JPH03226887A - Portable code reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently sell goods at customer's place at a high speed by storing at least a processing main body in a case which can be attached to a human body. CONSTITUTION:With respect to a bar code reader 1, a processing part main body A consisting of an illuminating means 11 which illuminates a code read face, a light receiving means 12 which receives the light reflected from the code read face, and a discriminating means 13 which discriminates a code, a memory 14, and a battery 15 are stored in a case 2 set to an arm part 10 by a belt 3. Since at least the processing part main body A is stored in the case 2 which can be attached to the human body in this manner, a user is prevented from having his hands full of an enclosure by a conventional handy device, and he takes goods with his one hand and brings them to the vicinity of the case 2 to read the code stuck to goods and receives the price with his other free hand. Thus, the user efficiently sells goods at a high speed when selling goods at customer's places in a train.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention is a portable symbol reader that detects light reflected from symbols such as letters and codes displayed on the surface of an object and reads the contents of the symbols. Regarding equipment.

<Prior art> In recent years, symbol reading devices such as optical character readers (OCR) and barcode readers (BCR) have been used to read characters and barcodes attached to products, packaging, etc., and instantly identify the contents. The equipment is used, which allows for sales,
Systems for managing inventory, etc. are widely used.

The above-mentioned symbol reading device includes a processing unit main body comprising an illumination means for illuminating the symbol reading surface, a light receiving means for receiving reflected light from the symbol reading surface, and an identification means for identifying the symbol based on the signal from the light receiving means. Handy type products are available that are housed inside a case that can be held in the hand, and these types of handy type products can be sold not only at stores, but also for on-site sales by moving wagons on trains such as the Shinkansen. It is also used for on-site sales of products by vendors at competition facilities such as baseball stadiums.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, when the above-mentioned hand-held symbol reading device is used for on-site sales, it has the drawback of poor workability.

In other words, in the case of on-site sales on a train, the customer first takes out the product specified by the customer from the wagon and holds it in one hand.
In this state, hold the case with your other hand and read the symbol, then remove the case from your other hand and place it in the specified position.
After that, you will receive the payment with the other hand and hand over the product with the other hand, but until you place the case in the other hand, both hands are full and you cannot accept the payment. Unable to accept orders, customers were forced to wait during this time, which was inefficient.

This invention was made in view of the above problems, and
The purpose is to provide a portable symbol reading device that allows on-site sales to be carried out quickly and efficiently.

Means for Solving the Problems> To achieve the above object, a symbol reading device according to the present invention includes an illumination section that illuminates a symbol reading surface, a light receiving section that receives reflected light from the symbol reading surface, and a light receiving section. In a portable symbol reading device, the portable symbol reading device is equipped with a processing section main body consisting of an identification section that reads symbols based on signals from the processing section, a memory that stores the reading results, and a battery that supplies power to the processing section main body and the memory. The main body is housed in a case that can be attached to the human body.

Further, it is preferable that the case is attached to the human body by a band that can be freely wrapped around the arm.

<Operation> According to the symbol reading device having the above configuration, at least the main body of the processing unit is housed in a case that can be attached to the human body. There is no need to put it away.

Therefore, you can hold the product with one hand and bring it near the case, read the symbol on the product, and then take the payment with your other open hand, allowing you to sell quickly and efficiently. I can do it.

If the case is attached to the human body by a band that can be freely wrapped around the arm, the case can be easily attached to the arm, and the case can be moved to a desired location by moving the arm, and the case can be moved to the desired location by moving the arm. Since the relative relationship between the arm and the product held in the hand can be adjusted, the workability during reading is good.

(Example> Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows the use of a barcode reader as a portable symbol reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Inside the case 2 attached to the arm 10 by the belt 3,
It houses a processing unit main body A consisting of an illumination means 11 for illuminating the symbol reading surface, a light receiving means 12 for receiving reflected light from the symbol reading surface, and an identification means 13 for identifying the symbol, a memory 4, and a battery 15. There is.

In FIG. 1, 4 is a wagon for transporting goods used for on-site sales on Shinkansen trains.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, has an opening 2a on one side, and has a part of the Peru 3 attached to the top surface.

