TW202030645A - Barcode reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A barcode reading apparatus adapted to read a barcode located on a curve surface including a base, an imaging capturing and processing device and a light-source providing device is provided. The base has a first opening. The imaging capturing and processing device is disposed in the base, and corresponded disposed to the first opening. The light-source providing device is disposed on the base. The light-source providing device includes a plurality of first light-emitting elements, a reflective element and a diffusion element. Each of the first light-emitting elements is configured to emit a first light beam. The diffusion element has a light-incident surface and a light-exiting surface. The reflective element and the diffusion element commonly surround to the imaging capturing and processing device. The diffusion element diffuses a first and a second sub light beams, so as to make a portion of the first sub light beam and a portion of the second sub light beam transmit to two opposite sides of the barcode.

Description

Barcode reading device

The present invention relates to a reading device, and more particularly to a barcode reading device.

With the rapid development of industry and commerce, the types of commodities have also exploded, such as beverage bottles, medicine cans, packaging boxes, mobile phones, TVs, etc. In order to distinguish the categories of these commodities, barcodes (Barcode) came into being. Fill in the relevant information of these commodities in the computer, and design a code corresponding to this relevant information. With the barcode reading device, the user can read the barcode corresponding to the product, and quickly obtain the relevant information of the product. Therefore, barcode reading devices are widely used in daily life.

In a general barcode reading device, the principle is to project a light beam onto the barcode, and then the reflected light beam is transmitted to the image sensor to read the barcode. However, if the barcode is formed on a curved surface, because of the height difference between the center of the curved surface and the two sides of the curved surface, it is difficult for the light beam to irradiate both sides of the curved surface, which makes it difficult for the barcode reading device to distinguish the barcode image, and it is difficult to normal To read the barcode.

The invention provides a barcode reading device, which can have good reading accuracy when scanning barcodes located on a curved surface.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a bar code reading device, which is suitable for reading a bar code located on a curved surface. The bar code reading device includes a base, an image capturing and processing device, and a light source providing device. The base has a first opening. The image capturing and processing device is arranged in the base and correspondingly arranged in the first opening. The light source providing device is arranged on the base. The light source providing device includes a plurality of first light emitting elements, reflective elements and diffusion elements. Each first light-emitting element is used to emit a first light beam. The first beam includes a first sub beam and a second sub beam. The diffusion element has a light-incident surface and a light-emitting surface. The reflection element and the diffusion element jointly surround the image capture processing device. After the first sub-beam is transmitted to the reflective element, it is reflected by the reflective element and enters the diffusing element from the light incident surface and exits the diffusing element from the light exit surface. The diffusion element diffuses the first sub-beam to transmit at least a part of the first sub-beam to one side of the barcode. The second sub-beam enters the diffusion element from the light entrance surface and exits the diffusion element from the light exit surface. The diffusion element diffuses the second sub-beam to transmit at least a part of the second sub-beam to the other side of the barcode.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned reflecting element has a first reflecting part and a second reflecting part. The volume of the second reflecting part is larger than the volume of the first reflecting part. The diffusion element has a first diffusion part and a second diffusion part. The volume of the second diffusion part is greater than the volume of the first diffusion part. The first reflection part is arranged beside the first diffusion part, and the second reflection part is arranged beside the second diffusion part. The first reflection part and the first diffusion part are arranged on one side of the image capture processing device, and the second reflection part and the second diffusion part are arranged on the other side of the image capture processing device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned image capture processing device includes an optical imaging lens, an image sensor, and a decoder. The image sensor is optically coupled to the optical imaging lens. The optical imaging lens is located between the first opening and the image sensor. The decoder is coupled to the image sensor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned image sensor includes a charge coupled device or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned barcode reading device further includes a light guide element. The light guide element is arranged between the diffusion element and the image capturing and processing device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned barcode reading device further includes a plurality of second light-emitting elements. The second light-emitting elements are arranged on the circuit carrier, and the second light-emitting elements are located between the image capture processing device and the light guide element. Each second light emitting element is used to emit a second light beam, and the second light beam enters the light guide element and is led out from both ends of the light guide element and transmitted to the light source providing device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the light incident surface of the aforementioned diffusion element is a concave surface facing the reflective element, and the light exit surface of the diffusion element is a convex surface facing the outside of the barcode reading device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned base further includes a grip.

