Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Other

Junichi Ouchi

Kazuo Hasegawa

Hiroaki Sasaki

Koji Nakase

Akihiro Makino

Akihisa Inoue

Takashi Hatanai

Makoto Sasaki

Tsuyoshi Masumoto

Hisashi Murata

Tsutomu Kanno

Ikuo Ouchi

Satoshi Ushida

Teruo Bitoh

Yutaka Naitoh

Shinichi Sasaqawa

Takanori Miura

Kazuo Hasagawa

A magneto-impedance element comprises an alloy composed of at least one of Fe, Co and Ni. The alloy has a mixed texture of an amorphous phase and a fine crystalline phase having an average crystal grain size of 50 nm or less. The magneto-impedance element shows a change in impedance in response to an external magnetic field by applying an alternating current. The magneto-impedance element is applied to an azimuth sensor, an autocanceler, or a magnetic head.

Magneto-impedance element, and azimuth sensor, autocanceler and magnetic head using the same

A charging apparatus suitable for use with a wireless device, which is capable of eliminating the occurrence of an electric shock and an electrical short due to an operator's contact with charging terminals of the wireless device upon non-charging of the wireless device. The charging apparatus comprises a charger including a wireless device placement portion, a pair of charging terminals exposed to the wireless device placement portion, a charging circuit portion for supplying power for charging the wireless device to the charging terminals, and a built-in magnet; and the wireless device including a secondary battery, a pair of power receiving terminals respectively provided at positions where they are brought into contact with the charging terminals when the wireless device is placed in the wireless device placement portion, and a magnetic switch. When the wireless device is placed in the wireless device placement portion and the magnetic switch detects magnetism of the magnet, the secondary battery is electrically connected to the pair of power receiving terminals so as to charge the secondary battery.

Charging apparatus for wireless device with magnetic lead switch

An optical reading system including a warning sound for preventing theft of a portable optical reading apparatus (scanner). A timer is activated when movement of the scanner is detected by a movement detection device mounted on the scanner, indicating that the scanner has been lifted (moved) from a stationary condition. A user determination unit determines whether the movement of the scanner is caused by an authorized user. When the user is an authorized person, a timer is reset. When the timer is not reset during a predetermined time period, a warning sound is generated at a sound level which changes from a low sound level to a loud sound level over a period of time unless a predetermined operation is performed. In one embodiment, a second warning sound is generated at a stationary receiving station when the scanner does not respond to a polling signal.

Optical reading system

An optical reading apparatus including an LED array for projecting light onto bar codes formed on a paper surface, a line sensor for receiving reflected light from the bar codes, a bar code reading unit for processing bar code reading signals obtained by the line sensor and for obtaining decoded signals of the bar codes, and a drive control unit for driving the LED array and the line sensor, wherein the LED array is divided into a plurality of sets, and a paper detecting unit detects whether a paper surface is present or not based on a bar code reading signal and supplies a paper surface detection signal to a drive control unit when the paper surface is detected, and the drive control unit drives the plurality of LED sets to emit light in sequence when a paper surface is not detected, and to emit light simultaneously when a paper surface detection signal is generated by the paper detecting unit.

Optical reading apparatus

After serial signals output from a CCD sensor are amplified, a peak value of white levels corresponding to the space portions of bar codes is held by a peak hold circuit, and then the held peak value is converted into a digital value by an analog-to-digital conversion circuit. The value obtained by multiplying accumulation time data from the CCD sensor by the target value of the white level peak value is divided by the digital value. The next accumulation time of the CCD sensor is set on the basis of the result of this division. In this way, the sensitivity of the scanner is adjusted.

Sensitivity adjustment circuit for bar code scanner and method therefor

A circuit for adjusting the sensitivity of an optical character reader in which light is applied to an information-recorded material by an LED array and the information is read by a line sensor. The optical character reader is switched to a sensitivity adjusting mode. It reads a reference material having uniform reflectivity on the surface. The read signal is A/D converted and the microcomputer 10 detects a discrepancy between the amounts of light depending on the different portions of the line sensor. Based upon the detection, the microcomputer sets the applying time of driving currents to the respective LEDs so that the light is uniformly applied to the reference material. The set value is stored in a memory. Thereafter, since the amounts of light from the LEDs of the LED array are adjusted according to the set value, the amount of the reflected light to the line sensor 5 can be uniform. Thus, a series analog voltage accurately responding to the darkness and brightness of the information can be obtained.