The belt 3 has a loop shape, is made of a stretchable material, and can be easily placed over the arm 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, the illumination means 11 is a laser oscillation device 1 that outputs a semiconductor laser or a helium-neon laser.
1a, and a rotating reflecting mirror 11b that scans the output light of the laser oscillation device 11a. The reflecting mirror 11b is driven by a motor (not shown). Laser oscillation device 11a
The laser beam irradiated from the rotating reflecting mirror 11b
The reflected light from the reflecting mirror 11b scans the barcode surface in response to the rotational movement of the reflecting mirror 11b.

The light receiving means 12 includes a condensing lens 1 that condenses light emitted from the opening 2a and reflected by hitting the barcode surface.
2a, and a light-receiving element 12b such as a photodiode that receives reflected light focused through a condenser lens 12a.

The identification means 13 includes a binarization circuit 13a that shapes the waveform of the output signal of the light receiving element 12b and binarizes it, obtains a signal corresponding to the shape of the barcode based on this binarized signal, and converts the barcode based on this signal. It consists of a decoder 13b that reads the contents of the code.

The memory 14 stores the reading results, and after the sale ends, the memory 14 is connected to a personal computer or the like to compile the sales results.

The battery 15 is a battery that supplies power to the processing unit main body A and the memory 14 .

According to this embodiment, at least the processing unit main body A is housed in the case 2 that can be attached to the human body with the belt 3, so that the hands are not obstructed by the case as in the conventional handheld type. There is no. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, after holding the product with one hand and bringing it near the case, and reading the symbol attached to the product 20, as shown in FIG. While handing over the product 20, the user can receive and receive the price 30 with the other open hand R, allowing for speedy and efficient sales.

In particular, since the case 2 is attached to the arm 10, the movement of this arm allows the case 2 to be moved to a desired location and the relative relationship with the product held in the other arm can be adjusted. Good workability when reading.

Furthermore, in sales where products must be sold within a limited time, such as on-site sales on trains, the above-mentioned efficiency improvement can be expected to significantly increase sales.

Note that the symbol reading device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, as shown in FIG. It can be housed in a chair 40 and hung from the waist, and in this case, the weight of the case 2 can be reduced. In FIG. 6, 41 is a connection cord.

Moreover, a bendable retaining ring can be used instead of the belt.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, a keyboard 2c and a liquid crystal display 2d can be provided on the surface of the case 2. In this case, manual labor is required for products that do not have symbols printed on them or products that cannot be read due to dirt on the symbol reading surface.
This can be done with the keyboard 2C mentioned above.

In addition, a group of LEDs arranged in a negative dimension may be used as the illumination means, a condenser lens and a group of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in one dimension may be used as the light receiving means, and the case 2 may be attached to a part other than the arm. Various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the invention, such as applying the invention to reading characters and other symbols other than barcodes.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the symbol reading device according to the present invention,
At least the main body of the processing unit is housed in a case that can be attached to the human body, so unlike conventional handheld types, your hands are not obstructed by the housing, and you can therefore hold the product with one hand. After holding the product near the case and reading the symbol attached to the product, the product can be used to receive and receive payment with the other open hand, which has the unique effect of allowing for speedy and efficient sales.

When the case is attached to the human body by a belt that can be freely wrapped around the arm, the case can be easily attached to the arm, and the case can be moved to a desired location by moving the arm, and the case can be attached to the human body by moving the arm. Since the relative relationship with the product held in the user's hand can be adjusted, the workability during reading is good.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a portable symbol reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention in use, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of its case and belt, Fig. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the case, Fig. 4 5 is a perspective view showing work at the time of product sales, FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing still another embodiment. 0 2... Case, 3... Belt, A... Processing section main body, 11... Lighting means, 12...
Light receiving means, 13...Identification means, 14...Memory, 1
5...Battery.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A processing unit main body comprising illumination means for illuminating the symbol reading surface, light receiving means for receiving reflected light from the symbol reading surface, and identification means for reading the symbol based on a signal from the light receiving means; , in a portable symbol reading device comprising a memory for storing reading results, and a battery for supplying power to the processing unit main body and the memory, at least the processing unit main body is housed in a case that can be attached to the human body; A portable symbol reading device featuring: 2. The portable symbol reading device according to claim 1, wherein the case is attached to the human body by a band that can be freely wrapped around the arm.