Imaging terminal, imaging sensor to determine document orientation based on bar code orientation and methods for operating the same

• US 10,331,929 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2017
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Jingquan, Hussey, Robert M., Meier, Timothy P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stanford, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US15/726,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20180032777A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1443 locating of the code in an image
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1447 extracting optical codes from image or text carrying said optical code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1456 determining the orientation of the optical code with respect to the reader and correcting therefore
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1478 of characters or characters lines

Abstract

Embodiments of an image reader and/or methods of operating an image reader can capture an image, identify a bar code or IBI form within the captured image, and, store or display the captured image responsive to an orientation of the bar code.

Claims

1. An image reading system including an image reading terminal comprising:

an image sensor array extending along an image plane, said image sensor array comprising a plurality of pixels;

an optical assembly for use in focusing imaging light rays onto the plurality of pixels of said image sensor array;

a housing encapsulating said image sensor array and said optical assembly;

wherein the terminal is operative in an indicia decode mode in which the terminal, in response to an operator initiated command, captures a frame of image data and processes the frame of image data for attempting to decode a decodable indicia representation;

wherein the terminal is operative in a picture taking mode in which the terminal, in response to an operator initiated command, captures at least one frame of image data for attempting to output an image;

a memory capable of storing frames of image data; and

a control processor capable of;

cropping a received document image to a prescribed size in pixels or linear dimensions;

aligning a two dimensional orientation of the cropped document image to a two dimensional orientation of a frame of image data to obtain an aligned document image;

determining an orientation of a decodable indicia within the aligned document image by decoding the decodable indicia within the aligned document image; and

storing or displaying the received document image or the cropped document image in a prescribed orientation responsive to the determined orientation of the decodable indicia.

2. The image reading system of claim 1, wherein the decodable indicia is detected in the received document image or the cropped document image.

3. The image reading system of claim 2, wherein the control processor determines a sequenced order of corner positions for the detected decodable indicia.

4. The image reading system of claim 3, wherein the orientation of the decodable indicia matches the orientation of a document in the received document image.

5. The image reading system of claim 3, wherein the orientation of the decodable indicia is 180°

opposite to the orientation of a document in the received document image.

6. The image reading system of claim 2, wherein the orientation of the decodable indicia is ±

90°

or ±

45°

opposite to the orientation of a document in the received document image.

7. The image reading system of claim 2, wherein pre-stored information corresponding to the cropped document image or the received document image is used to locate the detected decodable indicia.

8. The image reading system of claim 2, wherein:

the system is capable of correction for distortion of the cropped document image caused by a spatial relationship between a document in the received document image and the image reading terminal and optical lens correction; and

the system is capable of correction for orientation to align a two-dimensional orientation of the cropped document image to a two-dimensional orientation of a frame of image data, wherein the correction for distortion or the correction for orientation is performed at the controller of image reading terminal, a local processor, or a remote processor of the image reading system.

9. The image reading terminal of claim 2, wherein the image sensor comprises a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of monochrome pixels and a second subset of color pixels in the plurality of pixels.

10. A device comprising:

an image sensor for capturing a plurality of images corresponding to an item;

a processor coupled to the imager sensor, wherein the processor is configured to;

process an image from amongst the plurality of images captured by the image sensor;

crop the image to a prescribed size in pixels or linear dimensions, wherein the captured image comprises an indicia and additional data indicative of text, hand written data, or a picture associated with the indicia;

align a two dimensional orientation of the cropped image to a two dimensional orientation of a frame of image data to obtain an aligned image;

determine an orientation of the indicia within the aligned image by decoding the indicia within the aligned image; and

display the cropped image in a prescribed orientation responsive to the determined orientation of the indicia.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to detect the indicia in the captured image or the cropped image.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor determines a sequenced order of corner positions for the detected indicia.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein:

the device is capable of correction for distortion of the cropped image caused by a spatial relationship between the image and the image sensor and optical lens correction; and

the device is capable of correction for orientation to align a two-dimensional orientation of the cropped image to a two-dimensional orientation of the image, wherein the correction for distortion or the correction for orientation is performed at the processor.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the image sensor comprises a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of monochrome pixels and a second subset of color pixels in the plurality of pixels.

15. A device comprising:

a memory;

a processor operable in an image capturing mode and an indicia capture mode, wherein the processor is configured to;

capture, via an image sensor in the image capturing mode, a plurality of images corresponding to an item;

in the indicia decoding mode, process a frame corresponding to an image from amongst the plurality of images captured by the image sensor;

crop the image to a prescribed size in pixels or linear dimensions, wherein the image comprises an indicia and additional data indicative of handwritten data or a picture associated with the indicia;

align a two dimensional orientation of the cropped image to a two dimensional orientation of a frame of image data to obtain an aligned image;

determine an orientation of the indicia within the aligned image by decoding the indicia within the aligned image; and

store, in the memory, the cropped image in a prescribed orientation responsive to the determined orientation of the indicia.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to display, via a display unit coupled to the processor, the stored image.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein pre-stored information corresponding to the cropped image or the image is used to locate the detected indicia.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein an optical assembly is configured to focus imaging light rays onto the image sensor.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the image sensor and the optical assembly are encapsulated in a housing.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the additional data includes a second indicia.