CN1325084A - barcode scanning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a hand-held bar code scanning device, which comprises a strip-shaped shell, wherein the front end of the shell comprises an opening for light beams to pass through, a single circuit board is arranged in the shell, an LED light source, a light guide device, a light sensor and a demodulation circuit are arranged on the circuit board. The light guide device is arranged between the LED light source and the opening of the shell, and light beams from the LED light source are reflected by the article bar code at the opening of the shell after passing through the light guide device and are detected by the light sensor. Then, the demodulation circuit demodulates the signal generated by the light sensor into a corresponding bar code signal.

Description

barcode scanning device

The invention relates to a hand-held barcode scanning device, in particular to a barcode scanning device in which a light source and an optical sensor are all arranged on a single circuit board.

Barcode scanning devices are now commonly used in supermarkets or stores to efficiently process commodities whose item numbers or prices are coded with barcodes. The operating principle of the relevant barcode scanning device can be seen in many previous technologies, such as Taiwan Patent Publication No. 179959, or US Patent No. 5,932,860. However, the internal design of these prior art barcode scanning devices is relatively complex.

Refer to Figure 1. FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a known pen-shaped barcode scanning device 10 . The conventional barcode scanning device 10 includes a housing 12 and a circuit board 14 disposed in the housing 12 , the circuit board includes a light sensor 28 and a control circuit (not shown). The casing 12 further includes a pupil 16 , a lens 18 , a light source 22 , and a positioning component 20 . The barcode scanning device 10 further includes a scanning head 24 with a reading lens 26 disposed at its tip.

A positioning component 20 has two main functions, one is to protect the optical components inside the barcode scanning device 10 from light interference from other light sources, and the other is to properly fix the optical components inside the barcode scanning device 10 . The light source 22 includes four small LEDs disposed close to the scanning head 24 , and the light emitted by the four LEDs is focused on the barcode to be scanned (not shown) by the scanning lens 26 . The light reflected from the barcode is transmitted to the light sensor 28 through the lens 18 and the light limiter 16 . The light limiter 16 can be used to limit the size of the light beam incident on the light sensor 28 . Finally, the control circuit on the circuit board 14 converts the signal from the light sensor into a corresponding barcode signal.

Although the design of the barcode scanning device 10 seems very straightforward, the process of its output is very complicated when actually manufacturing these devices, thus making its price high, especially because the four LED light sources 22 must be installed near the scanning The volume of the reading head 24 and the reading lens 26 must be very small, so its specifications are special and the price is also high. At the same time, since the four LED light sources 22 are close to the front end to scan the reading head 24, its power supply must be provided by the rear end. The circuit board 14 is additionally connected with a power cord 21 for supply, and the power cord 21 must also be welded during assembly. In addition, the lenses 18 and 26 must be manually assembled due to their small size, which further complicates the assembly process.

Therefore, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a barcode scanning device with simplified internal components so as to save complicated assembly process, thereby providing a cheaper barcode scanning device to solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the stated purpose, the present invention provides a hand-held barcode scanning device, which is used to scan a barcode on an article in a hand-held manner to generate a barcode signal. The scanning device includes: a long strip suitable for holding Shaped housing, which includes an opening for light beams to pass through; a single circuit board, arranged in the housing, the circuit board includes: a light source, used to emit a uniform beam to travel along a horizontal direction; a light A sensor is used to receive a modulated light beam and convert it into a corresponding modulated signal; a demodulation circuit is used to receive the modulated signal from the light sensor and demodulate it into a corresponding barcode signal; and a The light guiding device is arranged at the opening of the housing and includes a first reflective surface; wherein the light guiding device guides the light beam from the light source to pass through the opening of the housing through reflection from the first reflecting surface, After the light beam is modulated by the barcode on the item to be scanned, it will be reflected from the opening back to the light guide device, and the light guide device will guide the modulated light beam to the light sensor for conversion into a corresponding The signal is modulated and subsequently demodulated into a corresponding barcode signal.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a known pen-shaped barcode scanning device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a barcode scanning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the light traveling path of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2 .

