JPH03123988A - Information reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a highly precise information reproducing device by providing an arithmetic circuit, etc., to convert discordance due to inclination between a line sensor and bit string information into regular data on the basis of definite pattern information recorded in a recording medium. CONSTITUTION:A control processing circuit 1 consists of a CPU 100, a ROM 101, and a RAM 102. In a sensor signal processing circuit 2, the drive and the read-out of the sensor 7 are executed by a circuit 201, and the correction processing and the digitization of the read signal are executed by the circuit 202. The arithmetic circuit 3 converts the discordance between the sensor 7 and a bit information array into a regular array by using a digital signal processor DSP 301 and the RAM 302. A refresh circuit 4 is divided into parts for picture use and for sound use, and they consist of control circuits 401, 403 and the RAMs 402, 404 respectively, and the input to the RAMs 402, 404 and the refreshing of a picture and a sound signals are executed by these circuits. A display device 81 is a display such as a CRT, etc. The sound signal is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converter 405, and is reproduced from a speaker 82.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a basic configuration of a sheet-like medium reproducing apparatus and a reproducing processing system.

[Subordinate technology]

Conventionally, devices for reading images and characters recorded on sheet-like media include copying machines and facsimile machines, and their optical systems and detection systems are
The method discussed in Q, 38t Nn 6 (1984) is used.

That is, an image of a document is formed on an optical sensor array via an illumination and imaging optical system, and output as an electrical signal. This type of device described above captures a document as an image and reproduces it.

On the other hand, as a device for reading bit information related to this, for example, there is a method for reading bit information of an optical card, which is discussed in the Proceedings of the Optical Memory Symposium '85.

This type of device is intended to read bit information accurately.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the purpose of the former is to copy and transmit an image of a document, and not to demodulate the bit information drawn on the document and reproduce it as a two-character image signal and an audio signal. Further, there is no consideration given to the relative positional relationship between the original and the sensor and the correction processing thereof, and when it is necessary to read the bit information in the same order as in the present invention, normal playback may not be possible. There was a problem.

On the other hand, in the latter case, in order to ensure the accuracy of the read data, the P1 information is read by enlarging it with an optical system, but this increases the cost and is not suitable for miniaturization. Furthermore, there is no discussion of reprocessing methods. The purpose of the present invention is to
It is an object of the present invention to provide a reproduction device that accurately reproduces high-definition bit information recorded on a sheet-like medium and outputs it as good image and audio signals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a playback device with good operability.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above objectives, we use a central processing circuit such as a microcomputer to improve operability, and use a sensor and correction circuit to accurately read the bit information on optical postcards.
The arithmetic circuit corrects the inclination and meandering of the sensor and optical postcard information, converts it to the original bit information, and then transfers this to the refresh circuit as image and audio data.

It is designed to output two images of characters and an audio signal.

In addition, in order to accurately read the pill information on optical postcards,
In addition to determining the size and shape of the sensor and the bit, tracking marks and error correction data are provided to correct the relative positional relationship between the sensor and the bit.

Furthermore, in order to improve the convenience of handling information, in addition to bit information of images and sounds, start and end data, identification code data, etc. are provided.

[Effect]

From setting the optical postcard to reading the bit information,
The playback device of the present invention performs the following sequential operation.

The initial setting of optical postcards is done manually. Then, when the operation panel is operated, the mechanism control circuit is operated and the optical postcard is loaded to the initial position by the drive motor, and at the same time, a focusing operation is performed. If there is a problem with the initial setting, such as when inserting it backwards, a warning signal will be generated and the initial setting will be started again.

Repeat the above operation. When the light postcard is set correctly,
The sensor starts reading, and sub-scanning starts, and bit information recorded on the optical postcard is sequentially read by running the sensor or moving the optical postcard. Reading, correction processing of the read signal, and position correction processing calculation of the sensor and bit information are performed almost simultaneously by each circuit, and are transferred to the refresh circuit as image or audio data.
It is output as an image signal or an audio signal. The drive motor is stopped by detecting the entalk printed on the optical postcard.

The series of operations described above are performed by a central processing circuit such as a microcomputer, which improves operability.

What is the pitch of the light receiving surface of the photoelectric conversion sensor in the main scanning direction?

By setting the recording dot pitch to at least 1/2 or less of the recording dot pitch of an optical postcard, two or more pieces of information can be obtained for one printed dot, thereby improving the redundancy of read data and improving accuracy. By making the print dots vertically long,
The reliability of read data is improved because the influence of ambient light is reduced.

