Two-dimensional code

Abstract

To provide a two-dimensional code that can be read by not only a machine but also by a person when used as an embedded stamp of a metal mold or the like in an industrial two-dimensional code.SOLUTION: The present invention is related to a two-dimensional code having a central section and peripheral section. In the two-dimensional code, the central section has a pattern for determining the center of the code and a direction of reading, and a pattern for pointing a point of the peripheral section. The peripheral section has a scale indicated by a pattern pointing the point of the peripheral section, and a reference point pattern for allowing the machine to read the reference point of the scale. The pattern for determining the center and a direction of reading of the two-dimensional code and the pattern for pointing a point of the peripheral section are constituted so that the machine can read and also a person can read. A series of information of one type or more selected from a group comprising characters, marks, and figures is displayed on the scale of the peripheral section for allowing a person to read the information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a two-dimensional code. More specifically, it relates to a two-dimensional code whose engraved surface is useful when used as an embedded marking for a mold, etc. In this specification, a pattern refers to a figure such as a line, a square, a triangle, a circle, or a dot that has a certain thickness and can be recognized by both a machine and a person. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, QR Codes (registered trademark) have become extremely popular as an industrial two-dimensional code, but QR Codes are designed to be read by machines with reading capabilities and cannot be read by humans. Also, in order to engrave a fine QR Code into plastic or metal parts, it is necessary to create a precise mold, which demands advanced technology.

[0003] The invention described in Patent Document 1 proposes a QR code, which is currently in widespread use in Japan, as a two-dimensional code. However, the invention of Patent Document 1 produces a code that cannot be read by humans. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-254037 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a two-dimensional code that can be read not only by machines, but also by humans, when used in die-embedded markings, etc., and at the same time to provide a two-dimensional code and a method for forming the same, which allows easy production of a mold for marking the two-dimensional code and eliminates the need to produce a mold each time.

[0006] The inventors have been working hard to achieve their goal of solving the problems of the prior art as described above, and have discovered that the vertical axis and arrow on the central disk can be properly read by a machine. They have also discovered that the two-dimensional code of the present invention, which can simultaneously display multiple pieces of information, can be engraved using a rotatable central disk and a peripheral disk that can also be rotatable around the periphery of the central disk. The two-dimensional code of the present invention can change the information it represents by rotating and fixing the central and peripheral disks. This means that when imprinting a code onto a resin product or the like, one set of disks can be used for versatility, and there is no need to make a mold each time as with a QR code. Also, making the mold is easier than with a QR code. Furthermore, since the code can be used as an engraving surface for stamping on molds and the like, and is readable by both machines and humans, by printing the code on product packaging or wrapping, it can be widely useful for inventory management and stockout management. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention according to claim 1 is A two-dimensional code, the two-dimensional code being: It can express information consisting of one or more types selected from the group consisting of characters, symbols, and figures, This relates to two-dimensional codes, the information of which can be read by machines and also by people.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is as follows: The two-dimensional code according to claim 1, It has a central portion and a peripheral portion, the central portion has a pattern for determining the center and reading direction of the two-dimensional code, and a pattern for indicating a point on the peripheral portion, the peripheral portion has a scale indicated by a pattern indicating a point on the peripheral portion, and a reference point pattern for machine-reading a reference point of the scale; The pattern for determining the center and reading direction of the two-dimensional code, and the pattern for indicating a point on the periphery are configured to be machine-readable and human-readable; The two-dimensional code according to claim 1, wherein a series of information is displayed on the scale on the peripheral portion by one or more types selected from the group consisting of letters, symbols, and figures that can be read by humans.

[0009] The invention according to claim 3 is as follows: The central portion has one or more circular dots near the edge for positioning purposes in order to improve the accuracy of machine reading; The method further includes a dot portion representing information so as to be machine readable inside the dot portion for positioning, The present invention relates to a two-dimensional code according to claim 2, wherein inside the dots representing the information so that the information can be read by the machine, information in the dots representing the information is displayed so that the information can be read by a human.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is as follows: The present invention relates to a two-dimensional code as described in claim 2, which has one or more other peripheral parts coaxially stacked on an outer periphery of the peripheral part, and each of the one or more other peripheral parts has a scale indicated by a pattern indicating a point on the peripheral part, and a base point pattern for machine-reading the base point of the scale.