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a barcode scanning device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a barcode scanning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the light traveling path of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 5 .

Fig. 7 is a side view of the light traveling path of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 6 .

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a barcode scanning device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a barcode scanning device 30 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of the light traveling path 35 of the barcode scanning device 30 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 . The barcode scanning device 30 includes a housing 31 with an opening 32 at its front end. The housing 31 is designed to be elongated and suitable for hand holding, so that the user can hold it, and the opening 32 is designed to allow the scanning beam Permeate and return to the housing 31 again.

In the housing 31 , the barcode scanning device 30 also includes a single circuit board 33 , a pupil 38 , and a light guide 40 . The circuit board 33 includes a light source 34, a light sensor 36, and a demodulation circuit (not shown). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the light source 34 is a single LED light source, and it can be an LED light source with non-specific specifications that can be generally purchased in the market, and is used to emit a uniform light beam to scan the barcode 27. A light sensor 36 can be used to The light beam modulated by the barcode 27 is received and converted into a corresponding modulated signal, and a demodulation circuit is used to receive the modulated signal from the light sensor 36 to be demodulated into a corresponding barcode signal.

The light limiter 38 is arranged at the front end of the light sensor 36, and its function is somewhat similar to the pupil of the human body, which is used to limit the range of the light beam incident on the light sensor 36. In this way, the light limiter 38 can make the light sensor 36 only The light beam from a predetermined direction is received, that is, the light beam incident from the barcode 27 , so that the light sensor 36 may be interfered by light noise from other directions.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the light guide device 40 is integrally made by plastic injection molding, and guides the light beam from the light source 34 to the barcode 27 on the item to be scanned. After being modulated by the barcode 27, the modulation The modulated light beam will be reflected back to the light guiding device through the opening 32 , and the light guiding device 40 will continue to guide the modulated light beam to the light sensor 36 . The light guiding device 40 is disposed at the opening 32 of the casing 31 and includes a first condenser lens 42 , a first reflective surface 44 and a fixed mirror base 46 , all of which are integrally made by plastic injection molding. As shown in the light travel path 35 in FIG. 3 , the light beam from the light source 34 is first concentrated by the first condenser lens 42 in order to enhance the light without diverging, and then reflected to the barcode 27 at the opening 32 through the first reflective surface 44 . The barcode scanning device 30 further includes a second condenser lens 39 , and the fixed mirror base 46 cooperates with the inner surface of the casing 31 to support and fix the second condenser lens 39 . The light beam modulated by the barcode 27 is collected by the second condenser lens 39 and incident on the light sensor 36 . Since the second condensing lens 39 must be able to gather the modulated light beam from the barcode 27, its optical precision requirements are relatively high, so the second condensing lens 39 is independent of the light guide device 40, rather than an image. A first condenser lens 42 is integrally formed with other components of the light guiding device 40 . However, because of the fixed mirror base 46 , the second condenser lens 39 can be installed in the correct position of the barcode scanning device 30 through the fixed mirror base 46 quite simply and conveniently.

Refer to Figures 4 to 7. 4 to 7 show a barcode scanning device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a barcode scanning device 50 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a barcode scanning device 50 . FIG. 6 is a top view of the light travel path of the barcode scanning device 50 . FIG. 7 is a side view of the light traveling path of the barcode scanning device 50 . The main components of the barcode scanning device 50 are very similar to the barcode scanning device 30, the difference is that the opening is arranged at the bottom of the elongated housing instead of the front end, so that the light travel path and the light guide Partial design changes will be made in the pilot device.

The barcode scanning device 50 includes a housing 51 and its bottom opening 52. The housing 31 is designed to be elongated and suitable for hand holding, so that the user can hold it, while the opening 32 is designed to allow the scanning beam to pass through. And return to the casing 31 again. In the casing 51 , the barcode scanning device 50 also includes a single circuit board 53 , a light limiter 58 , and a light guide device 60 . The circuit board 53 includes a light source 54, a light sensor 56, and a demodulation circuit (not shown). And its function is substantially the same as that introduced in the first embodiment.