Based on the foregoing, in the barcode reading device of the embodiment of the present invention, since the first light beam emitted by the first light-emitting element in the light source providing device emits light through the diffusing element, the first light beam can be diffused (diverged) by the diffusing element, so that The illumination range provided by the light source providing device is expanded. Therefore, the light irradiation intensity on both sides of the barcode on the curved surface can be increased, and the image capture processing device can obtain a clearer barcode image. Therefore, the barcode reading device of the embodiment of the present invention has good reading accuracy.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a barcode reading device according to this embodiment. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the barcode reading device of FIG. 1 scanning a barcode on a curved surface. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the optical path of Fig. 2. Fig. 4A is a schematic top view of the reflective element. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the reflective element. Fig. 5A is a schematic top view of the diffusion element. Fig. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the diffusion element. It should be noted that, in order to make the optical path obvious, FIG. 3 omits part of the reference numerals in FIG. 2, and the omitted reference numerals can refer to FIG. 2.

1 and FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the barcode reading device 100 mainly includes a base 110, an image capture processing device 120 and a light source providing device 130. The image capturing and processing device 120 includes an optical imaging lens 122, an image sensor 124, and a decoder 126. The light source providing device 130 includes a plurality of first light emitting elements 132, reflecting elements 134 and diffusion elements 136. In addition, the barcode reading device 100 further includes a circuit carrier 140, a light guide element 150, and a plurality of second light emitting elements 160. The above-mentioned components are explained in detail in the following paragraphs.

The base 110 is used for accommodating the image capturing and processing device 120, and the light source providing device 130 is disposed thereon. The base 110 has a first opening O1 (as shown in FIG. 2). Moreover, in this embodiment, the base 110 further has a grip P and a button PB, and the user can scan by holding the grip P and pressing the button PB.

The image capturing and processing device 120 is a device for capturing an image of an external light beam and processing the image. In the following paragraphs, each component in the image capture processing device 120 will be described in detail.

The optical imaging lens 122 at least includes one or more optical lenses (not shown) arranged along an optical axis (not shown) with diopter. Optical lenses include, for example, various combinations of non-planar lenses such as biconcave lenses, biconvex lenses, meniscus lenses, convex-concave lenses, plano-convex lenses, and plano-concave lenses. The invention does not limit the type and type of the optical imaging lens 122.

The image sensor 124 is optically coupled to the optical imaging lens 122. Specifically, after the optical imaging lens 122 receives the external light beam, an image can be formed on the image sensing surface (not shown) of the image sensor 124. In the embodiment of the present invention, the image sensor 124 may be a charge coupled device (CCD) type image sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, CMOS) type image sensor. Image sensor, but the invention is not limited to this.

The decoder 126 is electrically coupled to the image sensor 124 and can perform decoding according to the image information sensed by the image sensor 124.

The light source providing device 130 is a device for providing a light source, and includes a plurality of first light emitting elements 132, a reflective element 134, and a diffusion element 136. The above components will be explained in detail in the following paragraphs.

The first light-emitting element 132 is, for example, an element having a light-emitting function. In the embodiment of the present invention, the type of the first light emitting element 132 may be a light emitting diode (Light Emitting Diode, LED), an organic light emitting diode (Organic Light Emitting Diode, OLED), a laser diode (Laser Diode, LD) or other types of light-emitting elements, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The reflective element 134 is, for example, an optical element having a reflective function. In the embodiment of the present invention, the reflective element 134 itself can be a metal with high reflectivity or a high reflectivity film is plated on the mechanical component, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The reflective element 134 has a reflective surface RS. 4A, in this embodiment, the reflective element 134 includes a first reflective portion 134a, a second reflective portion 134b, and two reflective connecting portions 134c for connecting the first and second reflective portions 134a and 134b. The first and second reflective portions 134a, 134b and the two reflective connecting portions 134c together form a square shape to form a second opening O2. 2 and 4B, in this embodiment, the volume of the first reflective portion 134a is larger than the volume of the second reflective portion 134b, and the volume of the two reflective connecting portions 134c is substantially the same. In this embodiment, the reflective element 134 is symmetrical. In other embodiments, those skilled in the art can design the shape correspondingly according to their own needs, and the present invention is not limited to this.