[0011] The invention according to claim 5 is The present invention relates to an apparatus for engraving a two-dimensional code as described in any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising a central disk for engraving the central portion and a peripheral disk for engraving the peripheral portion, the central disk and the peripheral disk being arranged coaxially so as to be freely rotatable and freely fixed. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the invention of claim 1, it is possible to obtain a two-dimensional code that can express information that can be expressed by characters, symbols, and figures in a form that can be read by both machines and humans.

[0013] According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to obtain a two-dimensional code in which the information written at a point on the periphery indicated by the center can be read by both machines and humans.

[0014] According to the invention as defined in claim 3, it is possible to obtain an effect that a two-dimensional code having machine-readable information and human-readable information at the center is obtained.

[0015] According to the invention of claim 4, by providing another peripheral portion on the outer periphery of the peripheral portion, it is possible to increase the information contained in the two-dimensional code by the number of other peripheral portions that are overlapped.

[0016] According to the invention as defined in claim 5, by rotating and fixing the center disk and the peripheral disk, it is possible to obtain a plurality of two-dimensional codes with one set of center disk and peripheral disk. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram of a two-dimensional code of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-dimensional code having a center and a periphery according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-dimensional code having a center and a periphery according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-dimensional code having a center and a periphery according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-dimensional code having a center, a periphery, and another periphery overlaid on the periphery according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-dimensional code having a center, a periphery, and another periphery overlaid on the periphery according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a two-dimensional code according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a two-dimensional code according to the present invention. It is a two-dimensional code that has a positioning point (a) for machine reading, an arrow (b), and a string of characters (c), with the characters displayed at the point indicated by the arrow (b). A machine can read the positioning point (a) and the arrow (b) and determine the character that the code represents by the angle of the arrow (b) relative to the positioning point (a). Because people can read the letters that the arrows are pointing to, both machines and people can read the "information" of "C" shown in this conceptual diagram.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a two-dimensional code according to the present invention. The rectangle in the center of the center section (1) is a pattern (3) that determines the center and reading orientation of the 2D code, and a machine can read the 2D code by centering it on this pattern (3). The triangle in the center (1) points to a point on the periphery (2) as an arrow (4), which can be read by both machines and humans. The periphery (2) is marked with a scale and a series of information, as well as a reference point pattern (5) for machine-reading the reference points (5) of the scale. The machine can read the information indicated by the arrow from the relative positions of the center of the code (3), the arrow (4), and the base point of the scale (5). From this series of information, people can read the location indicated by the arrow (4).

[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a two-dimensional code according to the present invention. In addition to the format shown in FIG. 2, the two-dimensional code has dots (6, 7) and a character section (8) in the center (1). The dots (6) are used to position the code, allowing the machine to recognize the reading position, and the dots (7) represent information for the machine to read, allowing the machine to read the information from the dots. The same information is written in text in the text section (8), allowing people to read it as well.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a two-dimensional code according to the present invention, in which the number of dots (6, 7) in the center (1) is increased in comparison with the embodiment in Fig. 3.

[0023] Figures 5A and 5B show another embodiment of the two-dimensional code according to the present invention. This two-dimensional code has another peripheral portion (9) on the outer periphery of the embodiment in Figure 4. Another set of information is written on the other peripheral portion (9) and indicated by an arrow in the center, thereby increasing the amount of information that the two-dimensional code can express. [Embodiment]

[0024] The two-dimensional code according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. The rectangle in the center of the center section (1) is a pattern (3) that determines the center and reading orientation of the 2D code, and a machine can read the 2D code by centering it on this pattern (3). The triangle in the center (1) points to a point on the periphery (2) as an arrow (4). The peripheral portion (2) is marked with scales and numbers that represent the numbers "1" to "12" in one revolution, and also has a reference point pattern (5) for machine reading of the scale reference points. The central portion (1) further has a dot portion and a character portion. It has a dot portion (6) for positioning to allow the machine to recognize the reading position, and a dot portion (7) representing information to be read by the machine, and the same content as the information to be read by the machine is written in the character portion (8). In this embodiment, the dot portion (7) representing the information to be read by the machine represents "2" on the left side of the central rectangular symbol (3) and "1" on the right side, and represents the same content as the character portion (8).

