KR102368482B1 - Multi-mode scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-mode scanner that reads a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, and an NFC tag with one device, and can be operated as a standalone device by being directly connected to an external device by wireless communication, and an optical code reading means ( 20) by spatially separating the components of the NFC tag reading means 30 and minimizing the interference of armatures and magnetic fields according to the use of radio waves, so that it can be operated stably in a smart factory built by wireless connection. and can be universally used in various fields using one-dimensional codes, two-dimensional codes, or NFC tags.

Description

Multimode Scanner {MULTI-MODE SCANNER}

The present invention relates to a multi-mode scanner that reads one-dimensional code, two-dimensional code and NFC tag with one device.

In the production line of semiconductor devices or devices, one-dimensional codes, represented by barcodes, and QR codes, in order to monitor the transport process of raw materials, wafers, and logistics containers, automate them to be put into the process, and maintain the process equipment put into the process. A tag that is classified into a two-dimensional code or an RFID tag as an electronic tag is used.

In addition, one-dimensional code, two-dimensional code, and RFID tags are all used, and tags of the same classification are manufactured and used in different information recording methods for each article, device, or process. That is, a plurality of different types of one-dimensional codes, a plurality of different types of secondary codes, and a plurality of different types of RFID tags may be used.

Recently, an automated factory system is evolving into a smart factory system by introducing an Internet of Things (IoT) device for each step of the process. The smart factory system collects information for each process, collects the collected information from the server, analyzes the collected information to take actions to improve productivity and work efficiency, and identifies and manages the status of parts or process equipment to keep it in its best condition. Accordingly, tags are necessarily used, and in particular, the use of RFID tags is increasing.

However, when all of the scanner for one-dimensional code, the scanner for two-dimensional code, and the scanner for RFID tag are used in a production line, the purchase cost and maintenance cost of the scanner increase as well as productivity.

Accordingly, scanners for reading one-dimensional codes and two-dimensional codes have already been developed and widely used. Recently, a technology related to an integrated scanner capable of reading one-dimensional codes, two-dimensional codes and RFID tags has also been disclosed, and RFID technology Based on this, a technology related to an integrated scanner capable of reading an NFC tag using a 13.56 MHz frequency band together with a one-dimensional code and a two-dimensional code has also been disclosed.

However, such an integrated scanner is equipped with an optical code reading means for reading a one-dimensional code and a two-dimensional code and an NFC tag reading means for reading an NFC tag (or RFID tag) in one device, and the reading direction, that is, the reading target is It was developed with a focus on the structure in which the laying direction is the same.

Accordingly, when operating in a smart factory system that may cause mutual interference between the optical code reading means and the NFC tag reading means, that is, a system connected by wireless communication, there is a fear that the recognition rate may be lowered.

In addition, since most of the conventional scanners are operated as a set with a cradle that communicates data with other devices while serving as a cradle, use is limited.

KR 10-2023046 B1 2019.09.11. KR 10-1342541 B1 2013.12.11.

Therefore, the present invention is connected to an external device through wireless communication and used as a single device, and can be operated internally without interference due to the use of NFC radio waves, so that it can be stably operated even under the environment of a smart factory system, and is a universal It aims to provide a multi-mode scanner that can be used in general.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, in a multi-mode scanner, it has an internal space formed in the front and rear, the front opening is blocked with a floodlight plate 15, and the display 40 and the function button 41 are installed in the rear opening. The case ( 10), and disposed on the rear side of the floodlight plate 15 inside the reading means receiving part 12, the NFC antenna board 31 having an NFC antenna along the edge of the central viewing window 31a ); a scanner 21 disposed on the rear side of the NFC antenna board 31 to obtain an image of the optical code by scanning the optical code through the see-through window 31a; and a first circuit board 22 and a second circuit board 32 respectively fixed to the inner walls opposite to each other at the rear side of the scanner 21 and electrically connected by a connecting line 34 to each other; do.

In addition, the second circuit board 32 is configured to read NFC tag information through the NFC antenna board 31 .

