner from the scanner main body to scan and read the object to be read. Two
A dual-type reading device in which either one of the reading means is selectable, the optical path separating means (3) for separating the optical path of the signal light (51) and the optical path of the scanning light (50); A second photodetector (42) for detecting the signal light (51) guided to an optical path different from the optical path of the scanning light by the optical path separating means is provided in the scanner body (1), When the handheld scanner is mounted on the scanner body and the second reading means is selected, the signal light is detected in the scanner body by the optical path separating means and the second photodetector. And a dual-type reader.