The diffusing element 136 (or called a diverging element) is, for example, an optical element for making the light beam passing through the diffusing element 136 and expanding its irradiation range. 2 and 5A, in this embodiment, the diffusion element 136 includes a first diffusion portion 136a, a second diffusion portion 136b, and two diffusion connection portions 136c for connecting the first and second diffusion portions 136a, 136b. The first and second diffusion portions 136a, 136b and the two diffusion connection portions 136c together form a square shape to form a third opening O3. Moreover, in this embodiment, the volume of the first diffusion portion 136a is greater than the volume of the second diffusion portion 136b, and the volume of the two diffusion connection portions 136c is substantially the same. In this embodiment, the diffusion element 136 is symmetrical. In other embodiments, those skilled in the art can design the shape correspondingly according to their own needs, and the present invention is not limited to this. The diffusion element 136 has opposite light incident surface ES and emissive surface OS. The light incident surface ES is a concave surface, and the emissive surface OS is a convex surface. Therefore, the diffuser 136 can have a light diffusing function similar to a convex-concave lens in a concave lens, but Not limited to this.

The circuit carrier 140 is, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB), but is not limited to this. The circuit carrier 140 is, for example, provided with a power management chip (not shown) and a power supply (not shown) to supply power to the first and second light emitting elements 132 and 160 provided thereon. The circuit carrier 140 has a fourth opening O4 (as shown in FIG. 2).

The light guide element 150 is an optical element that guides the direction of the light beam. In the embodiment of the present invention, the light guide element 150 is made of, for example, a material with high permeability.

The description of the second light-emitting element 160 is similar to the related description of the first light-emitting element 132, and will not be repeated here.

The arrangement of the above-mentioned components will be explained in detail in the following paragraphs.

1 and 2, in this embodiment, the image capturing and processing device 120 is disposed in the base 110 and correspondingly disposed in the first opening O1. The light source providing device 130 is disposed on the base 110. Specifically, the reflection element 134 and the diffusion element 136 are both disposed on the base 110. 4A and 5A, the reflective element 134 has a plurality of first positioning through holes H1 and a plurality of second positioning through holes H2. The diffusion element 136 has a plurality of third positioning through holes H3. The base 110 is also provided with a plurality of fourth positioning through holes (not shown). The first positioning through holes H1 are respectively aligned with the fourth positioning through holes, and the second positioning through holes H2 are respectively aligned with the third positioning through holes H3. Therefore, a plurality of first locking members (not shown, such as screws, but not limited to this) can be used to penetrate the second and third positioning through holes H2 and H3 to connect the reflective element 134 and the diffusion element 136. They are locked together so that the diffusion element 136 is disposed on the reflection element 134. Similarly, a plurality of second locking members (not shown, such as screws, but not limited to this) can be used to penetrate the first and fourth positioning through holes H1 to lock the reflective element 134 and the base 110 Are fixed together so that the reflective element 134 is disposed on the base 110. The diffusion element 136 is located in the reflection element 134, that is, the diffusion element 136 is disposed in the second opening O 2 surrounded by the reflection element 134. The reflective element 134 and the diffuser element 136 jointly surround the image capturing processing device 120.

In more detail, the first reflection part 134a is disposed beside the first diffusion part 136a, and the second reflection part 134b is disposed beside the second diffusion part 136b. The first reflection part 134a and the first diffusion part 136a are disposed on one side of the image capture processing device 120. The second reflection part 134b and the second diffusion part 136a are disposed on the other side of the image capture processing device 120. The first reflective portion 134a, the first diffusion portion 136a, and the circuit carrier 140 jointly define a first accommodating space AS1. The second reflective portion 134b, the second diffusion portion 136b, and the circuit carrier 140 jointly define a second accommodating space AS2. At least a part of these first light-emitting elements 132 are disposed in the accommodating spaces AS1 and AS2. It should be noted that FIG. 2 exemplarily shows that each of the first light-emitting elements 132 is arranged in the accommodating spaces AS1 and AS2, but in other embodiments there may be more than one, and the present invention is not based on this. As a limit.

In addition, the reflective connection portion 134c is disposed beside the diffusion connection portion 136c. The reflective connection portion 134c, the diffusion connection portion 136c and the circuit carrier 140 can also define a third accommodating space (not shown), and at least a part of the first light-emitting elements 132 can also be disposed in the third accommodating space.

2 again, the reflection surface RS of the reflection element 134 faces the light incident surface ES of the diffusion element 136. The glossy surface OS of the diffusion element 136 faces the outside of the barcode reading device 100. Therefore, in the light source providing device 130, a part of the reflective element 134 and a part of the diffusion element 136 are respectively provided on opposite sides of each first light-emitting element 130.

The circuit carrier 140 is disposed in the base 110. The first and second light-emitting elements 132 and 160 are disposed on the circuit carrier 140 and are electrically coupled to the circuit carrier 140. The circuit carrier 140 can control whether the first and second light-emitting elements 132 and 160 emit light. The fourth opening O4 of the circuit carrier 140 is located in the first opening O1, and the fourth opening O4 corresponds to the image capture processing device 120. The light guide element 150 is disposed between the diffusion element 136 and the image capturing and processing device 120. The second light-emitting elements 160 are located between the image capturing and processing device 120 and the light guide element 150.