On the other hand, in addition to the original image and audio information, optical postcards record a start mark, an end mark, a tracking mark, an identification code, an error correction code, and the like.

By detecting the start and end marks, the sensor starts reading and the drive motor stops, improving operability.

The tracking mark is used to correct the relative position between the sensor and the bit information array, and serves as reference data in the arithmetic circuit described later.

The identification code is used for indexing information content, protecting information, and the like, thereby making it possible to expand the range of use of the playback device.

The error correction code can correct sensor reading errors during demodulation and improve reproduction accuracy.

After the signal read by the sensor is A/D converted, a correction processing circuit performs signal enhancement and the like.

The digitized read data is transferred to an arithmetic circuit. This circuit extracts the tracking mark and uses this as a reference to perform calculations to return the read data array to its normal position. A specific example of the calculation will be described in the next example. Thereby, the data is demodulated into desired image and audio data, and transferred to a refresh circuit according to a control command from a microcomputer or the like.

The refresh circuit performs input/output control of image and audio data, and a display device and a speaker are connected to the output of this circuit to achieve the function of an optical postcard playback device.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below using the drawings.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to a reproducing apparatus for a postcard-shaped information medium (hereinafter referred to as an optical postcard), but the present invention can also be applied to a reproducing apparatus for a similar sheet-shaped recording medium. Optical postcards are postcard-sized cards that record text, audio, and image information as optically readable codes or bit string information, and are sent using existing postal means.
On the receiver's side, a reproduction device reproduces and outputs the text as two audio and image information. The bit string information may be a concave-convex bit formed on a metal plate, such as is known from optical discs, or may be a pattern of black and white binary dots applied to a piece of paper or a plastic surface. . Hereinafter, in the embodiments of the present invention, the recording medium printed on the latter sheet-like medium will be referred to as an optical postcard.

The optical postcard has the shape shown in FIG. 2, for example. Bit information 32 is printed on the surface of a base 31 made of paper or plastic film, and this surface is further covered with a protective sheet 30 to prevent scratches during mailing. The recipient's address is written on the protective sheet surface.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the bit information 32.

, 34 is a data information area, in which information to be reproduced and information necessary for other processing are recorded. Bit 1
The pattern size is selected to be approximately several tens of μm.

On the other hand, 33 is a mark for tracking.

This mark is used to correct mismatch between the pig row and the read line sensor when reproducing data information. Note that 71 indicates the center of the line sensor.

The main scan in the X-axis direction in FIG. 3 is performed electrically by driving a line sensor, and the sub-scan in the Y-axis direction is performed mechanically.

FIG. 4 shows the principle of reading bit information.

The information surface of the optical postcard 31 is illuminated by a light emitting diode array 73, and the reflected light is read by a line sensor 74 via an imaging optical system 75.

Now, the data information area in FIG. 3 is divided into a plurality of blocks on the optical postcard, and a start mark and an end mark are recorded at the beginning and end of each block. Reading by the line sensor is performed by detecting this start mark and simultaneously starts sub-scanning. Then, upon detection of the end mark, the sub-scanning is stopped.

Furthermore, by recording data other than reproduction output data in the start mark, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the convenience of the reproduction apparatus is improved.

In FIG. 5, 40 is a start mark area.

50 is a reproduction output data area. start mark 40
The inside is further divided into an initial bit section 41, 42, 43, 44 . ...There is a code data section. The line sensor reading starts with the detection of 41. The contents of the code data include, for example, 42 a data number, 43 a data type, and 44 a password.

Of course, the reproduced output data area 50 also includes read error correction code data used in optical discs, etc., to reduce read errors.

By the way, in the optical postcard of the present invention, bit information is recorded at high density in order to increase the information capacity, so highly accurate reading is required.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the recording bit, the sensor, and the voltage of the sensor output. Moreover, FIG. 7 shows the relationship between sensor pitch PS, resolution, and sensor output voltage.

FIG. 6(a) shows the recording bits, and this pitch is W
It is P. Further, (b) and (c) are the sensor pitches WSI and WS2, respectively, and (d) is the output voltage for each sensor pitch. Note that the dimensions of the sensors in the Y direction are assumed to be the same here.

From Figures 6 and 7, the magnitude of the sensor output voltage is:
Assuming the driving conditions and lighting conditions are the same.

It is proportional to the sensor pitch Ps. On the other hand, increasing this Ps lowers the resolution.

