Abstract: An airline baggage management system includes a boarding reception device; a loading reception device; and a server. The boarding reception device outputs a baggage tag with an RF tag in which tag information is recorded, the tag information including at least one of a user ID, a boarding pass ID, and a baggage ID. The loading reception device includes: a loading reader unit that performs wireless communication with the RF tag of the baggage tag attached to the baggage has arrived at the loading position to read the tag recorded in the RF tag; an information generating unit generates loading position-related information, which is related to a position in the scheduled boarding plane at which the baggage whose tag information has been read by the loading reader unit is to be loaded; and a loading transmission unit transmits the tag information and the loading position-related information to the server.

Abstract: Distance L between best focus surface BF to reading opening 22 is in a range satisfying the condition: 2 mm.ltoreq..vertline.L.vertline..ltoreq.2a.multidot..omega./D, where "D" represents the size of a short side of an elongated hole of a diaphragm 34a, "a" represents a distance from an objective-side principal point of an imaging lens 34 to the best focus surface BF, ".omega." represents a minimum width of a module of bar code 8, "L" represents a distance measured from the best focus surface BF toward imaging lens 34, and .vertline.L.vertline. represents an absolute value of distance L. With this arrangement, adverse effect of stains, wounds and scratches of bar code 8 can be averaged or decentralized along the longitudinal direction of the bar of bar code 8 without deteriorating a reading accuracy in the lateral direction.

Abstract: A bar code reading apparatus for optically reading a bar code comprising bars and spaces successively and alternately arranged to output a digital signal to a decoder placed at the reading apparatus. The reading apparatus includes a conversion circuit for converting the bar code information into a digital signal having high-level and low-level portions with time periods corresponding to the widths of the bars and spaces. Also included in the reading apparatus is a preprocessing unit for converting the digital signal into width data to correct the width data so as to narrow the scattering of the width data. The preprocessing unit reproduces a digital signal on the basis of the corrected width data, which is in turn supplied as the bar code information to the decoder. With this arrangement, the decoder can easily and surely decode the inputted bar code information.

Abstract: A bar code reading apparatus for optically reading a bar code comprising bars and spaces successively and alternately arranged to output a digital signal to a decoder placed at the reading apparatus. The reading apparatus includes a conversion circuit for converting the bar code information into a digital signal having high-level and low-level portions with time periods corresponding to the widths of the bars and spaces. Also included in the reading apparatus is a preprocessing unit for converting the digital signal into width data to correct the width data so as to narrow the scattering of the width data. The preprocessing unit reproduces a digital signal on the basis of the corrected width data, which is in turn supplied as the bar code information to the decoder. With this arrangement, the decoder can easily and surely decode the inputted bar code information.