In addition, the first circuit board 22 includes a circuit configuration for reading optical code information through the scanner 21 , a wireless communication module for connecting to the outside, and an NFC tag by the second circuit board 32 . The reading operation can be controlled to receive the reading result, and the operation selected by the function button 41 during the optical code reading operation and the NFC tag reading operation is performed when the scan button 50 is pressed, and the reading result is displayed in the It has a circuit configuration for controlling output to the display 40 as well as sharing with the outside through a wireless communication module.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 configured to pass through the connection line 34 is disposed between the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, between the space in which the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32 are installed and the space in which the scanner 21 is installed, the scanner 21 is connected to the first circuit board. It is partitioned by a conductive wire connected to 22 and an electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 configured to pass through a conductive wire connecting the NFC antenna board 31 to the second circuit board 32 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the case 10, the scanner 21 and the first circuit board 22 are fixed to one of the parts bisected along the center line in the width direction, and the scanner 21 and the first circuit board 22 are fixed to the other part. In a state in which the NFC antenna board 31 and the second circuit board 32 are fixed, the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32 are connected with the connection line 34 and then assembled. do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit configuration of the first circuit board 22 automatically performs an optical code reading operation and an NFC tag reading operation sequentially when the function button 41 is pressed to obtain an optical code and It can automatically read NFC tags placed in the front and automatically power off when not in use or switch to power saving mode.

The present invention configured as described above can read a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, and an NFC tag with one device, and can be used as a standalone device by directly connecting with an external device through wireless communication, and an optical code reading means (20 ) and the components of the NFC tag reading means 30 are spatially separated, so that interference of electric and magnetic fields according to the transmission and reception of NFC radio waves can be suppressed, so that it can be operated stably even under the environment of a smart factory system, , one-dimensional code, two-dimensional code, or can also be used universally in various fields using NFC tags.

According to one embodiment, in the present invention, by additionally installing the electromagnetic wave shielding plates 80 and 81, the interference can be further suppressed and can be operated stably.

According to an embodiment, the present invention can automatically read various types of tags, and has a power saving function to provide convenience in use.

1 is a perspective view of a multimode scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an exploded perspective view of the left part of the case 10 that can be separated into left and right parts.
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the right portion of the case (10).
4 is an electrical circuit block diagram of a multi-mode scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily implement them.

In describing an embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or a known configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to the perspective view shown in FIG. 1 , the multi-mode scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention externally extends forward and backward, and the reading means accommodating part 12, the plate plate means accommodating part ( A case ( 10) and equipped with the shape of a handy scanner (or gun-type scanner).

And, the case 10 can be bisected into left and right parts along the width direction dividing line 14, and is separated into left and right parts as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 .

2 and 3, the handle 11 is provided with a scan button 50 at a position convenient to press with the index finger when gripped by hand, and accommodates the secondary battery 60 therein. , a charging port 70 for charging the secondary battery 60 is provided at the lower end.

The scan button 50, the secondary battery 60, and the charging port 70 mounted on the handle 11 are connected to a first circuit board 22 to be described later by wiring a conductive wire made of an electric wire or a signal wire inside. electrically or signally connected.

Here, the charging port 70 may be configured as a port including a data interface function for outputting an optical code reading result or an NFC reading result by wire, as will be described later.

Looking at the reading means accommodating part 12, it has an internal space with front and rear openings, the front opening 12a is blocked with a floodlight plate 15, and the rear opening 12b has a screen output surface facing the rear. It is blocked by the display 40 facing it, and a plurality of function buttons 41 are mounted under the display 40 so as to be exposed to the rear.

In addition, the optical code reading means 20 and the NFC tag reading means 30 are accommodated in the inner space of the reading means accommodating part 12, and electromagnetic wave shielding plates 80 and 81 for blocking NFC electromagnetic waves are also accommodated. has been

The optical code reading means 20 is a scanner 21 and an image obtained by photographing an optical code image made of a one-dimensional code having a one-dimensional arrangement like a barcode or a two-dimensional code having a two-dimensional arrangement like a QR code with an imaging device. and a first circuit board 22 for recognizing and reading information expressed in codes.

The NFC tag reading means 30 is a second circuit for reading the NFC tag information recorded in the NFC tag by tagging the NFC tag through the NFC antenna board 31 and the NFC antenna board 31 in which the pattern of the NFC antenna is formed. and a substrate 22 .

As described above, since the optical code reading function by the optical code reading means 20 and the NFC tag reading function by the NFC tag reading means 30 are functions that can be implemented by known techniques, a detailed description is omitted, and the The optical code reading means 20 and the NFC tag reading means 30 will be described in detail mainly with a special shape, arrangement, and configuration of additional functions.

