JPH0954811A - Code information recording method and reading and decoding method for code information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speedily and correctly read the code information of commodity, etc., on a conveyer carriage at a low cost by recording a light emitting mark, which shows the recording range of code information recorded on the surface of commodity, etc., with invisible ink. SOLUTION: As a material to be recorded with a recording code information, it can be applied to commodity, commodity vessel or commodity package, etc., when it is applied for food sale management at cafeteria, for example, code information 1 such as a bar code showing the name and price of foods M, etc., on a dish N is printed and recorded at plural position on the surface of the dish N and an invisible light emitting mark 2 showing the recording range of code information is recorded with ultraviolet light emitting ink, for example. The recording range of code information is first specified by irradiating the dish with invisible light beams, emitting the invisible light emitting mark 2 and detecting it while using a sensor and next, the code information printed on the code recording area is read by a sensor having more picture elements than the sensor as mentioned above.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a code information reading method. To be more specific, in recording product information when selling products (food), managing sales information such as product price calculation, and managing information for journalizing the products transported by the product transportation facilities such as warehouses and distribution centers. , A calculation center using a conveyor line, etc.
Merchandise, merchandise containers [for example, plastic cases for sale that store merchandise, cooked food containers (tableware) in cafeterias, etc.], merchandise packages (for example, Danpole cases that contain various merchandise), merchandise, etc. at sales management centers The present invention relates to a code information reading method in which code information displayed on a carrier (for example, a food tray) is detected by an optical sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An information management method of this type is sold by reading a code information record (through a bar code, a two-dimensional code, etc.) displayed on a product at the time of sale at a retail store with an optical sensor. Methods for detecting information and the like are known.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned known technique, the display area of the code information record is such that the product, the product container (tableware), the product package, the product conveying device (for example, the product in which the code information is recorded, It is extremely small compared to the surface area of food trays). Therefore, when using an optical sensor with a narrow read data range, the operator manually selects the code information recording position from the surface of the product etc. and the optical sensor is set to the code information recording position on the surface of the product etc. It is necessary to face each other and it is impossible to read the code information quickly. In addition, in order to automatically detect the recording of code information on the conveyor transport line, the operating range of the optical sensor must be the entire area of the surface of the product, etc. It takes a long processing time and it is difficult to read it quickly according to the transportation speed of goods. In addition, the computer has a large memory capacity for arithmetic processing, a high-speed processor is required, and the number of pixels of the optical sensor is large. However, there is a problem in that the equipment cost is high. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to quickly and accurately read the code information of products or the like on a conveyor transportation line at low cost.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The first invention of the present application is a product,
When recording the code information on the surface of the product container (tableware), the product package, the product carrier, etc., the method includes a step of recording an invisible luminescent mark indicating a recording range of the code information with an invisible ink. And The second invention of the present application relates to the code information for a product, a product container, a product package, a carrier for a product, etc., in which an invisible luminescent mark indicating a recording range of the code information is recorded by the invisible ink according to the first invention of the present application. A reading and decoding method, in which an invisible light ray is irradiated to cause the invisible light emission mark to emit light, and the invisible light emission mark that is emitting light is detected by a first sensor,
When recording / reproducing the code information of a product or the like, the first step is to first specify the recording range of the code information; then, for the recording range specified by the detection of the invisible luminescent mark,
A second step of reading the code information printed on the code recording area by the second sensor of the image input means having a larger number of pixels than the sensor. The third invention of the present application conveys, to a calculation station, a conveyer such as a commodity on which a plurality of commodities, commodity containers, commodity packages, etc. are placed,
In the calculation station, the second invention is applied to reading the code information of a plurality of products or the like on the product or the like carrier, and in the first step, regarding the plurality of products or the like on the product or the like carrier. First, the code recording area is specified, and then the second sensor is used for the second step with respect to the code recording area recorded on each product etc. in the first step for a plurality of products etc. on the product etc. carrier. , A zoom camera type sensor that automatically selects the zoom-up focal length while moving the camera shooting direction, and the same number as the maximum number of products to be placed on the product carrier etc. One second for each product
By setting the sensor, the second sensor is set to 1 for each individual product for multiple products on the product carrier.
Provided is a method for reading and decoding code information, wherein the number of zoom camera type sensors, which are second sensors, is set to be the maximum number of products to be placed on a carrier such as products.

