JPH09293115A - Optical information reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information reader which controls the driving of an image pickup element and the like to a necessary minimum and to save the power of a battery. SOLUTION: The shutter 15 of a shutter device is provided with at least a first position A where the power of an information take-in device is turned off, a second position B where the power of the image pickup element in the information take-in device is turned on and the take-in of information light is in a standby state and a third position C where the switch of a data storage means storing information light which is taken into the information take-in device as signal data is turned on is provided so that it can move. Thus, power can be saved without the consumption of wasteful power by the image pickup element at time except for time when an information recording symbol is read.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to reliably read the entire information recording symbol at one time when optically reading the information recording symbol and inputting and reading the information recording symbol into an image pickup device incorporated in an optical information reading device. The present invention relates to an optical information reader that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Barcodes have been mainly used as information recording symbols on which product information such as product names and prices are recorded. Recently, two-dimensional data symbols capable of recording more information have been adopted. Tend to be.

In this two-dimensional data symbol, a large number of rod-shaped or square-shaped symbols are arranged vertically and horizontally within an area having a constant area, and therefore it is necessary to read the whole as image data at once by a reading device. For reading the two-dimensional data symbol, a handy terminal or the like having an image pickup device such as a CCD inside is usually used, and the entire two-dimensional data symbol is optically transmitted through a transmission window for taking in image data formed in the handy terminal. By taking in (for example, via a lens) and converting into an image signal by CCD, 2
The product information or the like recorded in the dimensional data symbol is stored or transferred to the outside.

[0004]

However, such a two-dimensional data symbol has a large amount of information, and this large amount of data must be read at one time, and its accuracy is required. Therefore, when the image data is converted into a signal, the power consumption and the like required by the CCD also inevitably increase. Therefore, if the power is consumed except when the image data is read, the battery will be consumed more quickly and the predetermined amount of power will be consumed. There is a problem that the number of times image data is read within the battery capacity is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides an information reading device capable of controlling the driving of an image pickup device or the like to a necessary minimum to save power of a battery. Is intended.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an optical information reader of the present invention, which comprises a data inlet for taking in an information recording symbol of a fixed area displayed on a printed matter or the like. An information capturing means having an image sensor for capturing the information light from the data capturing port, and a shutter provided so as to be retractable in an optical path connecting the data capturing port and the information capturing means, At least a shutter device that shields external light at the time of reading information light and reflects the information light to the information capturing device; and a data storage unit that stores the information light captured by the information capturing unit as signal data. In the optical information reading device, the shutter of the shutter device has a first position in which at least the power source of the information capturing device is turned off, and the power source of at least the image sensor of the information capturing device. A second position in which the information light is turned on and the information light is on standby, and a third position in which the switch of the data storage means for storing the information light taken in by the information taking device as signal data is turned on. , And is provided so as to be movable. According to this feature, the image sensor and the like are controlled so as to be driven or stopped in association with the movement of the shutter of the shutter device, so that unnecessary power is not consumed except when reading the information recording symbol, Power saving can be achieved.

In the optical information reading device of the present invention, it is preferable that the irradiation device emits light when the shutter is located at the third position, together with the operation of the data storage means. By doing so, it is also possible to save the power of the light emitter.

In the optical information reading device of the present invention, it is preferable that the first position and the third position are provided with a predetermined distance therebetween. By doing so, the startup waiting time of the image sensor can be sufficiently obtained when the shutter is moved, so that the information light can be accurately read when the image sensor is in the optimum state.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a product ordering sheet 1 used for catalog sales and the like applied to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The inside of a plurality of squares divided into certain dimensions,
The area is divided into an area 2 for displaying a product, an area 3 for displaying a product name, a price, and the like, and an area 5 for displaying a two-dimensional data symbol 4 which is an information recording symbol.

A two-dimensional data symbol (hereinafter abbreviated as a data symbol) 4 has a square shape, and a large number of bar-shaped symbols are arranged vertically and horizontally in the area to form a product code,
All kinds of product information such as product name, content, quantity, price, etc. are converted and recorded in advance.

Directly above each data symbol 4 and below the displayed product, horizontal ruled lines 6 are discontinuously color printed as a positioning means for a handy terminal 7, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a handy terminal for reading the data symbol 4 as image data, which comprises a grip portion 9 having a ten-key pad 8 for inputting the number and the like on the upper surface thereof, and a reading head 10 at its tip. A shutter operation button 13, which will be described later, is provided at a predetermined position on both sides of the handle 9.

