CODE READING APPARATUS, SALES REGISTRATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND CODE READING METHOD

• US 20110180596A1
• Filed: 01/13/2011
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Iizaka, Hitoshi, Tsuchiya, Osamu, Mihara, Hidemi, Yamada, Yoshiya, Naito, Hidehiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,403,216 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0045 with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a code reading apparatus includes an image capturing unit, a first reading unit, a second reading unit and an information output unit. The image capturing unit captures an image picked up by an imaging unit . The first reading unit detects one of an image of a code symbol and an image of benefit indication from the image captured by the image capturing unit and reads commodity information corresponding to the code symbol or benefit information corresponding to the benefit indication from the detected image. The second reading unit causes, for a predetermined time after the first reading unit reads the information, until the first reading unit detects the other image not detected yet, the image capturing unit to capture the image and reads, if the first reading unit detects the other image, one of the commodity information and the benefit information from the detected other image. The information output unit outputs the information read by the second reading unit together with the information read by the first reading unit.

Claims

1. A code reading apparatus comprising:

an image capturing unit configured to capture an image picked up by an imaging unit;

a first reading unit configured to detect one of an image of a code symbol and an image of benefit indication from the image captured by the image capturing unit and read commodity information corresponding to the code symbol or benefit information corresponding to the benefit indication from the detected image;

a second reading unit configured to cause, for a predetermined time after the first reading unit reads the information, until the first reading unit detects the other image not detected yet, the image capturing unit to capture the image and read, if the first reading unit detects the other image, one of the commodity information and the benefit information from the detected other image; and

an information output unit configured to output the information read by the second reading unit together with the information read by the first reading unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit configured to notify, if one of the commodity information and the benefit information is read by the first reading unit or the second reading unit, until the information is output by the information output unit, that one of the commodity information and the benefit information is read.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notifying unit performs the notification by causing a light emitting unit to emit light.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first reading unit or the second reading unit reads the benefit information from character information included in the benefit indication.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a discriminating unit configured to discriminate whether the code symbol includes benefit target information that indicates that a commodity is a target commodity to which the benefit is granted, wherein

the first reading unit detects the image of the code symbol and reads the commodity information corresponding to the code symbol from the detected image, and

the information output unit outputs, if the benefit target information is not included in the commodity information read by the first reading unit, the commodity information read by the first reading unit without performing the detection of the other image by the second reading unit.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the apparatus includes a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit as the imaging unit,

the first reading unit detects, from an image picked up by the first imaging unit, one of the image of the code symbol and the image of the benefit indication, and

the second reading unit detects, from an image picked up by the second imaging unit, the other image not detected by the first reading unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

one of the first reading unit and the second reading unit detects plural images of the benefit indication and reads the benefit information corresponding to the benefit indication from each of the images of the benefit indication, and

the information output unit outputs plural kinds of the read benefit information together with the commodity information.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the first reading unit and the second reading unit decodes the image of the code symbol and reads code data corresponding to the commodity information,

the other of the first reading unit and the second reading unit generates a benefit code corresponding to the benefit information read from the image of the benefit indication, and

the information output unit combines the code data and the benefit code to generate a composite code and outputs the composite code.

9. A sales registration processing apparatus that performs sales registration for a commodity using the commodity information and the benefit information output by the apparatus according to claim 1.

10. A code reading method comprising:

an image capturing unit capturing an image picked up by an imaging unit;

a first reading unit detecting one of an image of a code symbol and an image of benefit indication from the image captured by the image capturing unit and reading commodity information corresponding to the code symbol or benefit information corresponding to benefit indication from the detected image;

a second reading unit causing, for a predetermined time after the first reading unit reads the information, until the first reading unit detects the other image not detected, the image capturing unit to capture the image and reading, if the first reading unit detects the other image, one of the commodity information and the benefit information from the detected other image; and

an information output unit outputting the information read by the second reading unit together with the information read by the first reading unit.