In the reproducing apparatus of the present invention, one resolution cannot be lower than the recording bit density. On the other hand, if the sensor pitch is made smaller with emphasis on resolution, several points of data will be obtained for each recording bit, so data redundancy will be improved, but the output voltage amplitude of the sensor will not be able to be adjusted.

Therefore, in order to obtain a relatively large output amplitude without compromising resolution, the pitch of the sensor only needs to be 1, and data from at least 2 points can be obtained for each 1-pitch information, resulting in reading accuracy. will improve.

On the other hand, the sensor length Ls in the Y-axis (sub-scanning) direction is preferably equal to or slightly smaller than the pinch LP of the recording bits, since the larger the light-receiving area, the larger the output amplitude. Also in this case, when increasing the number of data points in the Y-axis direction, the feed pitch of the sub-scanning may be set to one or less with respect to the recording bit pitch Lp.

Furthermore, in FIG. 4, the light emitting diode array 73 does not actually become a perfect linear light source. Therefore,
Since reflected light from the periphery of the bit string being read is incident on the reading sensor 74, the output of the sensor is as shown in FIG. 8, making it difficult to judge the data.

An embodiment for preventing this is shown in FIG.

That is, the shape of the recording bit is made longer in the Y-axis direction, and the shape of the recording bit is longer in the Y-axis direction.
p < L p. According to this embodiment,
Since the influence of surrounding recorded patterns can be reduced, reading accuracy is improved.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the apparatus for reproducing information recorded on the optical postcard described above.

FIG. 1 shows a basic circuit block diagram of a playback device and external equipment connected thereto. Each circuit is
They are connected by a bus 14 of the central processing circuit 1, and a series of control reproduction operations are performed via this bus 14. The central processing circuit 1 includes a microprocessor (CPU) 100, a read only memory (ROM) 101, and a random access memory (RAM) 102.

2 is a sensor signal processing circuit, which is included in this circuit.

The sensor 7 is driven and read at 201, and the read signal is corrected and digitized at 2o2.

3 is an arithmetic circuit, which is a digital signal processing processor (DS
P) 301 and random access memory (RAM) 30
2 is used to convert the mismatch between the sensor 7 and the bit information array into a regular array.

4 is a refresh circuit divided into image and audio circuits, each consisting of control circuits 401, 403 and random access memories (RAM) 402, 404; these circuits input image and audio signals to the RAMs 402, 402; A refresh is performed.

A display device 81 is a flat display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) display or a liquid crystal display. Further, the audio signal is usually transmitted to the D/A converter 40.
5, the signal is converted into an analog signal and input to the speaker 82 for reproduction.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an operating keyboard, which is connected to the bus 14 of the CPU 100 via an input/output circuit 11 connected thereto, and is used to perform input operations, display messages, and the like.

Reference numeral 6 denotes one or more drive motors for operating the mechanism, which is connected to the mechanism control circuit 5 connected to the CPU bus 14.
It is controlled by , and performs tasks such as loading optical postcards and driving the sub-scanning mechanism.

13 is a bus interface circuit, which is connected to the playback device of the present invention;
Used when connecting external devices such as printers and storage devices.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a specific operation sequence using the above-described playback device. Hereinafter, an example of the operation of each circuit and mechanism will be described along the sequence shown in FIG.

Figure 11 shows Regeneration! This is an example of a mechanical part in the Q position. The optical postcard 31 is provided in a part of the housing 68 through an insertion slot 67.
The detection mark 36 recorded on a part of the optical postcard 31 is detected, and the optical postcard 31 is set between the flat pedestal 69 and the guide plate 66. This setting operation is performed by a feed roller 63 and a loading motor 62 that rotates the feed roller 63, and is set at a predetermined position using the detection mark 36. If the optical postcard 31 is inserted in the wrong direction, the loading motor 62 is reversed, a reset request signal is generated, and the keyboard 12 shown in FIG.
send a message to.

76 is a sensor unit, which includes a 5-inch sensor 74.
．． An imaging optical system 75, a light emitting diode array 73, and the like are incorporated.

Next, when you operate the keyboard shown in FIG. 1, the drive motor 61
rotates, and this rotation causes the sensor unit 76 to slide and move in the Y-axis direction along the surface of the guide lever 64, and at the same time electrically drives the sensor 74.