[0005]

[Example] As a coded recording material for recording code information, a product, a product container [for example, a plastic case for sale storing the product, a cooked food container (tableware) in a cafeteria]
Etc.], a product package (for example, a dumbbell case in which various products are stored), a product carrier (for example, a food tray), and the like can be applied, but in the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is applied to food sales management in a cafeteria. Code information 1 showing the name and price of the food, cooked food, etc. on the tableware N of the tableware N
Is printed and recorded on a plurality of places on the surface of the tableware N by a dot printer or other computer printer with a binary record display by a code such as a bar code or a two-dimensional code that can be detected by an OCR reader. .

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the invisible luminescent mark 2 indicating the recording range of the code information 1 is recorded with invisible ink (for example, ultraviolet luminescent ink). The shape of the invisible light emission mark (code position display mark) 2 is arbitrary as long as it can indicate the recording range of the code information 1.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the code information 1 is not limited to a quadrangle, a circle, an ellipse, etc. that completely surrounds the code information 1, and the code information can be represented by two sides as shown in FIG. 1 that limits the recording range, and further, FIG.
As shown in (e) and (f), the invisible light emitting mark 2 can be configured by a set of a plurality of points arranged at positions surrounding the recording range of the code information 1. Since a computer printer that prints invisible ink has a complicated structure and is expensive, a rubber stamp that prints the shapes shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is used. , UV light emitting ink)
The invisible luminescent mark 2 can be recorded by the rubber stamp method.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the first invention of the present application using a code information recording paper, and the present invention is applied to the code recording paper 3 attached to N such as a product, a product conveying member, and a product packaging member. Yes, the code information 1 and the invisible luminescent mark 2 are recorded on the product, the product transport member, the product packaging member N, etc. via the code recording paper 3. Although the code information 1 and the code position display mark 2 are the same as those in FIG. 1, they are not directly recorded on the product or the like, but the invisible light emission mark 2 can also be applied with a printing means through the code recording paper 3. For example, the recording range of the code information 1 is limited by printing the invisible emission mark 2 with the invisible ink (for example, ultraviolet emission ink) by offset printing, and then the recording range specified by the invisible emission mark 2 is set. Code information 1 is printed by a computer printer (for example, an ink ribbon type dot printer) using a normal visible ink (printer ink). In addition, in FIG. 3, the code information 1 and the invisible light emission mark 2 are formed in the left and right two places with the same contents.

Next, a method of reading and decoding code information according to the second invention of the present application will be described. By carrying out the first invention of the present application,
Code information 1 is printed and recorded on the surface with visible ink, and a non-visible luminescent mark indicating the recording range of the code information is recorded with non-visible ink. For plastic case,
Invisible to cooked food containers (tableware, etc.) in the dining room], product packages (for example, Danpole cases storing various products), transporters for products (for example, food trays), etc. [tableware N in the embodiment] Irradiate with light rays. For example, referring to FIG. 4, by placing the tableware N on which the selected food M is placed on the conveyor (conveyance line) 5 of the commodity conveyance tool (food tray) 4 at the calculation corner (detection center), invisible By moving to the irradiation position of the invisible light from the light irradiation device (ultraviolet irradiation device) 6, the tableware N on the tableware tray 4 is moved.
The invisible light emission mark 2 recorded in the section 1 emits light. It is to be noted that, since a part of the upper surface of the tableware N is shielded by the food M or the cooked food M on the tableware, only the exposed one of the plurality of invisible light emission marks 2 on the tableware emits light. Becomes At the time of light emission by irradiation of invisible light rays (including light emission for a certain period of time by the light accumulation effect after irradiation of invisible light rays),
By detecting the invisible luminescent mark 2 that is emitting light by the first sensor 7 and sending the information (position of the invisible luminescent mark 2 that is emitting light, mark range) to the computer, The first step of reading the visible light emission mark 2 is completed.