The NFC antenna board 31 of the NFC tag reading means 30 penetrates through the center to form a quadrangular frame shape to form a see-through window 31a, and is a board on which an NFC antenna revolving along the edge is formed. It is arranged on the rear side of the plate 15 . Of course, the floodlight plate 15 is made of a material that transmits light and has a high transmittance of NFC electromagnetic waves, and the NFC antenna board 31 faces the front where the floodlight plate 15 is installed in the reading direction of the NFC tag. (that is, the main propagation direction of the radio wave signal). For example, the NFC antenna board 31 may be a board in which the NFC antenna is formed on a front surface and a rear surface is a ground surface.

However, by leaving a gap between the NFC antenna board 31 and the floodlight plate 15, if possible, by narrowing the gap, the external impact applied to the floodlight plate 15 is directly to the NFC antenna board 31. It makes it possible to secure enough NFC recognition distance without affecting it.

In a specific embodiment, the floodlight plate 15 is fixed to the outside of the front opening 12a of the plate plate means accommodating part 12 , and the NFC antenna board 31 is disposed inside the front opening 12a.

The scanner 21 of the optical code reading means 20 is disposed on the rear side of the NFC antenna board 31, the floodlight plate 15 through the see-through window 31a of the NFC antenna board 31 It is arranged so that the optical code can be scanned through the floodlight plate 15 through the see-through.

For example, when obtaining an image by scanning the optical code, the scanner 21 may be configured to detect the illuminance with an illuminance sensor and obtain an image while adjusting the amount of light to be irradiated with the light source according to the illuminance.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the front opening 12a of the reading means accommodating part 12 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the reading means accommodating part 12, but the scanning range of the scanner 21 is secured. Thus, light that can reach outside the scan range is blocked.

The first circuit board 22 of the optical code reading means 20 and the second circuit board 32 of the NFC tag reading means 30 are mounted on the inner wall opposite to each other at the rear side of the scanner 21 . They are fixed to each other, each having connection terminals 23 and 33 and are electrically connected to each other by a connection line 34 composed of an electrical line or a signal line.

According to the specific embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first circuit board 22 of the optical code reading means 20 by utilizing both sides of the width direction among the inner walls of the reading means accommodating part 12 . is fixed to the right wall, connected to the scanner 21 by a conducting wire, the second circuit board 32 of the NFC tag reading means 30 is fixed to the left wall, and the NFC antenna board ( 31) is connected.

Here, the first circuit board 22 is provided with a wireless communication module for wireless communication with the outside using a high frequency band, but is spaced apart from the second circuit board 32 using the NFC frequency band, so that the signal It is possible to suppress mutual interference, and the NFC antenna board 31 is also spaced apart by the installation space of the scanner 21 to receive less signal mutual interference.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, a first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 is disposed between the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32, and the first electromagnetic wave shielding plates facing each other at intervals in the width direction A second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 is disposed between the space in which the circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32 are installed and the space in which the scanner 21 is installed, thereby further suppressing mutual signal interference.

The first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 and the second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 may be made of a known material capable of blocking transmission of electric and magnetic fields, for example, a sheet containing ferrite and a metal plate. It can be configured by laminating, otherwise, it may be composed only of a material that blocks electromagnetic waves, and when a metal plate is used, it is better to apply the metal plate as an insulating material.

According to a specific embodiment, the first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 is configured to form a passage 80a through which the connecting wire 34 passes, and is elongated in the front-rear direction on the inner bottom surface of the reading means accommodating part 12 . It was made to span the protrusions (12b) formed to be connected, so that it was installed in the form of a wall blocking between the first circuit board (22) and the second circuit board (32). At this time, the passage 80a may be formed in the form of a groove by partially cutting the edge side as shown.

In addition, the second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 divides the front and rear spaces by crossing the inner space of the reading means accommodating part 12 in the width direction, but protrudes from the bottom of the inner space to a predetermined height so that it is front and rear from the upper side. communication between the spaces. Accordingly, the wire connecting the scanner 21 to the first circuit board 22 and the wire connecting the NFC antenna board 31 to the second circuit board 32 are the second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 . ) to allow penetration through the top of the However, the first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 and the second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 are not limited to the shapes shown in the drawings, and may be modified to fit the internal structure of the reading means accommodating part 12 .

