Man Design Co., Ltd.

Nitto Kohki Co., Ltd.

Misao Shimizu

Giichiro Shimizu

Toshiharu Okuyama

Yoshio Wakatsuki

Yoshio Wakatuski

Data transfer system

A meter at each user's house has a bar-coded user number shown thereon, and has a display section for displaying a reading. A data input terminal unit has a bar code reader for reading the user number and a keyboard for manually inputting a present reading. A data recording controller has a meter reading data file having a present reading for each user number. The data input terminal unit radio-transmits a read user number to the data recording controller and radio-receives a previous reading, corresponding to the user number, from said data recording controller. The data input terminal unit computes the amount used from this previous reading and the present reading manually input, and causes a printer to print meter reading data including this used amount on a reading slip while radio-transmitting it to the data recording controller.

Meter reading system

A casing of a portable data input/transmission apparatus has an end portion, the size of which is determined such that the end portion can be held by one hand. A pen-scanner type bar code reader for reading a bar code is attached to one end of the casing in the longitudinal direction. A keyboard for enabling at least numerical data to be input is attached near the other end of the casing in the longitudinal direction. A transmitter/receiver is stored within the casing, the transmitter/receiver being designed to output wirelessly to an external data processing apparatus code data read by the bar code reader and at least numerical data input from the keyboard. A pair of antenna-containing grooves are formed in a pair of facing side surfaces extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing, such that the grooves extend in the longitudinal direction of the casing to said other end of the casing. An antenna is provided such that it is freely inserted into and drawn from the antenna-containing grooves from the other end of the casing, the antenna being formed of a substantially U-shaped, electrically conductive elastic material and being fitted in the grooves by virtue of the elastic force of the antenna.

Portable data input/transmission apparatus

A portable data input apparatus comprises an elongated casing. A pen-scanner type bar code reader reads a bar code provided according to the kind of a commodity, and outputs a corresponding code data unit. A keyboard is designed to input at least a numerical data unit representative of the amount of the commodity. A display device displays the code data unit and the numerical data unit. A display mode changing circuit is designed to invert the image of the data units displayed on the display device in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, in response to a detection signal, which is output when the code data and numerical data are inversely displayed.

Portable data input apparatus with different display modes

Measuring device having transmitter

A host apparatus collects the physical or chemical quantities of articles, which have been measured by a plurality of measuring devices, for example, vernier calipers. Each calipers has a caliper unit as a measuring means, a dip-switch, a CPU, a RAM, and a transmitter. The caliper unit has an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The dip-switch is operated, thus setting an ID number of the device, before the device is used. The ID number is stored into the RAM. When the transmission button of the device is pushed, the CPU edits the digital value supplied from A/D converter and the ID number stored in the RAM, thereby forming a serial-data message. This message is transmitted by a transmitter, in the form of a radio message. The host apparatus has a receiver and a host computer. The receiver received the serial-data messages transmitted from the measuring devices. The host computer collects the values measured by the devices and contained in the serial-data messages, in accordance with the ID numbers also contained in the serial-data messages.

Data collecting system

A caliper unit has a connector having connecting terminals. The caliper unit measures a value of a product, and generates digital data representing this value. A data-transmitting apparatus has a housing. The housing can be attached to caliper unit. The housing has a fastening ring and a connecting plug. The plug can be connected to the connector of the caliper unit by the fastening ring. A microcomputer including a CPU is provided within the housing. A RAM is also provided within the housing, for storing the digital data input from the caliper unit and also an identification (ID) number assigned to the data-transmitting apparatus. The microcomputer forms a serial-data message from the digital data and the ID number, both stored in the RAM. A transmitter is provided within the housing, for transmitting the serial-data message in the form of a radio message.

Data-transmitting apparatus having connecting plug

The analog data representing a value measured of a product by means of a measuring device such as a vernier calipers is converted into digital data by an analog-to-digital converter. A CPU incorporates the digital data into a data message. The CPU is driven by a clock signal output from a quartz crystal oscillator. A first frequency divider divides the clock signal, thus generating a signal of a first frequency, and a second frequency divider divides the clock signal, thereby generating a signal of a second frequency. During the duration of each digital data signal at the '0' (low) level, the CPU generates a signal at the 'low' or 'high' level, in accordance with the signal generated by the first frequency divider. Similarly, during the duration of each digital data signal at the '1' (high) level, the CPU generates a signal at the 'low' or 'high' level, in accordance with the signal generated by the second frequency divider. The signals generated by the CPU are supplied to a transmitter. The transmitter transmits these signals to an external apparatus, in the form of a radio message.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Misao Shimizu