Following the first step by the first sensor 7 described above, the tray 4 moves the tableware N on which the food M is placed by the conveyor 5 and is positioned at the detection position of the second sensor 8. When the information 1 is detected and sent to the computer, the second step of reading the code information 1 by the second sensor 8 is completed. When the illuminance is insufficient, a visible light illumination device 9 is attached.

FIG. 5 shows the second sensor 8 in the second step.
In this embodiment, the line sensor 8A is located above the conveyor 5 and positioned in the direction orthogonal to the conveyor 5 conveyance direction. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the camera type sensor (CCD sensor) 8B is arranged above the conveyor 5. Figure 6
Referring to, reference numeral 81 is a CCD element, 82 is a lens, and L is a visible range.

In the embodiment, the second sensor is used as a sensor of the image input means having a larger number of images than the first sensor.
The reading by the first sensor 6 in the first step is referred to as "coarse reading", and the reading by the second sensor 8 in the second step is referred to as "high accuracy reading". FIG. 7 shows a case where the first sensor 6 and the second sensor 8 are camera-type sensors. The first sensor 6 is set to “coarse reading”, the second sensor 8 is set to “high accuracy reading”, and the conveyor 5 is used. It is configured by being divided into a plurality of parts in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of. In the second step, regarding the plurality of second sensors (camera type sensors) 8, under control of the computer 10, the invisible luminescent marks 2 detected by the "coarse reading" by the first sensor 6 in the first step. Only the second sensor (camera sensor) 8a at the position corresponding to is activated and only the video signal from the second sensor (camera sensor) 8a at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 is validated. That is, the second sensor that operates so that the signal processing unit of the computer performs image processing only on the video signal of the second sensor (camera sensor) 8a at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 specified in the first step. The camera type sensor) 8a is automatically switched and selected. The second sensor (camera sensor)
8a has a structure in which a camera type sensor is applied to change the focal length by a zoom method and the camera photographing direction is moved, so that the second step in the present invention can be performed by a single second sensor (camera type sensor). Can be achieved.

FIG. 8 shows a case where the first sensor 6 and the second sensor 8 are line sensors arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor 5, and the first sensor 6 is set to "coarse reading" and the second sensor 8 is set. Is a "high-accuracy reading" and is divided into a plurality of lines in the direction orthogonal to the convey direction of the conveyor 5 to form a plurality of line sensors 8b. In the second step, the reading by the first sensor 6 in the first step is detected by the "coarse reading" based on the control of the computer 10 with respect to the plurality of line sensors 8b arranged in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor 5. Only the second sensor (line sensor 8b) at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 is activated, or only the video signal from the second sensor (line sensor 8b) at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 is enabled. To do. That is, only the video signal of the second sensor (line sensor 8b) at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 specified in the first step is processed by the second sensor (line sensor) to be processed by the signal processing unit of the computer. The sensor 8b) is automatically switched and selected.

FIG. 9 shows a case where the first sensor 6 and the second sensor 8 are camera-type sensors. The first sensor 6 is "coarse reading", the second sensor 8 is "high accuracy reading", and A plurality of camera-type sensors 8c are arranged in a lattice shape by dividing the conveyor 5 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and dividing the conveyor 5 in the conveying direction. In the second step, with respect to a large number of camera type sensors 8c arranged in a grid pattern, the reading by the first sensor 6 in the first step is changed to the invisible luminescent mark 2 detected by the "coarse reading" under the control of the computer 10. Only the second sensor (camera sensor) 8b at the corresponding position is activated, or only the video signal from the second sensor (camera sensor) 8b at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 is validated. In other words, the second sensor that operates so that the signal processing unit of the computer performs image processing only on the video signal of the second sensor (camera sensor) 8b at the position corresponding to the invisible light emission mark 2 specified in the first step. (Camera type sensor)
8b is automatically switched and selected. 7 and 8
In order to specify the recording range of the code information by the invisible light emission mark 2, a plurality of camera type sensors 8a and line sensors 8b arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor 5 are selectively operated (or each sensor is selected). In order to perform selective input of the video signal to the computer signal processing unit), by processing the feed speed of the product etc. and the encoder feed synchronously one line at a time, the data processing is substantially the same as in FIG. 9. You can

