JPH08287182A - Bar code reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a bar code reader which can easily grasp whether a bar code is set in the specific direction or reverse direction. CONSTITUTION: A decoding part 6 detects direction information from binarized data stored in a binarized data storage area in a storage part 4 to decide the direction of the bar code 9, analyzes the binarized data on the basis of the decision result to read the bar code information out, and also stores setting direction information indicating the setting direction of the bar code 9 in a direction information storage area in the storage part 4. After measurement ends, the read bar code information is outputted through a communication part 8 together with the setting direction information stored in the direction information storage area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bar code reader for reading bar code information from a bar code.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a bar code reader, a bar code is irradiated with light and the reflected light is received to convert the width information of the bar code into time information, which is then digitized and binarized. Data is sequentially stored in the memory by a method such as DMA. When the binarized data for one scan of the barcode is taken into the memory, the binarized data stored in the memory is analyzed to read the barcode information (decoding process).

Such a reading operation is usually repeated until the same bar code information is read twice, or until the end of measurement is instructed compulsorily. When the same barcode information is read twice, the read barcode information is output. If the same bar code information cannot be read twice at the end of the measurement, an error signal is output.

[0004]

Since the bar code contains direction information indicating its direction, even if the bar code is scanned from a predetermined direction by analyzing the binarized data based on the direction information. The bar code information can be read correctly even if scanning is performed from the opposite direction. Therefore,
The barcode information can be correctly read regardless of whether the barcode label is attached in a predetermined direction or the opposite direction on an object such as a product or a packaging box. On the other hand, it is not possible to detect whether the barcode label is attached to the object in the correct direction or the wrong direction.

Therefore, it is determined based on the detected direction information whether the bar code label is affixed in a predetermined direction or the reverse direction, and when the bar code label is affixed in a predetermined direction, Bar code readers have been developed which allow only the reading operation and output an error signal when the bar code label is stuck in the opposite direction.

However, according to such a bar code reading apparatus, when the error signal is output, the bar code label is stuck on the object in the reverse direction, or the bar code information cannot be read. I can't know.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bar code reading apparatus which can easily grasp whether the bar code is installed in a predetermined direction or in the opposite direction.

[0008]

A bar code reader according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a light projecting means, a converting means, a direction determining means,
The analysis means and the output means are provided.

The light projecting means irradiates the bar code to be read with light. The conversion means receives the reflected light from the bar code illuminated by the light projecting means and converts the reflected light into binary data. The direction determining means determines the installation direction of the barcode by detecting the direction information from the binarized data obtained by the converting means. The analysis unit analyzes the binarized data obtained by the conversion unit based on the determination result of the direction determination unit and reads the barcode information. The output means is
The barcode information read by the analyzing means is output together with the determination result of the direction determining means.

A bar code reading apparatus according to the second invention is
A light projecting means, a converting means, a direction determining means, an analyzing means, a setting means, a coincidence determining means and an output means are provided. The light projecting unit irradiates the barcode to be read with light. The conversion means receives the reflected light from the bar code illuminated by the light projecting means and converts the reflected light into binary data. The direction determining means determines the installation direction of the barcode by detecting the direction information from the binarized data obtained by the converting means. The analysis unit analyzes the binarized data obtained by the conversion unit based on the determination result of the direction determination unit and reads the barcode information. The setting means sets the barcode information in advance. The coincidence determining means determines whether or not the barcode information read by the analyzing means matches the barcode information set by the setting means. The output means outputs the determination result of the coincidence determination means together with the determination result of the direction determination means.

[0011]

In the bar code reading apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the invention, the bar code to be read is irradiated with light and the reflected light is received and converted into binary data. Then, the direction information is detected from the binarized data, and the installation direction of the barcode is determined based on the direction information. Further, the binarized data is analyzed based on the determination result, and the barcode information is read.

Particularly, in the bar code reading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the read bar code information is output together with the determination result of the installation direction of the bar code. On the other hand, in the barcode reading apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether the read barcode information matches the preset barcode information, and the matching determination result is the determination of the installation direction of the barcode. It is output together with the result.

As described above, when the bar code information is read from the bar code, the bar code information or the matching judgment result is output together with the judgment result of the installation direction of the bar code. It is possible to easily grasp whether the barcode label is attached to the target object in a predetermined direction or in the opposite direction.

[0014]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bar code reader according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bar code reader 10 of FIG. 1 includes a light projecting unit 1, a light receiving unit 2, a binarizing unit 3,
The storage unit 4, the control unit 5, the decoding unit 6, the display unit 7, and the communication unit 8 are included.

The light projecting section 1 is composed of, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) array, an LED drive circuit, and a light projecting lens, and irradiates the bar code 9 to be measured with light. In this case, the light emitted from the LED array is the barcode 9
Are simultaneously irradiated from one end to the other end. Light receiving part 2
Is composed of, for example, a light-receiving lens, a CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor, and a CCD drive circuit, receives the reflected light from the bar code 9 and converts it into an electric signal. In this case, the light receiving unit 2 simultaneously receives the reflected light from one end to the other end of the barcode 9.

