JPS62157986A - Bar code - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To close a spacing between bars in the direction of main scanning line until it becomes equal to the minimum spacing between sampling points in the direction of main scanning and heighten density of recording by arranging encoded plural bars slanting them uniformly at a specified angle to the direction of the main scanning line. CONSTITUTION:Plural encoded bars B1-B4 of different thickness are arranged at proper spacing slanting them uniformly at the angle of less than 90 deg., for instance 45 deg. or 30 deg., to the direction of main scanning lines L that read the bars photoelectrically. Bars B1-B4 are slanted uniformly to the direction of main scanning lines L to widen spaces between bars, B1 and B2, B2 and B3,... in the direction of main scanning lines L. The space D between bars B1, B2 in the direction of main scanning lines L can be widened to 1/sintheta times to the space (d), and the space D can be made small until it becomes equal to the space d' between sampling points S, S.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to barcodes in which alphanumeric characters and special symbols are coded using a combination of bars of different thicknesses and read photoelectrically, and in particular to barcodes that have a high information recording density. Regarding barcodes that can be.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, an X-ray film digitizer has been developed that irradiates and reads an X-ray film on which medical images have been taken and digitizes the image.

In this case, in order to automatically process the X-ray film, it is necessary to have a one-to-one correspondence between the X-ray film and the subject photographed on the X-ray film. Barcodes are used as one means of identifying this X-ray film, and these barcodes are printed on appropriate locations on each X-ray film, or barcodes are printed on white paper with black lines. Code recording carriers were pasted on appropriate locations on each X-ray film. At this time, the above barcode is
It is desirable to use a barcode with as high a recording density as possible, since it is necessary to include a lot of information such as the date of examination, the name of the patient, the name of the device, and the HD for identifying the data.

Here, the conventional barcode 1 is as shown in FIG.
A plurality of coded bars B1 having different thicknesses at appropriate intervals. B2. B3. B, , B, were arranged so as to intersect at right angles to the direction of the main scanning line which is photoelectrically read.

That is, each bar B□ and B, , B, and B3. ... and the distance d' between the photoelectrically read sampling points S and S were in the same force direction.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, as the amount of information is increased in such a barcode 1, the length of the barcode 1 itself in the scanning line direction becomes large, and it becomes difficult to print onto the X-ray film. When the barcode 1 is attached or pasted, the barcode 1 may extend to the image area of the X-ray film 11, obscuring a part of the inspection image. Therefore, in order to increase the amount of information without increasing the length of the barcode 1 itself, it is sufficient to increase the recording density of the information. As one means of this, each)
It is sufficient to shorten the interval d from <81 to B5. Here, if the minimum sampling interval for reliably sampling and reading the L reporter bars B1 to I' (S and the blank space between them is the interval d' between the sampling points S and S in FIG. 6, each bar B □ The interval d between ~B5 is the sampling point S marked 1,
The distance between S cannot be made smaller than the distance d'. If sampling point S.

8, each bar 131 to B
5 and the blank space between them may become difficult to read, or reading errors may occur.

Therefore, in the conventional barcode 1, each bar B□~
The interval d between B5 could not be made smaller than the interval d' between sampling points S and S, and the recording density of information could not be made any higher.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such problems.

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for solving the above problems is to arrange a plurality of coded bars of different thickness at appropriate intervals so as to intersect with each other in the main scanning line direction of reading. This is achieved by arranging a plurality of coded bars uniformly inclined at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to the main scanning line direction in a bar code read photoelectrically.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a barcode 2 according to the present invention. This barcode 2 is a code in which alphanumeric characters and special symbols are coded with a combination of bars of different thickness, and by reading this photoelectrically, unique information of the object to which it is attached is obtained. A plurality of bars B coded with different thicknesses, B7. n, .

Here, the reason why each of the bars B1 to B4 is uniformly tilted with respect to the main scanning line direction is as follows: "1. Each bar B□ and B2. B2 and I33. ...This is to widen the space between them. That is, in FIG. 2, the inclination angle of each bar B, ..., B2 with respect to the main scanning line is O, the distance between each bar B□ and 87 in the direction of the main scanning line is D, and each of the above If the interval in the direction orthogonal to bars B1 and B2 is d, then the following equation holds true in ΔPQR.

Q D When this equation is transformed, D=d/5ine. Therefore, in the comparison between FIG. 6 and FIG. 2 described above, the distance d between each bar B and B2 in the main scanning line direction of FIG.
Assuming that the distance d in the orthogonal direction between each bar B and B2 in FIG. 2 is equal, the distance in the main scanning line direction when each bar B Each bar B,
, 82 can be increased by 17sjnθ times the distance d in the same direction in the case of FIG. 6, as is clear from the above equation. For example, if the inclination angle 0 is 45 degrees, then D
Hl, 4d, and if the inclination angle O is 30 degrees, D=2
d.

From this, conversely, each bar 8 in the direction of the main scanning line
By closing the interval between 1 and 87, each bar B, and B2
The orthogonal distance d between them can be further reduced. That is, in Figure 1, if the minimum sampling interval for reliably sampling and reading each bar B, ~B, and the blank space between them is the interval d' between the sampling points S, then each bar B The interval between □ and B4 in the main scanning line direction can be reduced until it becomes equal to the interval d' between the sampling points S and S, and in this case, the interval d in the orthogonal direction between each bar 81 to 84 can be reduced. is smaller than the interval d' between the sampling points S and S.