The third invention of the present application is to convey a product or the like (for example,
The second invention of the present application is applied to detect product information of a plurality of products, product containers (tableware), product packages, etc. (hereinafter referred to as products) placed on a transport tray. Less than,
An embodiment of the third invention of the present application will be described with reference to FIG. The second sensor is used to detect product information of a plurality of products N or the like on a product carrier (carry tray) 4 transported to the calculation station P by the carrier line 5. Are the same as the maximum number of articles N or the like placed on the transport tray 4, that is, 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d. A product or the like is a tableware on which cooked food or the like M is placed. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, dishes having different shapes, or dishes having different commodity information (commodity identification code) are used as a plurality of commodities N1, N2, etc.
N3, N4, multiple products, etc. N1, N2, N3, N
4 is placed on the transport tray 4 and is transported to the calculation station P by the transport line 5. In the calculation station P, a plurality of products etc. N1, N placed on the carrying tray 4
By performing "coarse reading" with respect to 2, N3, N4 by the first sensor 6, a plurality of products etc. (plates) N1, N2,
The invisible light emission mark 2 recorded in N3 and N4 is detected. In addition, a plurality of products (plates) N1, N2, N3,
Since a plurality of the same invisible luminescent marks 2 are recorded on each of the N4, each product etc. (dish) N1, N2 among the invisible luminescent marks 2 detected by the first sensor 6 by "coarse reading". For N3 and N4, one invisible light emission mark 2 is treated as valid. The second sensor 9a,
9b, 9c and 9d are products (plates) N1 and N, respectively.
The range specified by the invisible luminescent mark 2 detected and validated for 2, N3, and N4 is set to the second sensor 9a,
The detection range is 9b, 9c, and 9d. In the embodiment, a camera type sensor is applied to each of the second sensors 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d to change the focal length by a zoom method and to move the camera photographing direction. ) The positions of the non-visible luminescent marks 2 of N1, N2, N3 and N4 were automatically made to correspond to each other.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the sales management in the cafeteria, in which the code of the tableware is read from the tableware placed on the tray and the table is automatically cleared, is explained. By implementing the present invention to read the code information of a product being transported, it can be applied to automatic accounting in various stores. Further, it can be applied to an automatic journalizing device for reading the code information of the products on the conveyor line and journalizing them by destination at the distribution center. In the formation of the invisible luminescent mark, any non-visible ink can be used as long as it shines under special conditions such as a luminescent paint and an ultraviolet infrared luminescent ink.

[0016]

[Effect] The first invention of the present application has the effect of facilitating the reading of the code information from the product or the like by the presence of the invisible light emission mark indicating the recording range of the code information. When the invisible light emission marks are formed in a plurality of places with the same content, there is an effect that the code information can be detected even if a part of the surface of the product is shielded. In reading the code information recorded on the surface of a product or the like, the second invention of the present application irradiates an invisible light beam to cause the invisible light emission mark to emit and display, and the invisible light emission mark is detected by the first sensor. By doing so, the recording range of the code information is first specified upon recording / reproducing the code information, and the code recording specified by the invisible light emission mark is performed by the second sensor of the image input means having a larger number of images than the first sensor. By including the step (second step) of reading the code information printed on the area, the code information recorded on the food or the like can be read with high accuracy, and the calculation processing time in the signal processing unit of the computer The data processing capacity can be shortened and data can be processed quickly. It has the effect of reducing the equipment cost for reading decryption.
A third invention of the present application is to detect product information of a plurality of products or the like on a product carrier (carry tray) transported to a calculation station by applying the second invention of the present application.
By making the number of sensors equal to the number of multiple products etc. on the product transport tool (transport tray), the required number of second sensors can be minimized to reduce equipment cost and the shape of the product etc. (plate) Image processing is simpler and easier than the method of identifying by the difference.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a case where a coded recording material used in the practice of the first invention of the present application is tableware, and a tableware on which code information 1 is printed and recorded at a plurality of locations is placed on a plan view of a food tray. Indicate.