The light projecting unit 1 may be composed of a semiconductor laser device, a laser lighting circuit and a polygonal polygon mirror, and the light receiving unit 2 may be composed of a photoelectric conversion device such as a photodiode. In this case, the polygon mirror is rotated by the motor, and the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser element is reflected on the surface of the rotating polygon mirror and scanned from one end to the other end of the barcode 9. The reflected light of the laser light scanned from one end to the other end of the barcode is sequentially received by the photoelectric conversion element and converted into an electric signal.

In the following description, irradiating light from one end to the other end of the bar code 9 simultaneously or sequentially and receiving the reflected light simultaneously or sequentially is called one scanning.
The binarization unit 3 converts the width information of each bar of the barcode 9 into time information by counting with a reference clock based on the electric signal output from the light receiving unit 2, and then digitizes this time information, Output as binary data. The binarized data obtained by the binarization unit 3 is sequentially loaded into the storage unit 4 by a method such as DMA (Direct Memory Access). The decoding unit 6 detects the direction information from the binarized data stored in the storage unit 4, determines the installation direction of the barcode based on the direction information, and analyzes the binarized data based on the determination result. (Decode) to read the barcode information.

The display unit 7 displays the reading result of the barcode information by the decoding unit 6 and the determination result of the installation direction of the barcode. The communication unit 8 receives various commands given from an external device, gives them to the control unit 5, and sends the reading result of the barcode information by the decoding unit 6 and the determination result of the installation direction of the barcode to the external device. The control unit 5 controls each unit in the barcode reading apparatus 10 based on a timing signal TIM given from the outside and a command given via the communication unit 8.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the storage unit 4. Figure 2
As shown in FIG.
1, direction information storage area 42, current read information storage area 43
And a previously read information storage area 44.

The binarized data storage area 41 has n DMAs.
, 41n for each scan, and binarized data for one scan from the binarization unit 3 is stored in each memory region by DMA. After the decoding unit 6 finishes analyzing the binarized data, each memory area is released for subsequent fetching of the binarized data.

In the direction information storage area 42, the decoding unit 6
Installation direction information indicating the installation direction of the barcode determined by is stored. The currently read information storage area 43 stores the bar code information obtained by the current reading operation by the decoding unit 6. The previously read information storage area 44 stores the barcode information read by the previous reading operation by the decoding unit 6.

In this embodiment, the light projecting section 1 constitutes the light projecting means, the light receiving section 2 and the binarizing section 3 constitute the converting means, and the binarized data storage area 41 in the storage section 4 stores data. It constitutes a storage means. Further, the decoding unit 6 constitutes a direction determining unit and an analyzing unit, the control unit 5 constitutes a control unit, and the communication unit 8 or the display unit 7 constitutes an output unit.

Next, the operation of the bar code reader 10 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the measuring operation in the barcode reading apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a data analysis process in the measurement operation of FIG. Here, it is assumed that scanning is performed in the direction of arrow X from the position A to the position B of the barcode 9 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 5 first determines whether or not a predetermined measurement start condition is satisfied (step S1). Here, the predetermined measurement start condition is that a timing signal TIM is externally supplied or a measurement start command is supplied via the communication unit 8. When the measurement start condition is satisfied, the measurement is started (step S
2). When starting the measurement, the light projecting unit 1 sets the barcode 9
At the same time as irradiating with light, the binarized data storage area 41 of the storage unit 4 starts fetching the binarized data by DMA.

It waits until the binarized data for one scan is loaded into the binarized data storage area 41 (step S
3) When the acquisition of the binarized data for one scan is completed, the data analysis process shown in FIG. 4 is performed (step S
4).

As shown in FIG. 4, the decoding unit 6 determines whether or not there is a front margin (step S21), and also determines whether or not a rear margin exists (step S22). The front margin and the rear margin are blanks of a predetermined length provided before and after the barcode in the scanning direction. In the example of FIG. 5, the front margin is M1 and the rear margin is M2.

When the front margin and the rear margin exist, the decoding unit 6 detects the direction information from the binarized data stored in the binarized data storage area 41 of the storage unit 4 to detect the direction of the barcode 9. Direction determination is performed (step S23). When it is determined that the barcode 9 is installed in the positive direction, the binary information is regarded as the data scanned in the positive direction and analyzed, thereby reading the barcode information and reading the barcode information. Is stored in the read information storage area 43 this time (step S24). Further, the installation direction information indicating the positive direction is stored in the direction information storage area 42 (step S25). On the other hand, when it is determined that the bar code 9 is installed in the reverse direction, the binarized data is regarded as data scanned in the reverse direction and analyzed, thereby reading the bar code information and reading the bar code information. The code information is stored in the read information storage area 43 this time (step S26). Further, the installation direction information indicating the reverse direction is stored in the direction information storage area 43 (step S27).