The optical behavior in the barcode reading device of this embodiment will be described in detail in the following paragraphs.

3, the barcode reading device 100 scans the barcode BC on the curved surface CS as an exemplary description, but the present invention is not limited to this application. In this embodiment, the user can, for example, press the button PB to scan the barcode BC, and the first light-emitting element 132 is controlled by the circuit carrier 140 to emit the first light beam L1. A part of the first light beam L1 (that is, the first sub-beam SL1, indicated by a thick black line) is transmitted in the direction of the reflecting element 134. After the first sub-beam SL1 is reflected by the reflecting surface RS of the reflecting element 134, its transmission direction is changed And it passes to the direction where the diffusion element 136 is located. The first sub-beam SL1 enters the diffusion element 136 from the light entrance surface ES and exits the diffusion element 136 from the light exit surface OS. In other words, the first sub-beam SL1 enters the diffusion element 136 indirectly. In the above process, when the first sub-beam SL1 enters the diffusion element 136, it is diffused (diverged) by the diffusion element 136, so that at least a part of the first sub-beam SL1 is further transmitted to one side of the barcode BC on the curved surface CS . Since the illumination range of the first sub-beam SL1 is enlarged by the diffusion element 136, the two sides of the barcode BC (that is, the two sides farther from the barcode reading device 100) receive more light beams.

Then, the first sub-beam SL1 is reflected by the barcode BC and then passes to the direction where the barcode reading device 100 is located. The first sub-beam SL1 reflected by the barcode BC therefore carries the image information of the barcode BC. The reflected first sub-beam SL1 sequentially penetrates the light guide element 150, the first opening O1, the fourth opening O4, the optical imaging lens 122 and finally is transmitted to the image sensor 124, and the image sensor 124 then The measured image is transmitted to the decoder 126 at the back end of the decoder 126 for the decoder 126 to analyze the image information of the barcode BC.

On the other hand, another part of the first light beam (ie, the second sub-beam SL2, indicated by a thick black dotted line) is directly transmitted to the direction of the diffusion element 136. The second sub-beam SL2 enters the diffusion element 136 from the light incident surface ES and exits the diffusion element 136 from the light exit surface OS. The diffusion element 136 diffuses the second sub-beam SL2 to transmit at least a part of the second sub-beam SL2 to the other side of the barcode BC. In other words, the second sub-beam SL2 directly enters the diffusion element 136, and the illumination range of the second sub-beam SL2 is also enlarged by the diffusion element 136, so the two sides of the barcode BC receive more light beams. The subsequent optical behavior of the second sub-beam SL2 is similar to that of the first sub-beam SL1, which will not be repeated here.

Then, the circuit carrier 140 can also control the second light-emitting elements 160 to emit the second light beam L2. After the second light beam L2 enters the light guide element 150, it undergoes one or more total internal reflections on both surfaces of the light guide element 150, and is led out from the two ends E1 and E2 of the light guide element 150 to be transmitted to the light source providing device 130. The subsequent optical behavior of the second light beam L2 is similar to that of the first light beam L1, and will not be repeated here. With the above configuration, the barcode reading device 100 of this embodiment can further increase the light intensity.

In view of the above, in the barcode reading device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, since the reflective element 134 and the diffuser element 136 in the light source providing device 130 are arranged around the image capture processing device 120, the reflections located around the image capture processing device 120 The element 134 and the diffuser element 136 can effectively change the beam path, so that the beam is less concentrated in the center of the barcode BC, and can increase the illumination range. In addition, the diffusing element 136 can diffuse (diverge) the light beam, and can further increase the light range. In addition, since the reflective element 134 is disposed on one side of the first light-emitting element 132, the reflective element 134 can effectively recover a part of the first light beam L1 (that is, the first sub-beam SL1), avoiding the waste of light beams, and can further improve the whole The light intensity of the illumination range. Therefore, compared with the conventional technology, the barcode reading device 100 of this embodiment can effectively increase the light intensity of the partial barcode BC located on both sides of the curved surface CS, and the barcode reading device 100 has good reading accuracy.

