Patent ID: 7871003

Claim:
An information reader for optically reading an information code directly marked on an object, comprising: a bright field illuminator that can be lighted to illuminate the information code with a first light at a first luminous angle to the information code and to regularly reflect the first light on the information code; a dark field illuminator that can be lighted to illuminate the information code with a second light at a second luminous angle to the information code and to irregularly reflect the second light on the information code, the second luminous angle differing from the first luminous angle; an optical system that forms an image of the information code from the first light or the second light reflected on the information code; and a control section that controls the bright field illuminator and the dark field illuminator such that the optical system forms an image of the information code from the first and second lights reflected on the information code, and reads the information code from the image, wherein the bright field illuminator comprises: a plurality of bright field illuminating units each of which emits a bright field light, and the control section comprises: a minor reflection detecting section that detects a portion of the information code on which a mirror reflection is caused by one of the bright field lights; an illuminating unit specifying section that specifies one of the bright field illuminating units which emits the bright field light to the portion of the information code detected by the mirror reflection detecting section; and a lighting off section that lights off the bright field illuminating unit specified by the illuminating unit specifying section such that the optical system forms the image from the bright field lights of the bright field illuminating units other than the bright field illuminating unit lighted off.