The size of the sensor 74 may be such that it scans the entire bit string of the optical postcard 31, or a short sensor may be used and a moving mechanism in the X-axis direction may be provided within the sensor unit 76. , for example, scanning as shown in FIG. 12 may be used.

The sensor unit 76 moves and first checks the presence or absence of the start mark and end mark, and then sequentially reads the original image and audio data.

In the start mark section, as shown in FIG. 5, search information 42, 43 . ... is recorded, so by reading this, a skip operation is also possible.

Next, the circuit operation until the line sensor 74 reads the optical postcard information and displays one image or outputs audio will be described.

201 in the sensor signal processing circuit 2 in FIG. 1 generates a sensor drive signal and amplifies the sensor output signal.

In reality, this signal does not have a sharp waveform due to focus errors in the optical system, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 13(a). If this is compared with the output (broken line) of the floating slice level generation circuit shown by the broken line and digitized, an error will occur.

202 in the sensor signal processing circuit 2 is a circuit for reducing this error, and one embodiment of this is shown in FIG.

The output from the sensor amplifier 21 is sent to a floating slice level generation circuit 22. The signal is input to an adder 24 and a differentiator 25, and the adder 24 adds the original signal in FIG. 13(a) and the output signal of the differentiator 25 to obtain a signal with a solid waveform as shown in FIG. 13(b). As shown in the figure, this waveform is a waveform that emphasizes the minute change portion of the original signal (a). Therefore, by inputting this and the slice level to the comparator 23 and digitizing it, a highly accurate data signal (c) can be obtained. Note that although this example is described using an analog processing method, the sensor output is processed using an A/D
The same effect can be achieved even if the image is processed digitally after conversion.

By the way, as shown in Figure 3, the bit string information and line sensor generally do not line up on a line due to mechanical setting accuracy, and there is meandering in the sub-scanning mechanism, etc. , the information recorded on the optical postcards was not read in an orderly and faithful manner. Therefore, this data signal is stored in the frame memory 15 shown in FIG.
If the memory data 153 were stored in 2 and read out as is, the memory data 153 would be read out in order from the top, and a normal playback output would not be obtained.

The arithmetic circuit 3 in FIG. 1 corrects this to regular data indicated by a broken line 151 in FIG. 15.

In this embodiment, only the principle of this data correction method will be described.

The arithmetic circuit 3 includes a high-speed arithmetic processor 301 and a plurality of line memory groups 302 smaller than the frame memory capacity.

FIG. 16 is a diagram explaining the principle of calculation. 152 is a memory area, 33 is a tracking mark area, and 153 is a data area. The memory area 152 has a capacity of n bits, which is larger than the number of one line data of the line sensor, and m lines, which is enough to correct the slope of the line sensor and bit string data.

First, the memory is accessed with O of the memory area as the origin, and the tracking mark L(x,) is obtained.

Extract the positions of the yt) point and the R(XR, yR) point.

Therefore, connect L and R points, and from this sub-scanning pitch P
It can be seen that bit string information exists on line Q shifted by .

On the other hand, the initial point O' of the data of the optical postcard can be easily calculated from the recording pattern size of the optical postcard and the pitch of the line sensor, with X at point L as a reference, and XO in the figure can be easily calculated. Further, the row of data on the Q line can be determined by looking at the data on Tl1Ii and counting the number of patterns that are reversed for each row of the tracking marks 33.

Therefore, by using the above as a calculation standard, the arithmetic processor 301 can determine how many rows and columns of data Da (x yo, y,) on the memory is on the optical postcard.
It can be easily calculated by

Note that the calculated data is sequentially transferred to the refresh memory 402 or 404 shown in FIG. It is sufficient if the capacity covers the amount of time.

The above operations are repeated until the end mark recorded on the optical postcard is detected, and at the end of the end mark, the data transfer to the refresh memory is completed and the sub-scanning drive motor is stopped.

Note that the arithmetic processor 301 may have functions such as detecting and correcting read error codes included in data and demodulating compressed data, as necessary.

Further, the arithmetic circuit 3 may be provided with a circuit for determining the number of reading errors, and if the number of errors is greater than a specified value, a reset request signal may be issued and the operation 1) may be repeated again.

Now, the data normally converted by the arithmetic circuit 3 is transferred to the bus 1.
4 and is transferred to the refresh circuit 4. If the data is an image, it is stored in the refresh memory 402, and if it is audio, it is stored in the refresh memory 404.