Then, the process proceeds to step S5 in FIG. In step S5, the control section 5 determines whether or not the barcode information is recognized by the decoding section 6 (step S5).
5). When the barcode information is recognized, the same barcode information is obtained by comparing the barcode information stored in the read information storage area 43 this time with the barcode information stored in the previous read information storage area 44. It is determined whether or not it has been recognized twice (step S6).

When the same bar code information is recognized only once, it is determined whether or not a predetermined measurement end condition is satisfied (step S7). Here, the predetermined measurement end condition is that the timing signal TIM from the outside is not given or the measurement end command is given via the communication unit 8.

When the predetermined measurement end condition is not satisfied, the memory area for which the analysis of the bar code information is completed is released for the subsequent DMA (step S8), and step S8.
Return to 3.

When the same barcode information is recognized twice (step S6) by repeating the reading operation of steps S3 to S8, the measurement is ended (step S9). At the end of the measurement, the DMA reading of the binarized data into the storage unit 4 is completed, and the light irradiation of the bar code 9 by the light projecting unit 1 is completed. After that, the barcode information stored in the read information storage area 43 this time is output together with the installation direction information stored in the direction information storage area 42 via the communication unit 8 (step S10).

When a predetermined measurement end condition is satisfied in step S7, the measurement is ended (step S11), and an error signal is output via the communication section 8 (step S1).
2). FIG. 6 shows an output example of barcode information and installation direction information. When the barcode 9 is installed in a predetermined direction, the installation direction information 11a indicating the positive direction, the barcode information 12, and the terminator 13 are output as shown in FIG. 6A. When the barcode 9 is installed in the reverse direction, the installation direction information 11b indicating the reverse direction, the bar code information 12, and the terminator 13 are output as shown in FIG. 6B. At this time, the display unit 7 displays the barcode information and the installation direction information.

As described above, when the bar code information is read, the installation direction information is output together with the bar code information, so that the user can set the bar code label on the object such as a product or a packaging box in a predetermined direction. It can be easily grasped whether it is stuck on or on the wrong direction.

In the above embodiment, the bar code information is output together with the installation direction information. However, the bar code information is set in advance in the storage section 4 via the communication section 8 and the read bar code information is set in advance. The control unit 5 may determine whether or not the obtained barcode information matches, and output the determination result together with the installation direction information. In this case, the control section 5 constitutes the coincidence determination means, and the communication section 8 constitutes the setting means.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the bar code information is read from the bar code, the bar code information is output together with the determination result of the installation direction of the bar code. It is possible to easily grasp whether the barcode label is attached to the target object such as in the predetermined direction or in the opposite direction.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the bar code information is read from the bar code, it is judged whether or not the bar code information matches the preset bar code information, and the judgment result is the bar code information. It is output together with the judgment result of the installation direction of the code, so the user can easily understand whether the barcode label is affixed in the predetermined direction or the reverse direction on the object such as the product or the packaging box. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a bar code reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a storage unit of the barcode reading device in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a measuring operation in the barcode reading apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a data analysis process in the measurement operation of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a barcode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of barcode information and installation direction information output by the barcode reading apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Light emitting unit 2 Light receiving unit 3 Binarizing unit 4 Storage unit 5 Control unit 6 Decoding unit 7 Display unit 8 Communication unit 9 Bar code 10 Bar code reading device 11a, 11b Installation direction information 12 Bar code information 41 Binary data Storage area 42 Directional information storage area

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A light projecting means for irradiating a bar code to be read with light, and a converting means for receiving reflected light from the bar code irradiated with light by the light projecting means and converting it into binarized data. And a direction determining means for determining the installation direction of the barcode by detecting the direction information from the binarized data obtained by the converting means, and obtained by the converting means based on the determination result of the direction determining means. And analyzing means for analyzing the binarized data to read the barcode information, and output means for outputting the barcode information read by the analyzing means together with the determination result of the direction determining means. Bar code reader. 2. A light projecting unit for irradiating a bar code to be read with light, and a converting unit for receiving reflected light from the bar code irradiated with light by the light projecting unit and converting the light into binary data. And a direction determining means for determining the installation direction of the barcode by detecting the direction information from the binarized data obtained by the converting means, and obtained by the converting means based on the determination result of the direction determining means. Analyzing means for reading the barcode information by analyzing the binarized data, setting means for setting the barcode information in advance, barcode information read by the analyzing means, the barcode information set by the setting means It is characterized in that it is provided with a coincidence judging means for judging whether or not the coincidence and the judgment result of the coincidence judging means are output together with the judgment result of the direction judging means. Bar code reader to collect.