JP5808211B2 - Bar code symbol reading apparatus and bar code symbol reading method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a barcode symbol reading apparatus and a barcode symbol reading method suitable for simultaneously reading a plurality of barcode symbols.

Conventionally, as an apparatus for simultaneously reading a plurality of barcode symbols as described above, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.
In this barcode symbol reading device, image data is obtained by photographing the printing surface of a slip or product tag on which a plurality of barcode symbols are printed, and scanning the image data that overlaps a barcode position pattern registered in advance. Decode as a barcode symbol.

JP 2004-240874 A

  However, in the above-described conventional barcode symbol reader, it is necessary to register a barcode position pattern in advance, that is, only barcode symbols that match a predetermined area can be read. There is a problem that the barcode position pattern has to be re-registered each time the symbol is changed or the type of barcode symbol is changed.

  In addition, it is not easy to match the reading distance and field of view with the printing surface when reading multiple barcode symbols at the same time, and there is a concern about reading failure due to misalignment between the barcode symbol and the barcode position pattern registered in advance. It has been a conventional problem to solve these problems.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described conventional problems. For example, when the form of a slip on which a plurality of barcode symbols are printed is changed, or when a one-dimensional barcode symbol and two-dimensional are displayed on the slip. To provide a barcode symbol reading apparatus and barcode symbol reading method capable of simultaneously reading a plurality of barcode symbols even when barcode symbols are mixedly printed. Yes.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a reading unit that collectively captures image data of a plurality of barcode symbols to be read, and a binarization conversion that converts image data captured by the reading unit into binary data An expansion / reduction processing unit that performs expansion processing and reduction processing on the binary data from the binarization conversion unit, and labeling the binary data after the expansion processing and reduction processing from the expansion / reduction processing unit A barcode symbol region candidate is extracted from a plurality of image blocks extracted by performing processing, and the barcode symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed on all of the extracted barcode symbol region candidates. A control unit that holds the barcode symbol area information and the decoding result, and a table that displays the reading result of the barcode symbol output from the control unit. It includes a section, wherein, when there is a bar code symbol region candidate type determination and decoding of the data word in all of the bar code symbol region candidates and be read is not completed, again by the reading unit In the acquired image data, the region corresponding to any one barcode symbol region candidate that succeeded in the classification determination and the data word decoding in the previous reading is selected, the type determination and the data word decoding are performed, and the previous reading is performed. When the same result as the result is obtained, the bar code symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed only for bar code symbol area candidates whose type determination and data word decoding have not been completed in the previous reading. Means for solving the above-described conventional problems with the configuration of the bar code symbol reader To have.

On the other hand, in the barcode symbol reading method according to claim 2 of the present invention, the image data of a plurality of barcode symbols to be read is collectively picked up and binarization processing is performed on the image data. After performing the expansion process and the reduction process, the binary data after the expansion process and the reduction process is subjected to a labeling process to extract barcode symbol region candidates from the extracted image blocks, and the extracted barcode There line determines the type and data words of decoding of the bar code symbol for all symbols region candidate, the type determining and decoding of data words in all of the barcode symbol area candidates and be read is not completed If there is a barcode symbol area candidate, in the re-acquired image data, type determination and data word decoding are performed by the previous reading. Select the area corresponding to one successful barcode symbol area candidate, perform type determination and data word decoding, and if the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, type determination and data word decoding is a type determination and data words of decoding of the bar code symbol only the bar code symbol area candidate which is not completed by the configuration intends row.

  In the bar code symbol reading apparatus according to the present invention, the reading unit may include a camera using a CMOS sensor and an A / D converter. The binarization conversion unit converts multi-valued image data captured by the reading unit into binary data, and can also be binarized by software. The expansion / contraction processing unit is a part that inflates or contracts the binarized image data by a conventionally known general method, and this can also be processed by software.

  In the bar code symbol reading apparatus according to the present invention, the display unit for displaying the bar code symbol reading result displays a guide for performing a reading operation by an operation switch unit having a trigger, a numeric keypad, and a function key. It may be. Furthermore, an external input / output unit that transmits and receives data from the control unit to the external terminal using wireless or infrared light may be provided.

Since the barcode symbol reading device according to claim 1 of the present invention and the barcode symbol reading method according to claim 2 have the above-described configuration, for example, the form of a slip on which a plurality of barcode symbols are printed is changed. Even if one-dimensional barcode symbol and two-dimensional barcode symbol are mixedly printed on the slip, it is possible to read a plurality of barcode symbols at the same time. Excellent effect.

