JPH0969131A - Bar code adding method and bar code reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mold a bar code excellent in environment resistance only by preparing irreducible minimum mold parts by additionally molding a rugged pattern on a product as a three-dimentional bar code by using a rugged pattern mold obtained by selectively combining plural mold parts correspondingly to the bar code. SOLUTION: A rugged pattern corresponding to a bar code is additionally molded on a product 3 as a three-dimentional bar code 2 by the use of a mold having the rugged pattern corresponding to the bar code. Mold parts 1a to 1c made into several components are previously prepared and these mold parts 1a to 1c are selectively combined to constitute a rugged pattern bar code mold 1 corresponding to a required bar code. The bar code mold 1 is attachably/ detachably attached to a part of a metal mold 4 and the whole bar code mold 1 or each mold part is exchanged to be used. The three-dimentional code 2 is molded on the product 3 by the use of the metal mold 4 to which the bar code mold 1 is attached.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bar code adding method for adding a bar code to a product, a bar code reading device for reading a three-dimensional bar code added to a product by this bar code adding method, and this bar code adding method. The present invention relates to a bar code reading device for reading a bar code from a mold configured by combining a plurality of mold parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a bar code has been used as a means for accommodating various information related to a product such as production management information to the product. As a method of adding a barcode to the product, a method of attaching a label with a barcode printed,
The mainstream method is to print the barcode directly on the product.

The problem with these conventional bar codes is that they are inferior in environmental resistance. For example, bar code labels attached to products often come off in high temperature and high humidity environments. In addition, the printed bar code may be exposed to ink in a harsh environment for a long time, causing ink to drop.

[0004]

As described above, the bar code added to the surface of the product is inferior in environmental resistance, and the bar code itself may be lost.

The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and can realize a bar code excellent in environment resistance, and a bar having a desired concavo-convex pattern can be formed by selectively combining a plurality of molds made into parts. An object of the present invention is to provide a versatile barcode adding method capable of forming a three-dimensional barcode of any pattern by forming a code mold and by preparing a minimum required number of mold components.

The present invention also provides a bar code reader suitable for reading a three-dimensional bar code added to a product and a bar code reader suitable for reading a bar code from a bar code type for a confirmation test. It is an object.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method of adding a bar code according to the present invention is such that a plurality of molds which are made into parts are selectively combined to form a mold having an uneven pattern corresponding to a desired bar code. And a concave-convex pattern corresponding to the barcode is molded and added to the product as a three-dimensional barcode by using this mold.

Since the three-dimensional bar code according to the present invention is integrally added to a product by molding, it has excellent environmental resistance. Further, in the present invention, the mold used for forming the three-dimensional bar code is configured by selectively combining a plurality of molds that have been made into parts. Therefore, by preparing the minimum necessary mold parts, it is possible to obtain any uneven pattern. A three-dimensional barcode can be molded.

Further, the bar code reading device of the present invention is a bar code reading device for reading a three-dimensional bar code added to a product by the bar code adding method according to claim 1, wherein the bar code reading device reads an uneven pattern of the three-dimensional bar code. The present invention is characterized by comprising means and means for collating an uneven pattern read by the reading means with a bar code pattern stored in advance and outputting a bar code reading result.

Further, the bar code reading device of the present invention is
A bar code reading device for reading a bar code from a mold formed by selectively combining a plurality of mold parts by the bar code adding method according to claim 1, wherein the bar code reading device reads a concave-convex pattern of the mold, and a reading device. An inversion means for inverting the unevenness of the unevenness pattern read by the means, and a means for collating the unevenness inversion pattern output from the inversion means with a bar code pattern stored in advance and outputting a barcode reading result. It is characterized by that.

By implementing a device for directly reading a bar code from a bar code type constructed by combining a plurality of mold parts in this way, the validity of the combination of bar code types can be facilitated in the bar code confirmation test process. You can check.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a barcode adding method and a barcode reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the barcode adding method according to the present invention uses a mold 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a barcode type) having an uneven pattern corresponding to the barcode,
The uneven pattern corresponding to the bar code is molded and added to the product (molded product) 3 as the three-dimensional bar code 2.

As a method for obtaining the bar code mold 1 having various concave and convex patterns, as shown in FIG. 2, mold parts 1a, 1b, and 1c, which are molds which are made into several parts, are prepared in advance, The bar code mold 1 having an uneven pattern corresponding to a desired bar code can be configured by selectively combining these mold parts 1a to 1c. Mold parts 1a-1
As shown in FIG. 2, c may be constituted by a set of concavo-convex patterns as a unit, or as shown in FIG. 3, it may be constituted by a plurality of continuous concavo-convex patterns as a unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bar code mold 1 is detachably fitted into a part of a mold 4, and the bar code mold 1 is
It is possible to replace each unit or mold unit. Further, it is desirable that the bar code mold 1 can be replaced while the mold 4 is still attached to the molding machine.