On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the NFC tag reading means 30, the first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80, and the second electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 is any one of the left and right parts of the reading means accommodating part 12 The optical code reading means 20 is fixedly installed on one part, and the optical code reading means 20 is fixedly installed on the other of the left and right parts of the reading means accommodating part 12, and then the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board (32) is connected to the connecting line (34), and then the left and right parts of the reading means accommodating part (12) are coupled, so that assembly and disassembly and repair are facilitated.

4 is an electrical circuit block diagram of a multi-mode scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the present invention configured as described above is viewed from the front, the scanner 21 is disposed inside the central viewing window 31a of the NFC antenna board 31 configured to revolve around the antenna 31b along the edge, so that the front It is possible to read the placed optical code and NFC tag, the electrical circuit configuration for this can be configured as shown in FIG.

First, the second circuit board 32 has an impedance matching circuit 32a for impedance matching of the antenna 31b for transmitting and receiving radio waves of the NFC frequency band and transmits and receives radio waves through the antenna 31b to the NFC tag. An NFC transceiver 32b for reading the recorded tag information is mounted, and, of course, a power supply circuit is also mounted. As described above, since the component for reading NFC tag information by tagging the NFC tag is a known component, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the present invention, the second circuit board 32 is provided with a connection terminal 33 and a connection wire 34 connected to the connection terminal 33, so that the following microcontroller is mounted on the first circuit board 22 . In 22a, the NFC tag reading operation by the NFC transceiver 32b is controlled, and NFC tag information obtained by the NFC tag reading operation can be received.

The first circuit board 22 includes a microcontroller 22a for controlling an optical code reading operation and an NFC tag reading operation, a wireless communication module 22d for sharing the reading result by wireless communication with the outside, and a secondary battery 60 ) is mounted with a charging/discharging circuit 22e for charging and discharging, and a connection terminal 33 connected to the connection line 34 is also provided. Of course, the wireless communication module 22d may be mounted on a separate board and signally connected to the first circuit board 22 .

The microcontroller 22a includes a control unit 22b and an optical code reading unit 22c as programmatic components.

Here, the optical code reading unit 22c obtains an image of the optical code through the scanner 21 and then analyzes the image to obtain optical code information recorded with the optical code, and may be configured with a known technique, Detailed description will be omitted.

The control unit 22b may receive NFC tag information according to the reading result by controlling the second circuit board 32 connected by the connection line 34 to perform an NFC tag reading operation, and thus, an optical code reading operation and an operation selected by the function button 41 during the NFC tag reading operation may be performed when the scan button 50 is pressed.

In addition, the control unit 22b may output optical code information or NFC tag information obtained according to the reading result to the display 40 or share it with an external device through the wireless communication module 22d.

In addition, as mentioned above, the charging port 70 is configured to have a wired data interface function, and if the charging port 70 is wired instead of the wireless communication module 22d, it can be connected to an external device by wire.

Here, the external device, for example, if the present invention is used in a smart factory, monitors and process management according to the reading results for the overall product production process for assembly and packaging, and process management to record and manage inspection items of devices used in the process It may be a device, and as another example, as another example, if used in a distribution warehouse, it may be a device for managing items from warehousing to shipment, and may be a POS terminal as another example.

In addition, the control unit 22b may also perform an operation for a separate processing according to the read result. For example, in inventory management of a distribution warehouse, after checking and correcting the inventory status of a specified item according to the reading result is performed through the display 40, the input may be notified to an external device, another example As such, information on the read article may be received from an external device and output on the display 40 .

These external devices and processing operations are not limited to the above examples, and may be variously modified according to the purpose for which the present invention is used.

Here, the function button 41 is configured to be used as a button for selecting any one of a one-dimensional optical code, a two-dimensional optical code, and an NFC tag as a type of a reading target, and the control unit 22b is an optical code reading operation and During the NFC tag reading operation, it is possible to cause the reading target to perform a readable operation.

In addition, the control unit 22b may automatically obtain a reading result when the type of reading object is not selected. To this end, the control unit 22b automatically sequentially performs the optical code reading operation and the NFC tag reading operation when the scan button 50 is pressed, so that the reading target placed in front is a one-dimensional optical code, two-dimensional optical Any one of the code and the NFC tag can automatically obtain a reading result by any one operation. Of course, the optical code can be read by analyzing the image to identify the one-dimensional optical code and the two-dimensional optical code.