Further, in the bar code symbol reading method according to the bar code symbol reading device and claim 2 according to claim 1 of the present invention, in the simultaneous reading of a plurality of bar code symbols, type determination of all of the bar code symbol candidate regions In addition, if there is a barcode symbol area candidate that has not been decoded, a region corresponding to one barcode symbol area candidate that has succeeded in classification determination and decoding in the previous reading is selected in the re-acquired image data. If the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, it is assumed that there is no blurring with the previous image data, and the type determination and decoding are not completed in the previous reading. Since the type determination and decoding are performed only for the symbol area candidates, the reading processing time can be shortened. Resulting in a very excellent effect that is possible.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the barcode symbol reader which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the barcode symbol reading device in FIG. 1. It is a figure showing a slip on which a plurality of barcode symbols are printed. It is a figure which shows the 1st multi-value image which imaged and read the slip of FIG. 3 with the reading part of the barcode symbol reader in FIG. It is a figure which shows the binary image obtained by binarizing the 1st multi-value image of FIG. It is a figure which shows the image after performing the expansion process and the shrinkage | reduction process to the binary image of FIG. It is a figure which shows the multi-value image which performed the labeling process with respect to the image after performing the expansion process and the reduction process of FIG. 6, and extracted the image block. It is a figure which shows the image which extracted the barcode symbol area | region candidate used as decoding object in the multi-value image of FIG. It is a figure which shows the result of having decoded the barcode symbol area | region candidate of the image of FIG. It is a figure which shows one area | region which tries re-decoding among the barcode symbol area | region candidates which succeeded in the last decoding.

Mode for carrying out the invention

Hereinafter, a barcode symbol reading device and a barcode symbol reading method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show an embodiment of a barcode symbol reading apparatus and barcode symbol reading method according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this bar code symbol reader 1 has a single mode function for reading one bar code symbol and a multi mode function for reading a plurality of bar code symbols at one time. The operation switch unit 2 has, the reading unit 3 that collectively captures image data of a plurality of barcode symbols to be read printed on a slip, for example, by a trigger operation of the operation switch unit 2, and the reading unit 3 A binarization conversion unit 4 that converts image data into binary data, an expansion / reduction processing unit 5 that performs expansion processing and reduction processing on the binary data from the binarization conversion unit 4, and a plurality of printed data And determining whether the barcode symbol is a one-dimensional barcode symbol or a two-dimensional barcode symbol and decoding a data word, A control unit 6 that holds the code symbol area information and the decoding result, a display unit 7 that displays the reading result of the bar code symbol output from the control unit 6, and the reading result is externally transmitted by radio (or infrared) An external input / output unit 8 for transmission to the terminal is provided.

  The control unit 6 extracts a plurality of image blocks by performing labeling processing on the binary data after the expansion processing and the reduction processing from the expansion / reduction processing unit 5, and barcode symbols from the extracted plurality of image blocks After extracting the area candidates, barcode symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed for all of the extracted barcode symbol area candidates.

  Here, if there is a barcode symbol area candidate for which classification determination and data word decoding have not been completed among all barcode symbol area candidates, image data of a plurality of barcode symbols printed on the slip In the control unit 6, the region corresponding to any one bar code symbol region that has succeeded in the type determination and decoding of the data word in the previous reading is obtained. Select the type and decode the data word, and when the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, it is determined that there is no blurring between the previous image data and the type is determined by the previous reading. In addition, barcode symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed only on barcode symbol region candidates for which data word decoding has not been completed. Going on.

  In the barcode symbol reader 1, in the multi-mode for reading a plurality of barcode symbols at once, either the number of barcode symbols to be read or the reading time can be designated. 1 will be used to explain how to read all the barcode symbols printed on a slip as a reading target (specifying the number of barcode symbols to be read).

First, the multi-mode is selected by the key operation of the operation switch unit 2, and the number of readings is designated (6 in this embodiment). Note that the number of barcode symbols read can also be set by an application program.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, in step S <b> 1, the trigger of the operation switch unit 2 is pressed to turn on the aimer (reading position indicator lamp) and the illumination LED of the reading unit 3, and the aimer of the reading unit 3. A plurality of bar code symbols B1 to B6 on the slip A shown in FIG.

  The data of the digital multilevel image C read by the reading unit 3 is converted into the data of the binary image D shown in FIG. 5 of white / black (0, 1) at a constant threshold by the binarization conversion unit 4 in step S2. Subsequently, the binarized image data is expanded by the expansion / reduction processing unit 5 in step S3 and then reduced by a general expansion process after being thickened by a general expansion process. Character strings, frame lines, and small blocks of dirt are removed as black isolated portions F from the data of the image E after the expansion / reduction process shown.

  Then, the control unit 6 performs a general labeling process on the data of the image E after the expansion / reduction process in step S4 to extract a black block G as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the barcode symbol region candidates H1 to H6 are extracted with a size and shape that is likely to be a barcode symbol shape.

  These barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6 indicate the positions of the four corners of the area in the digital multi-valued image by X and Y coordinates. Following the extraction of these barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6, In step S6, the control unit 6 individually binarizes only the multi-value image data of the barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6, detects the characteristics of the type of barcode symbol from these image data, and performs barcode processing. Determine the symbol type. For example, if a reference pattern at three corners is detected, it is determined that the QR code is used.

  Next, the binarized data determined in step S6 is tried to be decoded by the decoding method into the data word indicated in the bar code symbol standard in step S6. If the decoding is successful, step S7 is executed. The barcode symbol area information and the decoding result are recorded in FIG. 1. On the other hand, if the decoding fails, information indicating the failure and the barcode symbol area candidate H are recorded.