On the upper surface of the read head 10, a horizontally long rectangular liquid crystal display section 11 is formed. Read head 10
The front end of the casing in FIG. 2 is inclined at about 45 ° (see FIG. 5), and the transparent plate 12 is fitted in the central part of the casing. 4 is visible.

2 and 3 show the internal structure of the handy terminal 7. In the handy terminal 7, a shutter device 16 that allows the shutter 15 to move in a predetermined direction via the link mechanism 14 mainly by pressing the operation buttons 13 and 13 ', and the data symbol 4 are provided.
An irradiating device 17 for irradiating a predetermined amount of light is provided inside, and reflectors 19a, 19b for reflecting the read information at a predetermined angle and guiding it into an information taking-in device 18 as an information taking-in means are respectively installed.

Next, the structure of the link mechanism 14 will be described. First, 20 is a first rotating member whose center is pivotally mounted by a fixed shaft 21 standing from the lower surface 7a of the handy terminal 7. The fixed shaft 21 of the first rotating member 20,
Between the lower end in the figure, one end is connected via a shaft 24 to the other end of a first arm 23, one end of which is pivotally attached to a fixed shaft 22 that is erected from the lower surface 7a of the handy terminal 7. The other end of the formed second arm 25 is pivotally attached via a shaft 26. Further, the first and second arms 23 and 25 are formed on the right side in the handle portion 9 in the drawing, and similarly, on the left side with the first rotating member 20 sandwiched therebetween, one end fixed to the fixed shaft 22 '. 1 arm 23 'and the shaft 2 at the other end of the first arm 23'
And a second arm 25 'pivotally attached via 4', and one end of the second arm 25 'is pivotally attached above the fixed shaft 21 of the first rotating member 20 via a shaft 26a. There is.

One end of the first rotating member 20 (lower end in the figure)
Is provided with a protrusion 27b, and one end of a spring 27 having the other end attached to the fixing member 27a is attached to the protrusion 27b so that the first rotating member 20 is always pulled in the counterclockwise direction. There is. Further, one end of a connecting arm 31 connected to one end of a second rotating member 29, which is rotatably mounted on the fixed shaft 28 around the fixed shaft 28, via the shaft 30 has one end of the connecting arm 31.
Has been pivoted through.

Other shafts 22, except the fixed shafts 21, 28,
Washers are fitted on all the peripheral surfaces of 24, 26, 30, 32, and particularly, the washer 3 in which the first arm 23, 23 'is fitted in the joint portion with the second arm 25, 25'.
Part of the periphery of 3, 33 'is brought into contact with the pressing surfaces 13a, 13a' of the operation buttons 13, 13 'with a predetermined biasing force.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shutter 15 includes a horizontal plate 15a, an inclined plate 15b inclined downward about 45 degrees from the front edge of the horizontal plate 15a, and an inclined plate 15b.
It is composed of a vertical plate 15c hanging downward from the lower end, and a first reflecting plate 19a is fixed to the back surface of the inclined plate 15b. Further, a sliding member 35 is vertically provided from the side surface lower surface of the horizontal plate 15a.

Reference numerals 36 and 36 'in FIG. 4 denote restricting members fixed to a base 37 fixedly provided on the lower surface 7a of the handy terminal 7, and are horizontally mounted between the left and right restricting members 36 and 36'. The sliding member 35 of the shutter 15 is provided on the upper and lower horizontal bars 38 and 39 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction with its movement range restricted by surface contact with the restriction members 36 and 36 '.

Further, one end of the second rotating member 29 has an elongated hole 29a formed at the end of the lower surface of the sliding member 35.
The screw 40 penetrating the hole 35a of the sliding member 35 is inserted into the sliding member 35 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), so that the screw 40 is pivotally attached to the sliding member 35. Therefore, when the second rotating member 29 rotates, the shutter 15 is moved through the sliding member 35 and the left and right regulating members 3 are moved.
You will be able to move between 6 and 36 '.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the outer surface of the sliding member 35 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the regulating member 36 on the right side of the drawing, the power source of the CCD 44 is changed as shown in FIG. 7A. A power switch 46 is provided which is driven so that the power supply 45 of the CCD 44 is turned on when 45 is turned off and the side surface of the sliding member 35 is separated. Further, a signal line between the data storage means 47 and the CCD 44 is provided on the inner surface of the regulating member 36 on the left side of the drawing so as to store a signal of image data from the CCD 44 when the inner surface of the sliding member 35 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the sliding member 35. A connection switch 48 (see FIG. 7C) for connection is provided.