The light guiding device 60 includes a first condenser lens 62, a first reflective surface 64, a second reflective surface 65, a third reflective surface 67 and a fixed mirror base 66, all of which are made of plastic injection molding. become. The position of the second reflective surface 65 is just below the first reflective surface 64 . As described in the first embodiment, the function of the first condenser lens 62 is to gather the light beam from the light source 54 to enhance the light for scanning the barcode 27 on the article.

As shown in the light traveling path 55 of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the light beam from the light source 54 advances along the horizontal direction 25 first, and then is reflected on the vertical direction 23 perpendicular to the horizontal direction 25 through the first reflective surface 64 until the first The second reflective surface 65 obliquely reflects the light beam to the bottom opening 52 of the casing 51 for scanning the barcode on the item. The light beam modulated by the barcode is incident upwards to the third reflective surface 67 along the vertical direction 23, and the third reflective surface 67 will reflect the modulated light beam to the horizontal direction 25 to be incident on the barcode scanning device 50. Rear light sensor 56.

As described in the first embodiment, the second embodiment also includes a second condensing lens 59 to condense the incident light beam along the horizontal direction 25 to the photosensor 56, and the fixed mirror base 66 cooperates with the inner surface of the housing 51 To support and fix the second condenser lens 59 , which can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 , it can be seen from the figures that the light guiding device 60 is specially designed to be easily installed in the casing 51 . For example, the housing 51 also has structures 68 and 71 to cooperate with corresponding elements on the light guide 60 . The structure body 68 can also be used to help support and fix the second reflective surface 65 , and the structure body 71 is used to fit into the positioning bar hole 70 on the light guide device 60 .

Refer to Figure 8. FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a barcode scanning device 70 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The barcode scanning device 70 includes an upper casing 72 and a lower casing 74, and an opening 78 is provided at the front end thereof. The upper casing 72 and the lower casing 74 are designed to be elongated and suitable for hand holding, so that users can hold them , and the opening 78 is designed to allow the scanning beam to pass through and return to the upper casing 72 and the lower casing 74 again. A single circuit board 76 is accommodated in the upper and lower casings 72, 74, and includes an LED light source 84, a light sensor 86, and a demodulation circuit (not shown). The barcode scanning device 70 further includes a first condensing lens 83 , a second condensing lens 88 , a light limiter 82 and a fixing device 80 similar to those in the previous embodiments for fixing the aforementioned components. The first condenser lens 83 is arranged in front of the light source 84, and is used to condense the light from the light source 84 onto the barcode on the item to be scanned. After the light beam is modulated by the barcode, it will be incident from the guide channel 90 of the fixing device 80 to the second condenser lens 88 , and then to the light sensor 86 via the light limiter 82 . In this embodiment, since the LED light source 84 is disposed at the opening 78 of the lower housing 74 , the light guiding devices 40 and 60 of the previous two embodiments can be omitted.

Although the present invention only provides the above-mentioned different light travel paths, those skilled in the art can derive many variations therefrom, and the present invention is not limited to the light travel paths of the three disclosed embodiments.

Compared with the known technology, the present invention discloses a barcode scanning device that simplifies the component assembly work to save assembly cost and manpower. Since the light source and the light sensor are all fixed on a single circuit board, there is no need to An extra power cord is used to provide the power required by the light source, which can save manpower to weld the power cord during assembly. In addition, because the barcode scanning device of the present invention redesigns the internal optical path of the scanning light, it can replace four small and special LED light sources in the prior art with a single, common LED light source. The light guide device of the barcode scanning device of the present invention also integrates the first condenser lens, each reflective surface and the fixed mirror base by plastic injection molding, and the fixed mirror base can help to easily install the second condenser lens. The lens can effectively simplify the component assembly work.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the claims of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (19)

1. hand held bar code scanner is used for scanning bar code on the article to produce a barcode signal in the mode of holding, and this scanister includes:

The one strip housing that is fit to hold, it includes an opening and passes through for light beam;

One single circuit board is arranged in this housing, and this circuit board includes:

One light source is used for sending a uniform beam, to advance along a horizontal direction;

One optical sensor is used for receiving the light beam once crossing modulation, and is converted to corresponding modulating signal;