  If all the barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6 have been read and six designated barcode symbol results have been obtained, it is determined in step S8 that reading has been completed, and the flow proceeds to step S14. The display unit 7 displays the reading result, and transmits the reading result to the external terminal via the external input / output unit 8.

  However, as shown in FIG. 9, if there are barcode symbol candidate regions H2 and H4 that have failed to be decoded, a new image is captured as retry processing in step S9 and is taken in as new digital multi-valued image data.

  Here, in step S10, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 6 selects a region corresponding to one barcode symbol candidate region H1 that has been successfully decoded with the previous image data, and determines the type in step S11. When the data word is decoded and the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, it is determined that there is no blur of the image data, and the type determination and the decoding of the data word are not completed in the previous reading. Barcode symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed only on the symbol area candidates H2 and H4.

  If the decoding of the barcode symbol area candidates H2 and H4 is successful, the barcode symbol area information and the decoding result are recorded in step S12. On the other hand, if the decoding fails, information indicating the failure and the barcode symbol are recorded. Region candidate H is recorded.

  When all the barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6 are read and the designated six barcode symbols B1 to B6 are read, it is determined in step S13 that the reading is complete. In step S14, the display unit 7 displays the reading result and transmits the reading result to the external terminal via the external input / output unit 8.

  If the type determination and decoding results in step S11 do not match the previous reading results, or if decoding of the barcode symbol region candidates H2 and H4 fails, the reading unit 3 moves and the aimer is the reading target. It is determined that the plurality of barcode symbols B1 to B6 have deviated, and the process returns to step S1 to continue reading the plurality of barcode symbols B1 to B6.

  As described above, in the barcode symbol reading apparatus 1 and the reading method according to this embodiment, even when the one-dimensional barcode symbol and the two-dimensional barcode symbol are mixedly printed on the slip A, A plurality of barcode symbols can be read simultaneously, and even when the form of the slip A on which the plurality of barcode symbols are printed is changed, the plurality of barcode symbols can be read simultaneously.

  Further, in the barcode symbol reader 1 and the reading method according to this embodiment, in simultaneous reading of a plurality of barcode symbols, as described above, classification determination and decoding among all barcode symbol area candidates H1 to H6. If there are barcode symbol region candidates H2 and H4 that have not been completed, the region corresponding to one barcode symbol region H1 that has succeeded in the type determination and decoding in the previous reading is obtained in the re-acquired image data. Select and perform type determination and decoding, and when the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, only type determination of barcode symbol area candidates H2 and H4 for which type determination and decoding have not been completed in the previous reading and Since decoding is performed, the reading processing time can be shortened (for example, 50 to 300 msec). It will be.

  The configurations of the barcode symbol reading device and the barcode symbol reading method according to the present invention are not limited to the configurations of the barcode symbol reading device 1 and the barcode symbol reading method according to the above-described embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Barcode symbol reader 3 Reading part 4 Binary conversion part 5 Expansion / reduction processing part 6 Control part 7 Display part

Claims (2)

A reading unit that collectively captures image data of a plurality of barcode symbols to be read;
A binarization conversion unit that converts image data captured by the reading unit into binary data;
An expansion / reduction processing unit that performs expansion processing and reduction processing on the binary data from the binarization conversion unit;
The barcode symbol area candidates are extracted from the plurality of image blocks extracted by performing the labeling process on the binary data after the expansion process and the reduction process from the expansion / reduction processing unit, and all of the extracted barcode symbol area candidates A control unit that performs barcode symbol type determination and data word decoding to hold barcode symbol region information and decoding results;
A display unit for displaying a reading result of the barcode symbol output from the control unit ;
The control unit, when there is a barcode symbol area candidate for which classification determination and data word decoding have not been completed among all barcode symbol area candidates to be read, the image data reacquired by the reading unit , The type determination and data word decoding are performed by selecting an area corresponding to any one bar code symbol area candidate that has succeeded in the type determination and data word decoding in the previous reading, and the same result as the previous reading result The bar code symbol type determination and data word decoding are performed only for bar code symbol area candidates whose type determination and data word decoding has not been completed in the previous reading. Code symbol reader. Collect image data of multiple barcode symbols to be scanned,
After performing binarization processing on this image data, after performing expansion processing and reduction processing,
A barcode symbol area candidate is extracted from a plurality of image blocks extracted by performing a labeling process on the binary data after the expansion process and the reduction process, and the barcode is applied to all the extracted barcode symbol area candidates. There row decoding of type determination and data word symbols,
When there is a barcode symbol area candidate whose type determination and data word decoding has not been completed among all barcode symbol area candidates to be read,
In the re-acquired image data, the type determination and the data word decoding are performed by selecting an area corresponding to one barcode symbol area candidate that has succeeded in the type determination and data word decoding in the previous reading,
When the same result as the previous reading result is obtained, the type determination of the barcode symbol and the decoding of the data word are performed only for the barcode symbol area candidate for which the type determination and the decoding of the data word have not been completed by the previous reading. bar code symbol reading method characterized by intends row.