Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Tomomi Mashiko

Akira Osanai

Teruaki Sugata

Asako Kashima

Hidenobu Kubo

Shinji Nagano

A bar-code reading apparatus includes a differential processor which generates a differential signal from an electric signal corresponding to an intensity of light reflected from a bar code, an extreme value detector which detects each extreme value of the differential signal and generates extreme value information including at least an electric signal value of the detected extreme value, a voltage difference calculator which calculates a voltage difference in electric signal between a target extreme value and at least one of extreme values adjacent thereto for each extreme value in the extreme value information, and an extreme value verifying unit which compares the voltage difference with a predetermined threshold value and determines the validity of the extreme value corresponding to the voltage difference for each voltage difference. Information encoded as the bar code is decoded by using extreme value information of the valid extreme value.

Bar-code reading apparatus and bar-code reading method

An information reading apparatus comprises a laser diode, a mirror having a planar emission mirror unit for reflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser diode towards a target optical pattern and a concave condensing mirror unit, formed integral with the emission mirror unit, for condensing a reflection beam from the optical pattern in a predetermined direction, a photodetector, situated in such a position as not to interrupt the reflection beam from the optical pattern, for receiving the condensed reflection beam and converting the same to an electric signal, and a mirror driving apparatus for reflecting the laser beam from the scan mirror in a reciprocal rotational operation by an attractive force of a permanent magnet and a coil and a restoring force of a resilient body clamped by dampers on both sides, and reciprocally scanning the beam over a bar code within a predetermined range.

Device for optically reading out information by use of laser beam

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Tomomi Mashiko