Here, A and C in FIG. 6 are shutters 1.
5 shows the stop position, and B shows the moving position. Further, the position B is not limited to one point as shown in the figure, but indicates the entire space between the stop positions A and C.

When the shutter 15 is in the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shutter 15b is inclined as shown in FIG.
Is located on the lower surface of the transparent plate 12 so as to completely block the light from the outside that penetrates and enters the transparent plate 12. At this time, light to the data symbol 4 located below the transmission window 41 as a data inlet formed on the lower surface 7a of the handy terminal 7 is supplied by the light emitting diode 42 incorporated in the irradiation device 17. It has become so.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, an appropriate number of convex lenses 43 and a CCD 44 provided at the focal position of the convex lenses 43 are installed inside the information capturing device 18. The CCD 44 is connected to storage means (not shown) such as a memory card provided in the handle portion 9 or a connector or the like which can be connected to an external computer or the like, and converts image data formed on the CCD 44 into a signal. It can be held.

Further, in this embodiment, a sign for confirming the reading of information or the like can be displayed on the liquid crystal display section 11 through a control device (not shown) as appropriate. Also,
It is also possible to confirm the reading of information by using a sound such as a buzzer.

Here, the reading method and operation of the data symbol 4 using the handy terminal 7 of the embodiment of the present invention thus constructed will be described with reference to the drawings. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the handy terminal 7 is aligned with the ruled line 6 in the vertical direction, and then moved in the horizontal direction so that the desired data symbol 4 is entirely aligned with the transparent window 41. Align while visually observing.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, since the first rotating member 20 is pulled in the counterclockwise direction by the spring 27, it is connected to the first rotating member 20 via the connecting arm 31. The second rotating member 29 presses the shutter 15 toward the regulating member 36 on the right side in FIG. 6 and stops at the point A. Therefore, as described above, since the inclined plate 15b of the shutter 15 does not shield the lower side of the transparent plate 12, the data symbol 4 located below the transparent window 41 from above the transparent plate 12 can be visually observed by using external light. Also switch 46
Therefore, the power source of the CCD 44 is turned off.

Further, at this time, washers 33, 33 'mounted on the joints between the first arms 23, 23' and the second arms 25, 25 'are attached to the inner surface 13 of the operation buttons 13, 13'.
Each of a and 13a 'is pressed outward.

When reading the data symbol 4, the operation buttons 13 and 13 'are simultaneously pressed inward as shown in FIG. Then, the pressed second arm 25, 2
5'rotates the first rotating member 20 clockwise,
At the same time, the second rotating member 29 is rotated counterclockwise about the fixed shaft 28. This rotation causes the shutter 15 to start moving to the left side in FIG. 6 through the second rotating member 29, so that the switch 46 is opened and the power source of the CCD 44 is turned on.

Then, before the sliding member 35 reaches the stop position C through the moving position of B in FIG. 6, the CCD 44
Warms up at startup.

When the manual member 35 reaches the stop position C in FIG. 6, the horizontal plate 15a and the inclined plate 15b of the shutter 15 shield the upper portion of the transmission window 41 and the reflection plate 19.
a is located above the transmission window 41.

At this moment, external light from the transparent plate 12 is completely blocked by the inclined plate 15b, and at the same time, the light emitting diode 42 in the irradiation device 17 is turned on by an appropriate control device provided in the handy terminal 7. And supplies uniform light to the data symbols 4.

The image data of the data symbol 4 reflected upward by the light is reflected by the reflector 1 as shown in FIG.
9a is reflected in the horizontal direction toward the reflection plate 19b,
Further, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, the light is reflected to the left side by the reflecting plate 19b and is incident on the inside of the information capturing device 18. Then, the light is narrowed down through the lens 43 and the CCD 44 is irradiated with the light.

At this time, the image data has a distance L1 from the data symbol 4 to the reflector 19a and a distance L from the reflector 19a to the reflector 19b as shown in FIGS.
2 and the distance L3 from the reflection plate 19b to the lens 43, that is, the distance L1 + L2 + L3, and the light enters the lens 43. Therefore, for example, in the read head 10 having a predetermined area, it is not necessary to provide the information capturing device 18 linearly separated from the data symbol 4 by the distance L1 + L2 + L3, and the information capturing device 18 can be placed at an arbitrary position. Since it is possible to arrange the device, the device can be made compact.

Further, the data symbol 4 and the information capturing device 1
It is possible to make the distance from the data symbol 4 to the lens 43 longer without changing the relative distance in plan view with the lens 8. For this reason, the depth of field is increased, and the focus of the data symbol 4 is easily adjusted, so that the entire image data of the data symbol 4 can be more reliably captured without partial blurring.