FIG. 2 Invisible emission mark (code position display mark) 2
9A and 9B are explanatory views showing various examples of the code information 1.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a code information recording paper 3 having an invisible luminescent mark 2 and code information 1.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing, in a side view, a method for reading and decoding code information according to the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an example in which the second sensor is a line sensor in a plan view.

6A and 6B show an embodiment in which a second sensor is a camera type sensor, and FIG. 6A is an explanatory view shown in a plan view as in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory view shown in a side view.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing in plan view an embodiment of the second invention of the present application in which the first sensor and the second sensor are camera-type sensors.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing in plan view an embodiment of the second invention of the present application in which the first sensor and the second sensor are line sensors.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing in plan view an embodiment of the second invention of the present application in which the first sensor and the second sensor are camera-type sensors and the second sensors are arranged in a grid pattern.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for reading and decoding code information according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein FIG.
The b figure is an explanatory view shown in a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Code Information 2 Non-visible Luminous Mark 3 Code Recording Paper 4 Conveyors for Food Products (Food Tray) 5 Conveyor (Conveyance Line) 6 Invisible Light Irradiation Device (UV Irradiation Device) 7 1st Sensor 8 2nd Sensor 9 Lighting Device L View range M Food N Tableware

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A code information, characterized by including a step of recording a non-visible luminescent mark indicating a recording range of the code information with a non-visible ink on a coded recording material on which the code information of a product etc. is to be recorded. Recording method. 2. The code recording method according to claim 1, wherein the invisible light emission marks are formed at a plurality of locations with the same content. 3. A product, a product container, a product package, a carrier for a product, etc., in which code information is recorded on the surface thereof and an invisible light emission mark indicating a recording range of the code information is recorded with invisible ink. By irradiating an invisible light ray to cause the invisible light emission mark to emit light, and detecting the invisible light emission mark that is emitting light by the first sensor, the code information for recording and reproducing the code information of the product etc. And a second step of specifying the recording range by the second sensor of the image input means having a larger number of pixels than the first sensor for the recording range specified by the detection of the invisible luminescent mark. A second step of reading the code information printed on the label; and a method for reading and decoding the code information. 4. A plurality of products, product containers, product packages, etc. on which code information is recorded on the surface thereof and invisible luminescent marks indicating the recording range of the code information are recorded with invisible ink. The transported goods etc. are transported to the calculation station; in the calculation station, the invisible light rays are irradiated toward the products etc. on the goods transporter, and the invisible luminescent mark is luminescently displayed, and the luminescent display is performed. By detecting the invisible luminescent mark that is present with the first sensor, the first step of first identifying the code recording areas for a plurality of products etc. on the product etc. carrier; and then on the product etc. carrier With respect to the code recording area recorded on each product in the first step for a plurality of products, the second sensor of the image input means having a larger number of pixels than the first sensor prints on the code recording area. And a second step of reading the code information stored therein; in the second step, the second sensor is a zoom camera type sensor that automatically selects the zoom-up focal length while moving the camera shooting direction, By setting one second sensor for each of a plurality of products on the product carrier etc. as the same number as the maximum number of products to be placed on the product etc. On the other hand, the code information is characterized in that one second sensor is associated with each product, and the number of zoom camera type sensors, which are the second sensors, is set to the maximum number of products that can be placed on a carrier such as a product. How to read and decrypt.