[0025] First, the machine reads the rectangular symbol (3) and triangular arrow (4) in the center (1), which are patterns that determine the center and reading direction, and recognizes the 2D code. Next, the positioning dot (6) in the center (1) is read, and then the dots (7) inside it that represent information for the machine to read are read. In this example, the dot (7) on the left side of the rectangular symbol (3) represents the number "2," and the dot (7) on the right side represents the number "1." At the same time, by reading the base pattern (5) on the peripheral portion (2), in this example, the arrangement of the numbers 1 to 12 is confirmed and the number pointed to by the arrow is read as "9." In this way, the machine can read the information "2," "1," and "9" from the 2D code in Figure 4.

[0026] It will be apparent that in this embodiment, a person can visually read "2", "1", and "9". The "information" in the claims relating to the two-dimensional code of this embodiment is, for example, "September 21."

[0027] When the two-dimensional code of this embodiment is used, for example, to stamp the date of manufacture when manufacturing plastic parts, a mold is required, but if a set of center and peripheral disks is produced, the same mold can be used for stamping for a year by rotating and fixing the center and peripheral disks.

[0028] It is also possible to provide another peripheral portion (9) around the peripheral portion of the two-dimensional code of this embodiment to include a date, making it a two-dimensional code that expresses the date as "information" (see FIG. 5A). An arrow pointing to the scale of the other rim portion (9) may be provided separately on the rim portion (2) (see FIG. 5B). In addition, by changing the information placed in the center or the series of information placed on the periphery, it is possible to create two-dimensional codes containing a variety of information.

[0029] It goes without saying that it would be easy for a person skilled in the art to develop an application for reading the two-dimensional code according to the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0030] The two-dimensional code of the present invention, which can be read by both machines and humans, can be used as an engraving surface for mold-embedded engraving and can be engraved as an embedded engraving into resin or metal machine parts, or printed on product packaging or wrapping, and can be widely useful not only for production management and inventory management at manufacturing sites and warehouses where reading machines are available, but also for delivery management and stockout management in places where there are no reading machines. The information represented by the two-dimensional code of the present invention is diverse and can be combined to represent not only numerical information such as the manufacturing date, manufacturing number, and expiration date, but also textual information such as the name and place of production, and classification information using symbols, making it a two-dimensional code that can be used in a variety of manufacturing and distribution sites. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 center 2 Periphery 3 Patterns for determining center and reading direction 4. Pattern pointing to a point on the periphery (arrow) 5 Scale base point 6 Dots for positioning 7. Information dots 8 Text section 9 Another Periphery

Claims

1. A two-dimensional code, the two-dimensional code being: It is possible to express information consisting of one or more types selected from the group consisting of characters, symbols, and figures, A two-dimensional code that allows the information to be read by machines and also allows the information to be read by humans.

2. The two-dimensional code according to claim 1, It has a central portion and a peripheral portion, the central portion has a pattern for determining the center and reading direction of the two-dimensional code, and a pattern for indicating a point on the peripheral portion, the peripheral portion has a scale indicated by a pattern indicating a point on the peripheral portion, and a reference point pattern for machine-reading a reference point of the scale; the pattern for determining the center and reading direction of the two-dimensional code, and the pattern for indicating a point on the periphery are configured to be machine-readable and human-readable; 2. The two-dimensional code according to claim 1, wherein a series of information is displayed on the scale on the peripheral portion by one or more types selected from the group consisting of letters, symbols, and figures that can be read by humans.

3. The central portion has one or more circular dots near the edge for positioning purposes in order to improve machine reading accuracy; The method further includes a dot portion representing information so as to be machine readable inside the dot portion for positioning, 3. The two-dimensional code according to claim 2, wherein information of the dot portions representing said information is displayed so as to be readable by humans inside the dot portions representing said information so as to be readable by machines.

4. 3. The two-dimensional code according to claim 2, further comprising one or more other peripheral portions coaxially stacked on an outer periphery of the peripheral portion, each of the one or more other peripheral portions having a scale indicated by a pattern indicating a point on the peripheral portion and a reference point pattern for machine-reading a reference point of the scale.

5. 5. An apparatus for engraving a two-dimensional code as described in any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising a center plate for engraving the central portion and a peripheral plate for engraving the peripheral portion, the center plate and the peripheral plate being arranged coaxially so as to be freely rotatable and freely fixed.

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