Circuit for adjusting sensitivity of optical character reader and method

The present invention provides an automatically identifying decode apparatus comprising a decoder unit 1 and a counter 2, wherein:

Automatically identifying decode apparatus

An automatic discriminating and decoding apparatus wherein digital data of a plurality of different systems can be decoded rapidly in a similar period of time. The automatic discriminating and decoding apparatus comprises a plurality of decoders connected commonly to successively receive a set of input digital data and individually capable of decoding digital data of mutually different systems. A plurality of decode memories are individually connected to the decoders for storing decoded data therein, and when the input digital data to the decoders are all decoded by one of the decoders, decoded data are read out from one of the decode memories corresponding to the one decoder and are outputted as an output of the automatic discriminating and decoding apparatus.

Automatic discriminating and decoding apparatus

A code reading device, which converts a bar code displayed on a medium into electric signals by means of a photo-electric converter and outputs them after having decoded them into data, which can be dealt with by an information processing device, wherein there are disposed two memories for storing data decoded, respectively, at the present time and data decoded at the last time and a comparator for comparing the data stored in these memories, and decoded data are transmitted to the information processing device, only when the two data differ from each other so that the amount of outputted data is reduced.

Self-scanning code reading device

In a code reading device, which receives reflected light obtained by scanning a code represented on a recording medium with a laser light beam and decodes it to obtain the code, the reading probability is improved by varying the focusing position for every scanning period with the laser light beam.

Optical code reading device with autofocussing

A bar code reading apparatus for detecting the space between characters (the character space) by counting the number, which is a fixed number in the bar code, of edges, or transition points, of the bars and spaces for each character code, and either inhibits the count value by its bar/space width counter for the space beyond the fixed number of bars/spaces for one character (i.e., the count value for the character space) from being supplied to its decoder portion, or supplies the decoder portion with a specific code which the decoder will neglect in decoding, whereby the character space is prevented from adversely affecting the bar code reading.

Bar code reading and decoding apparatus

There is disclosed a bar code reading device that can highly accurately read bar codes. Threshold values are established for correct identification of bar codes without being affected by blots on and unevenness of the bar code carrying surface and unstable maneuvering operations of the bar code reading device.

Code reading device

A bit image converter for composing a decoder for converting the value of counting clocks loaded in response to the width of bars or spaces for composing a bar code into character information of a code reader is composed of a module number calculator for calculating the magnification of the basic module from the number of the modules for composing one code unit (one character), a module number total comparator for comparing the total sum of the number of the calculated modules with a specified number n of the modules, a module number corrector for correcting, if the number of the calculated modules is less than the specified number n (n-1), it to the specified number n, and a bit image output unit. Thus, the code reader is adapted for a multilevel bar code system so composed that a result becomes correct information by correcting, if the number of modules for composing one character is less than a specified number n, it.

Code reader

In an optical coordinate input apparatus, an insect or mud may disturb optical coordinate input operation for a main computer. To avoid such a problem, light emitting element arrays and light receiving element arrays are arranged opposite to each other, a pair of these light emitting element and light receiving element are sequentially driven by a multiplexer, and a coordinate signal is output by a signal detecting device when an optical signal derived from the driven light emitting element cannot be received by the light receiving element positioned opposite to this driven light emitting element. Furthermore, a memory unit is employed to store the coordinate signal. A comparison is made by a coordinate signal comparing device whether or not the previous coordinate signal stored in this memory unit is equal to a coordinate signal newly output from the signal detecting device, and when the equal coordinate signals are continuously detected by the coordinate signal comparing device at a predetermined number, an error signal is output from an error output device.

Optical coordinate input apparatus

A photoelectric touch panel comprising arrays of equally spaced light emitting elements and photosensitive elements disposed in a frame configuration on the circumference of a CRT display screen in which a matrix of infrared beams is formed in front of the screen. The photoelectric touch panel has a light shielding plate formed into a comblike shape disposed such that each comb tooth thereof is interposed between said photosensitive elements.

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Furukawa, Japan

Junichi Ouchi