Almost at the same time as this irradiation timing, the image data from the CCD 44 is sent to the data storage means 47 via the switch 48 (FIG. 7 (c)), and the captured image data is converted into signal data and stored. It

When it is confirmed that the signal data has been accurately converted and stored in the data storage means 47, the confirmation data indicating that the capture is completed is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 11. If the data cannot be correctly captured, nothing is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 11, or a message indicating that the capturing operation is required again is displayed.

When the operation buttons 13 and 13 'pressed inward at the completion of the acquisition of such image data are released, the first rotating member 20 is returned counterclockwise by the spring 27. , The shutter 15 is also automatically returned to the stop position A in FIG. 6, and the power supply 45 of the CCD 44 is turned off again.
It becomes F. Since a series of operations such as the acquisition of the image data and the movement and the return of the shutter 15 are normally performed within 1 second, the user can operate the operation button 1 in particular.
It is not necessary to keep pressing 3, 13 'for a predetermined time.

As described above, in the information reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the switch 46 of the power source 45 of the CCD 44 is turned on in synchronization with the horizontal movement of the shutter 15.
Since the N and OFF operations are performed, the electric power required for the CCD 44, the light emitting diode 42 and the like is used at the minimum when reading the image data, so that the power saving can be achieved. Therefore, a battery having a predetermined capacity can be used more times.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific structure is not limited to these embodiments, and even if there are changes and additions without departing from the gist of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. Included in the invention.

For example, the mounting positions of the switches 46 and 48 are arbitrary, and the irradiation timing of the light emitting diode and the storage timing of the data storage means can be appropriately shifted.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(A) According to the first aspect of the invention, the image pickup device and the like are controlled so as to be driven or stopped in association with the movement of the shutter of the shutter device, so that it is useless except when reading the information recording symbol. Power is not consumed and power can be saved.

(B) According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to save the power of the light emitting body.

(C) According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the waiting time for starting the image pickup device can be sufficiently obtained when the shutter is moved, the information light can be accurately read when the image pickup device is in the optimum state.

[0046]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a procedure for positioning a product ordering sheet and a handy terminal applied to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the internal structure of the handy terminal.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an operation corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a shutter device in the handy terminal.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a moving state of a shutter.

7 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic diagrams showing the action of the electric circuit in accordance with the movement of the shutter.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Product ordering sheet (printed matter) 2, 3, 5 area 4 Two-dimensional data symbol (information recording symbol) 6 Ruled line 7 Handy terminal (optical information reading device) 8 Numeric keypad 9 Handle part 10 Read head 11 Liquid crystal display part 12 Transparent Plates 13 and 13 'Operation buttons 13a and 13a' Pressing surface 14 Link mechanism 15 Shutter 15a Horizontal plate 15b Inclined plate 15c Vertical plate 16 Shutter device 17 Irradiator 18 Information capture device 19a, 19b Reflector 20 First rotating member 21 Fixed Shaft 22, 22 'Fixed shaft 23, 23' First arm 24, 24 'Shaft 25, 25' Second arm 26 Shaft 26a Shaft 27 Spring 27a Fixing member 27b Protrusion 28 Fixed shaft 29 Second rotating member 29a Long hole 30 Shaft 31 Connection Arm 32 Shaft 33, 33 'Washer 35 Sliding Member 35a Hole 36 36 'regulating member 37 base plate 38, 39 horizontal bar 40 bis 41 transmitting window (data take-in port) 42 light emitting diodes 43 convex lens 44 CCD 45 power 46, 48 switch 47 data storage means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An information taking-in means having a data taking-in port for taking in an information recording symbol of a certain area displayed on a printed matter, an image pickup device for taking in information light from the data taking-in port, and the data. A shutter device that has a shutter that can be freely retracted and retracted in an optical path that connects an intake port and information acquisition means, shields external light at least when reading information light, and reflects the information light to the information acquisition device; A data storage unit for storing the information light captured by the information capturing unit as signal data, wherein the shutter of the shutter device includes at least a power source of the information capturing device. A first position which is turned off, a second position in which at least the image pickup device of the information capturing device is powered on and information light is in a standby state, and the information capturing device Third switch of the data storage means is turned ON to store information light captured as signal data
The optical information reading device is movably provided so as to have a position of. 2. The optical information reading device according to claim 1, wherein when the shutter is located at the third position, the irradiation device emits light when the data storage means is activated. 3. The optical information reader according to claim 1, wherein the first position and the third position are provided with a predetermined distance therebetween.