In summary, in the barcode reading device of the embodiment of the present invention, since the first light beam emitted by the first light-emitting element in the light source providing device emits light through the diffusing element, the first light beam can be diffused (diverged) by the diffusing element, As a result, the illumination range provided by the light source providing device is expanded. Therefore, the light irradiation intensity on both sides of the barcode on the curved surface can be increased, and the image capture processing device can obtain a clearer barcode image. Therefore, the barcode reading device of the embodiment of the present invention has good reading accuracy.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

100: Barcode reading device 110: Pedestal 120: Image capture processing device 122: Optical imaging lens 124: Image sensor 126: Decoder 130: Light source supply device 132: The first light-emitting element 134: reflective element 134a: The first reflection part 134b: second reflection part 134c: reflective connection part 136: diffusion element 136a: The first diffusion part 136b: Second diffusion part 136c: Diffusion connection part 140: circuit carrier board 150: light guide element 160: second light-emitting element AS1: The first housing space AS2: second housing space BC: Barcode CS: Surface ES: Glossy surface E1, E2: both ends of the light guide element H1: The first positioning through hole H2: second positioning through hole H3: Third positioning through hole L1: first beam L2: second beam O1: first opening O2: second opening O3: third opening O4: fourth opening OS: Smooth surface P: Grip PB: Button RS: reflective surface SL1: first sub-beam SL2: second sub-beam

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a barcode reading device according to this embodiment. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the barcode reading device of FIG. 1 scanning a barcode on a curved surface. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the optical path of Fig. 2. Fig. 4A is a schematic top view of the reflective element. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the reflective element. Fig. 5A is a schematic top view of the diffusion element. Fig. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the diffusion element.

100: Barcode reading device

132: The first light-emitting element

160: second light-emitting element

BC: Barcode

CS: Surface

ES: Glossy surface

L1: first beam

L2: second beam

O1: first opening

O4: fourth opening

OS: Glossy surface

RS: reflective surface

SL1: first sub-beam

SL2: second sub-beam

Claims (9)

A bar code reading device is suitable for reading a bar code located on a curved surface. The bar code reading device includes: A base with a first opening; An image capturing and processing device is arranged in the base and correspondingly arranged in the first opening; and A light source providing device is arranged on the base, and the light source providing device includes: A plurality of first light-emitting elements, each of the first light-emitting elements is used to emit a first light beam, and the first light beam includes a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam; A reflective element; and A diffusion element having a light incident surface and a light exit surface, wherein the reflection element and the diffusion element jointly surround the image capture processing device; among them, After the first sub-beam is transmitted to the reflecting element, it is reflected by the reflecting element and enters the diffusion element from the light entrance surface and exits the diffusion element from the light exit surface. The diffusion element diffuses the first sub-beam to cause At least a part of the first sub-beam is transmitted to one side of the barcode, The second sub-beam enters the diffusion element from the light entrance surface and exits the diffusion element from the light exit surface. The diffusion element diffuses the second sub-beam so that at least a part of the second sub-beam is transmitted to the barcode. The other side. The barcode reading device as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein: The reflecting element has a first reflecting part and a second reflecting part, the volume of the second reflecting part is larger than the volume of the first reflecting part, The diffusion element has a first diffusion part and a second diffusion part, the volume of the second diffusion part is larger than the volume of the first diffusion part, among them, The first reflecting part is arranged beside the first diffusion part, and the second reflecting part is arranged beside the second diffusion part, And the first reflection part and the first diffusion part are arranged on one side of the image capture processing device, and the second reflection part and the second diffusion part are arranged on the other side of the image capture processing device. According to the barcode reading device described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the image capture processing device includes: An optical imaging lens; An image sensor optically coupled to the optical imaging lens, wherein the optical imaging lens is located between the first opening and the image sensor; and A decoder is coupled to the image sensor. According to the barcode reading device described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, the image sensor includes a charge coupled device or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor. The barcode reading device described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: A circuit carrier board is arranged in the base, and the first light-emitting elements are arranged on the circuit carrier board. The barcode reading device described in item 5 of the scope of patent application further includes: A light guide element is arranged between the diffusion element and the image capturing and processing device. The barcode reading device described in item 6 of the scope of patent application further includes: A plurality of second light-emitting elements are disposed on the circuit carrier, and the second light-emitting elements are located between the image capturing processing device and the light guide element, Each of the second light-emitting elements is used for emitting a second light beam, and the second light beam enters the light guide element and is led out from both ends of the light guide element and transmitted to the light source providing device. As described in the first item of the scope of patent application, the light-incident surface of the diffusion element is a concave surface facing the reflective element, and the light-emitting surface of the diffusion element is a concave surface facing the barcode reading device The convex surface on the outside. According to the barcode reading device described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the base further includes a handle.

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