One demodulator circuit is to receive the modulating signal from this optical sensor, to be demodulated into corresponding barcode signal; And

One photoconduction leading-in device is arranged at the opening part of this housing, and includes one first reflecting surface;

Wherein this light directing arrangement can guide the opening that passes through this housing from the light beam of this light source via the reflection of this first reflecting surface, behind the modulation of this light beam via bar code on the article to be scanned, can be by this this light directing arrangement of opening reflected back, and this photoconduction leading-in device can guide to the light beam of this process modulation this optical sensor, so that be converted to corresponding modulating signal, and subsequent demodulation is corresponding barcode signal.

2. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this bar code scanner comprises the place ahead that one first collector lens is arranged at this light source, is used for the light beam from this light source is focused to this first reflecting surface.

3. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 2, wherein this first collector lens is the part for this photoconduction leading-in device.

4. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 3, wherein this photoconduction leading-in device is to be made into integration by plastic cement injection moulding.

5. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this bar code scanner also comprises one second collector lens and is arranged between this photoconduction leading-in device and this optical sensor, be used for from the beam condenser of this photoconduction leading-in device to this optical sensor.

6. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 5, wherein this photoconduction leading-in device is to be made into integration by plastic cement injection moulding, and also comprise one fixedly microscope base to be used for placing and fixing this second collector lens.

7. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this bar code scanner also comprises the front end that an occluder is arranged at this optical sensor, is used for limiting the range size of the light beam that is incident in this optical sensor.

8. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 7, wherein this occluder also makes the light beam beginning of a certain predetermined direction incident be received by this optical sensor, to reduce the noise that this optical sensor is received.

9. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this light source is to be a light emitting diode.

10. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this opening is the front end that is arranged at this long strip type housing.

11. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 1, wherein this opening is the bottom that is arranged at this long strip type housing, and this photoconduction leading-in device also includes one second reflecting surface and one the 3rd reflecting surface, this first reflecting surface is that the beam reflection of will advance along this horizontal direction is to a vertical direction vertical with this horizontal direction, this second reflecting surface then can reflex to this light beam the bottom end opening of this housing obliquely, and behind the modulation via this bar code, be incident to the 3rd reflecting surface along this vertical direction, the 3rd reflecting surface then can will be somebody's turn to do the beam reflection of process modulation to this horizontal direction, to be incident to this optical sensor.

12. a hand held bar code scanner is used for scanning bar code on the article to produce a barcode signal in the mode of holding, this scanister includes:

The one strip housing that is fit to hold, it includes an opening and passes through for light beam;

One single circuit board is arranged in this housing, and this circuit board includes:

One light source is arranged at the opening part of this housing, is used for sending a uniform beam, to scan the bar code on these article;

One optical sensor is used for receiving the light beam once crossing modulation, and is converted to corresponding modulating signal; And

One demodulator circuit is to receive the modulating signal from this optical sensor, to be demodulated into corresponding barcode signal;

Wherein via the light beam behind this bar code modulation, meeting is by this this optical sensor of opening reflected back, so that be converted to corresponding modulating signal, and subsequent demodulation is corresponding barcode signal.

13. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 12, wherein this bar code scanner comprises the place ahead that one first collector lens is arranged at this light source, is used for the light beam from this light source is focused to bar code on these article to be scanned.

14. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 12, wherein this bar code scanner also comprises one second collector lens and is arranged at before this optical sensor, is used for reflection from the modulation beam condenser of this bar code to this optical sensor.

15. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 14, wherein this bar code scanner also comprises an occluder and is arranged between this second collector lens and this optical sensor, is used for limiting the range size of the light beam that is incident in this optical sensor.

16. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 15, wherein this occluder also makes the light beam beginning of a certain predetermined direction incident be received by this optical sensor, to reduce the noise that this optical sensor is received.

17. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 14, wherein also comprise one fixedly microscope base to be used for placing and fixing this second collector lens.

18. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 12, wherein this light source is to be a light emitting diode.

19. bar code scanner as claimed in claim 12, wherein this opening is the front end that is arranged at this long strip type housing.

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