In addition, the function button 41 can be used as a button for power on/off, and the control unit 22b is not used while a preset time elapses (for example, an operation of pressing a scan button) When there is no function), a function to automatically power off or to automatically switch to a power saving mode can be provided.

On the other hand, the NFC tag reading means 30 is generally short-wave (HF: High Frequency), as well as NFC tags within 10 cm using 13.56 MHz band, low-frequency, ultra-high frequency (UHF: Ultra High Frequency) bands such as It can be configured to recognize all RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tags within 10m or within tens of meters using For example, in order to be able to recognize an RFID tag using 900 MHz, the antenna 31b is configured to use 13.56 MHz and 900 MHz, and the second circuit board 32 has a switching operation among 13.56 MHz and 900 MHz. The tag is read by processing the signal of the selected band.

That is, the NFC tag reading means 30 may be configured to read various types of electronic tags that are activated by radio waves and respond to record information by radio waves.

The wireless communication module 22d is composed of a communication module such as a Bluetooth module, a WiFi module, a Zigbee module, or as an IoT communication module, a LoRa (Long Range) module, an LTE-M module, or an NB-IoT (Narrow Band) module. IoT) module, but is not limited thereto, and may be configured according to the communication method of the system in which the present invention is used.

The charging/discharging circuit 22e charges the secondary battery 60 when receiving power through the charging port 70 , and supplies the power required for the operation of the present invention with the charging power of the secondary battery 60 . It is good to have protection functions such as overcharging prevention, overdischarging prevention, overcurrent prevention, and overheating prevention.

10 : case
11: handle part 12: reading means receiving part 12a: front opening
13: reinforcement part 14: width direction dividing line 15: floodlight plate
20: optical code reading means
21: scanner 22: first circuit board 22a: microprocessor
22b: control unit 22c: optical code reading unit
22d: wireless communication module 22e: charging/discharging circuit 23: connection terminal
30: NFC tag reading means
31: NFC antenna board 31a: see-through window 31b: antenna
32: second circuit board 32a: impedance matching circuit
32b: NFC transceiver 33: connection terminal 34: connection line
40: display 41: function button
50: scan button
60: secondary battery
70: charging port
80: first electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81: second electromagnetic wave shielding plate

Claims (5)

A reading means accommodating part 12 having an internal space formed long in front and back, blocking the front opening with a floodlight plate 15 and installing a display 40 and a function button 41 in the rear opening, and a reading means accommodating part 12 Constructs the case 10 with the handle 11 connected to the lower rear end of the scan button 50, the secondary battery 60 and the charging port 70 installed,
Inside the reading means accommodating part 12,
an NFC antenna board 31 disposed on the rear side of the floodlight plate 15 and provided with an NFC antenna along the edge of the central viewing window 31a;
a scanner 21 disposed on the rear side of the NFC antenna board 31 to obtain an image of the optical code by scanning the optical code through the see-through window 31a; and
a first circuit board 22 and a second circuit board 32 respectively fixed to the inner walls opposite to each other at the rear side of the scanner 21 and electrically connected by a connecting line 34;
accept, but
The second circuit board 32 is configured to read NFC tag information through the NFC antenna board 31,
The first circuit board 22 includes a circuit configuration for reading optical code information through the scanner 21 , a wireless communication module for connecting to the outside, and an NFC tag reading operation by the second circuit board 32 . can be controlled to take over the reading result, perform the operation selected by the function button 41 during the optical code reading operation and the NFC tag reading operation when the scan button 50 is pressed, and display the reading result on the display ( 40), as well as having a circuit configuration that controls to be shared with the outside through a wireless communication module,
Between the space in which the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32 are installed and the space in which the scanner 21 is installed, a conducting wire connecting the scanner 21 to the first circuit board 22; The NFC antenna board 31 is partitioned by an electromagnetic wave shielding plate 81 configured to pass through a wire connecting the second circuit board 32,
Between the first circuit board 22 and the second circuit board 32, an electromagnetic wave shielding plate 80 configured to pass through the connection line 34 is disposed,
The control circuit configuration of the first circuit board 22 automatically performs the optical code reading operation and the NFC tag reading operation sequentially when the function button 41 is pressed, so that the optical code and the NFC tag disposed in the front automatically can be read, automatically powered off when not in use, or switched to power saving mode.
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