401 and 403 are respective input/output control circuits that control address and data input/output of the refresh memories 402 and 404. Then, in the case of an image signal, this circuit outputs an NTSC signal, for example, and in the case of an audio signal, it outputs an audio signal, and the series of operations ends.

In this embodiment, the read signal is outputted by the display device 8 or the speaker 9, but it is also possible to store the bit information in an external storage device by providing a bus interface circuit 13 in the bus 4. .

Furthermore, in this embodiment, characters are used as bit information.

Although image and audio data are used, if this information is used as control data, it is also possible to control external equipment via the bus interface circuit 13.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as explained below,
The effects described below are produced.

In an information reproducing device for a sheet-like recording medium, one of the information
A line sensor that detects 2 to 3 points per bit and a sensor signal processing circuit that includes a means for correcting the sensor output, and a sensor signal processing circuit that detects mismatches due to inclinations between the line sensor and the pitch 1 to column information on the recording medium. an arithmetic circuit that converts the recorded constant pattern information into base 1 (t3) and regular data;
By providing a circuit that stores and refreshes the shipboard data in a memory, a highly accurate information reproducing device can be achieved.

Further, by connecting these circuits, the drive circuit of the drive mechanism, and the operation circuit through the bus of the central processing circuit, a playback device with good operability can be realized.

Furthermore, by providing a bus interface circuit,
Connection with other devices is possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an example of the block configuration of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an example of a sheet-like recording medium, Fig. 3 is an example of recording on the medium shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a cross section of a sensor unit. Figure 5 is an example of the start information pattern, Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between sensor size and output signal, Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between sensor pitch, resolution, and output voltage, and Figure 8 is an illustration of the relationship between sensor pitch, resolution, and output voltage. Output signal explanatory diagram, Figure 9 is an example diagram of the arrangement relationship of recording dots, Figure 1
Figure 0 is an example diagram of the operation sequence of the device of the present invention.
1 is an explanatory diagram of the mechanism of the device of the present invention, FIG. 12 is an illustration of a modification of the sensor movement of FIG. 11, FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the sensor output signal and processed waveform, and FIG. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the memory area and data area, and FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of arithmetic processing. 1...Central processing circuit, 2...Sensor signal processing circuit, 3
...Arithmetic circuit, 4...Refresh circuit, 5...
4! & Structure control circuit, 6... Drive motor, 8... Display device, 9 Speaker, 10... Operation control circuit, 11... Optical postcard, 11... Operation control circuit, 12... Operation panel,
13...Bus number! Nest 4 Sword tea 2nd figure Tea figure beggarsahi 0-+'β [Hizaku] Po 8 (2) Capital 9 Figure 1 Enhoki z Figure 13 Figure sheep I4 Figure a An rod 5 Figure 53 6th trouble

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An information reproducing device that optically reads bit information recorded on at least one surface of a sheet-like medium and reproduces it into character, image, and audio information, A means for converting the bit information into an electrical signal by main scanning and mechanical sub-scanning by a line sensor, and a means for converting the bit information into an electrical signal by main scanning and mechanical sub-scanning by the line sensor, and a means for converting the inclination between the line sensor and the bit information string and meandering by sub-scanning based on the read data of the certain pattern. a circuit that performs a correction operation on a regular bit information string and converts it into character, image, and audio data; a refresh circuit that stores the data in a memory and converts it into character, image, and audio signals, and the circuit group. An information reproducing device characterized by being equipped with a central processing circuit that controls the information via a common bus. 2. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interface circuit connected to a common bus. 3. The information reproducing device according to claim 1, further comprising an image display device and an audio output device. 4. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pitch of the bit information imaged on the line sensor is in a range of 1/2 to 1/3 of the line sensor pitch. 5. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation panel connected to a central processing circuit, and a drive mechanism is operated according to settings on the operation panel, and a marker recorded on a part of the medium is detected, and a predetermined reproduction is performed. An information reproducing device characterized in that a medium is attached to the position. 6. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a circuit for determining the number of reading errors, and generating a reset request signal if there are many errors. 7. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-like medium is the size of a postcard and has bit information recorded thereon by printing. 8. In the information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, the recorded information on the sheet-like medium includes, in addition to character, image, and audio information, a reference point mark in a certain pattern, a mark indicating the start point and end point of the information, and an information identification mark. An information reproducing device characterized by having: 9. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination and meandering amount of the sensor and the medium are calculated from the coordinates of at least two reference markers recorded on the medium, and the data information is corrected to regular coordinates. An information reproducing device.