Focusing structure in an information reading apparatus
First Claim
1. An information reading system which reads an upper, information indicating surface of each of a plurality of objects having differing heights and being moved on a conveyor, said information reading system comprising:
- a fixed camera section for reading said information indicating surface using rays of light, said information indicating surface being read while said object is being conveyed;
mirror means disposed between said fixed camera section and said information indicating surface including at least one pair of reflector mirrors having reflecting surfaces which face each other at an angle of 90 degrees so that said rays of light are reflected from said fixed camera section, through said mirror means, and to said information indicating surface;
focusing means for focusing said fixed camera section on said information indicating surface by moving said mirror means to equalize an optical path from said fixed camera section to said information reading surface of each of said objects such that an optical path from said information indicating surface of an object to said fixed camera section is substantially unchanged during reading of said information indicating surface of said object; and
means for illuminating said information indicating surface of each of said objects with illuminating light, said illuminating means being positioned in the optical path from said information indicating surface to said fixed camera section,wherein an optical path of said illuminating light coincides with that of said rays of light used for reading said information indicating surface of each of said objects.
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Abstract
In an automatic sorting system for sorting objects conveyed on a conveyor, a camera is used for pattern recognition of the object being sorted. Due to the difference in sizes of the objects being sorted, the camera must be focused depending on the size of the object under consideration. Instead of moving the camera section itself, an optical path bending section can be included between the camera and the objects to be examined. The optical path bending section includes at least one pair of reflector mirrors disposed so that the reflecting surfaces thereof face each other at an angle of 90 degrees. In order to enable focusing for different sized objects, the optical path bending section can be moved in a direction parallel to the optical paths entering and exiting the optical path bending section.
35 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An information reading system which reads an upper, information indicating surface of each of a plurality of objects having differing heights and being moved on a conveyor, said information reading system comprising:
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a fixed camera section for reading said information indicating surface using rays of light, said information indicating surface being read while said object is being conveyed; mirror means disposed between said fixed camera section and said information indicating surface including at least one pair of reflector mirrors having reflecting surfaces which face each other at an angle of 90 degrees so that said rays of light are reflected from said fixed camera section, through said mirror means, and to said information indicating surface; focusing means for focusing said fixed camera section on said information indicating surface by moving said mirror means to equalize an optical path from said fixed camera section to said information reading surface of each of said objects such that an optical path from said information indicating surface of an object to said fixed camera section is substantially unchanged during reading of said information indicating surface of said object; and means for illuminating said information indicating surface of each of said objects with illuminating light, said illuminating means being positioned in the optical path from said information indicating surface to said fixed camera section, wherein an optical path of said illuminating light coincides with that of said rays of light used for reading said information indicating surface of each of said objects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An information reading system for reading information from upper surfaces of objects having differing heights and being conveyed, said system reading said information from said surfaces with rays of light, said system comprising:
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a camera having an optical path extending between said camera and each of said upper surfaces; focussing means for focussing said camera on said upper surfaces, said surfaces being read while said objects are being conveyed and said focusing means comprising mirror means disposed in said optical path and receiving entrance light in a first direction while providing exit light in a second direction opposite and parallel to said first direction, said mirror means being movable in said first and second directions to vary the effective length of said optical path without moving said camera to equalize said optical path from said camera to an upper surface of each of said objects such that said optical path from said camera to said upper surface of each of said objects being focussed upon is substantially unchanged during focussing on said surface; and means for illuminating said upper surface of each of said objects with illuminating light, said illuminating mans being positioned in the optical path from said upper surface to said camera, wherein an optical path of said illuminating light coincides with that of said rays of light used for reading said upper surface of each of said objects. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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Specification