Before or after fitting the bar code mold 1 into the mold 4, in order to confirm whether or not the uneven pattern of the bar code mold 1 corresponds to a desired bar code, A reading device corresponding to the three-dimensional barcode is used.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the construction of this bar code reading apparatus. As shown in the figure, this bar code reader is a light reflection type optical sensor 11 that scans the concave-convex pattern of the barcode type 1 at a constant speed to read the concave-convex pattern.
And the signal processing unit 12 for inverting (reversing the unevenness) after shaping the unevenness pattern signal read by the optical sensor 11.
And the output signal of the signal processing unit 12 is digitized and collated with a normal barcode pattern 13 stored in advance to output final barcode read data.
And 4. The optical sensor 11 is arranged, for example, in a fixed positional relationship with the light emitting unit that emits light obliquely onto the concave-convex pattern and the light emitting unit so as to receive only the reflected light from the surface of the convex portion. It is composed of a light receiving part. That is, in this sensor, the light receiving unit detects the presence or absence of the unevenness by receiving only the light reflected by the convex surface of the uneven pattern in the fixed positional relationship with the light emitting unit and converting it into an electric signal. It has become a thing.

Using this bar code reader, the uneven pattern of the bar code mold 1 is read, and the tester himself confirms the code data which is the read result, so that the bar code mold 1 fitted in the mold 4 is read. The validity of the uneven pattern can be confirmed. After the confirmation of the bar code mold 1, the three-dimensional bar code 2 is formed on the product 3 by using the mold 4 into which the bar code mold 1 is fitted.

The structure of the device for reading the three-dimensional bar code 2 added to the product 3 by the molding using the bar code mold 1 is the same as the structure of the reader for the bar code type confirmation test shown in FIG. In this case, the inverting circuit in the section 12 is removed. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the concavo-convex pattern signal captured by the light reflection type optical sensor 21 is shaped by the signal processing unit 22, and the output signal is digitized by the arithmetic processing unit 24 and stored in advance. The final bar code read data is obtained by collating with the normal bar code pattern 23.

Thus, according to the barcode adding method of this embodiment, the three-dimensional barcode 2 having excellent environment resistance can be added to the product 3, and a plurality of mold parts can be selectively combined to form a desired uneven pattern. By obtaining the bar code type, you only need to prepare the minimum necessary mold parts,
It is possible to mold three-dimensional bar codes with any uneven pattern. Further, by realizing the device that directly reads the barcode from the barcode type 1, it is possible to easily confirm the validity of the concave-convex pattern of the barcode type 1 in the barcode confirmation test process.

Although the embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, the means for reading the concavo-convex pattern of the barcode type 1 or the three-dimensional barcode 2 is not limited to the above-described light reflection type sensor, but may be, for example, a certain height. It is also possible to irradiate the light focusing on the surface (such as the surface of the convex portion) from directly above the concave-convex pattern and measure the intensity per unit area of the reflected light.

Further, the bar code adding method according to the present invention is suitable as a method of adding a bar code to various plastic products, and can be applied to all products obtained by molding such as metal and ceramics.

[0023]

As described above, according to the barcode adding method of the present invention, it is possible to realize a barcode excellent in environment resistance by making the barcode three-dimensional, and a plurality of components can be formed. By combining the above-mentioned molds to obtain a bar code mold having a desired concavo-convex pattern, it is possible to mold a three-dimensional bar code having any concavo-convex pattern with a minimum number of mold parts.

Further, according to the bar code reader of the present invention, the three-dimensional bar code added to the product by the bar code adding method of the present invention can be read well.

Further, according to the present invention, by realizing an apparatus for reading a barcode from a barcode type which is configured by selectively combining a plurality of mold parts, the combination of barcode types in the confirmation test process of the barcode is realized. The validity of can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method for forming a three-dimensional barcode using a barcode die according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mold part that is a unit forming the barcode type in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another mold component which is also a unit forming the barcode type.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a barcode reading device for reading a barcode from a barcode type.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a barcode reading device for reading a three-dimensional barcode formed on a product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Bar code type 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d ... Mold component 2 ... Three-dimensional bar code 3 ... Product 4 ... Mold 11, 21 ... Optical sensor 12, 22 ... Signal processing unit 13, 23 …… Bar code pattern 14, 24 …… Arithmetic processing unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mold having an uneven pattern corresponding to a desired barcode is constructed by selectively combining a plurality of molds made into parts, and the uneven pattern corresponding to the barcode is used to form a three-dimensional bar code using this mold. A method of adding a bar code, characterized by forming and adding to a product. 2. A bar code reading device for reading a three-dimensional bar code added to a product by the bar code adding method according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit reads an uneven pattern of the three-dimensional bar code, and the reading unit. A barcode reading apparatus comprising: a unit configured to collate the read concavo-convex pattern with a previously stored barcode pattern and output a barcode reading result. 3. A bar code reading apparatus for reading a bar code from a mold formed by selectively combining a plurality of mold parts by the bar code adding method according to claim 1, wherein the uneven pattern of the mold is formed. A reading means for reading, an inverting means for inverting the uneven pattern read by the reading means, and an unevenness inversion pattern output by the inverting means and a barcode pattern stored in advance are collated to output a barcode reading result. And a bar code reading device.