Therefore, compared to the conventional barcode shown in FIG. 6, the recording density of bars B to B4 can be increased.

For example, when the tilt angle 0 is 45 degrees, the recording density can be increased to 1.4 times, and when the tilt angle θ is 30 degrees, the recording density can be increased to 1/5 inO times. In addition, in FIG. 2, only the bars B and B2 are representatively illustrated, but the other bars 83. The same relationship holds true for B4 and the like.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of the barcode 2 of the present invention constructed as described above. As is clear from this figure, by inclining each bar at an angle O, its side end 2a has an angle of W = H/ with respect to the height H of the barcode 2.
It becomes longer in the lateral direction by the width of tanθ. However, in response to this, the side end 2a on the right side of the chain line 3 shown in FIG.
As shown by the broken line, the entire arrangement may be moved to the left side end portion 2b to complete the entire arrangement in a rectangular shape. By doing so, it is possible to increase the information recording density with the same length as a conventional barcode.

In order to read the barcode 2 configured in this way, it is sufficient to photoelectrically read it along the main scanning line direction shown in FIG. Sampling points S, S, on the main scanning line
The position will shift relative to... Therefore, it is necessary to restore the reading to a position orthogonal to the main scanning line. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the sampling point on the first main scanning line B1 is set to 81+821S3,
Set the sampling point on the second main scanning line B2 to 81'+S2
/ , S31, bar code 2 bar B□ is "1"
Suppose that it passes through S, S, and l out of the sampling points mentioned above. Also, let the interval between the main scanning lines L1L2 be a, and each sampling point Si+S2+...S1'
.

Let the interval between S2', . . . be d'. In such a state, if the first main scanning line 1.1 is used as the reference scanning line, the sampling point S t / on the second main scanning line B2
It is sufficient to move the data read at the right side by d'=a/1ano and add it to the data read at the sampling point S2 of the second -th main scanning line Li, J-. As a result, the read data of the bar B1 is recognized as the data at the sampling point S2 on the first main scanning line B1 and the sampling point 82' on the second main scanning line B2, and each main scanning line L1 ．． The barcode 2 is restored to a position orthogonal to B2, and the barcode 2 can be read correctly.

For example, if the tilt angle θ is 45 degrees, the amount of data movement is d
' = a, and if the inclination angle θ is 30 degrees, d' = 1
．． 732a.

An example of how to use the barcode 2 configured in this way is as follows:
An X-ray film digitizer that irradiates light onto an X-ray film on which medical images have been taken, reads it, and digitizes the image. There is a use when it corresponds to. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, a barcode 2 that encodes the specific patient's name, examination date, device name, etc. may be attached to an appropriate location on the X-ray film 4. . Here, when using reflected light to scan and read the barcode 2 above in one direction of X8,
A barcode record carrier with each bar printed with a black line may be pasted on an opaque medium such as white paper.

In addition, when reading using transmitted light, the barcode 2 described in 1. is directly printed on the X-ray film 4, or a barcode recording carrier with each bar printed with black lines on a medium such as a transparent film 11 is used. It may be pasted on the wire film 4.

In addition, in FIG. 5, arrow y is the moving direction of the X-ray film 4.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention has a plurality of coded bars 31 to B4 arranged so as to be uniformly inclined at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to the direction of the main scanning line. The spacing between each of the bars 80-84 in the direction of line 1 can be reduced until it becomes equal to the minimum spacing d' between the sampling points S and S in the direction of the rising scan line. In this case, the interval d in the direction perpendicular to each bar B□ to B4 is "1 sampling point S."

8 can be made smaller than the minimum interval d' between the two. Therefore, the sixth
In the conventional barcode 1 shown in the figure, each bar B, ~
The interval d between B5 is the sampling point S, the minimum interval d between S
According to the present invention, the recording density can be increased by 1/sin θ according to the inclination angle θ of each bar B□ to B4. Density can be increased. Therefore, the amount of information in the barcode 2 can be increased without increasing the length of the barcode 2 itself, and, for example, the barcode 2 can be prevented from extending into the image area of the X-ray film.

The barcode 2 of the present invention can be applied not only to the X-ray film 4 but also to barcodes attached to all other articles.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the barcode according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the inclination angle of each bar and the interval in the main scanning line direction, and FIG. 3 is a barcode according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of restoring barcode read data, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the use of the barcode of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the conventional barcode. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the cord. 2... Barcode 2a... Barcode side end 4... X-ray fill 11 B1-B4... Bar L... Main scanning line D... Spacing between bars in the main scanning line direction d... Spacing in the direction perpendicular to the bar S... Reading sampling point d'... Spacing between sampling points 0... Bar inclination angle

Claims (1)

[Claims] In barcodes that are photoelectrically read by placing a plurality of coded bars of different thickness at appropriate intervals and crossing the direction of the main scanning line, the plurality of coded bars are placed along the main scanning line. A barcode characterized in that it is arranged uniformly at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to a direction.