SYMBOL-CONTROLLED IMAGE DATA READING SYSTEM

• US 20010012413A1
• Filed: 10/17/1997
• Published: 08/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: HUSSEY, ROBERT M., LONGACRE, ANDREW Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 6,298,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10792 Special measures in relation to the object to be scanned
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10851 Circuits for pulse shaping, amplifying, eliminating noise signals, checking the function of the sensing device basic electronic circuitry H03
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• 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 7/1456 determining the orientation of the optical code with respect to the reader and correcting therefore

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for imaging a scene comprising an optical reader and a specially structured symbol configured complementarily with the reader so that when the reader reads the symbol, the reader reads image data in an image data reading region. The image reading instruction symbol of the system may include indicators for controlling various aspects of the image reading process such as the dimension of the image capture region, the relative position of the image reading region. If the image reading instruction symbol is of a type whose actual size, orientation, and distortion can be determined, scaling, orientation, and distortion characteristics determined from the image reading instruction symbol can be used to improve the image reading process. A feedback feature may be included in the reader for indicating to a user whether the reader should be moved in order to improve image reading.

Claims

1. A system for imaging a scene, said system comprising:

an imaging assembly for outputting image information;

a controller in communication with a memory space for controlling said imaging assembly;

an image reading instruction symbol;

capturing means for capturing and storing in said memory space a bit map representation of a scene including said image reading instruction symbol;

determining means responsive to said image reading instruction symbol for determining an image data reading region in said bit map representation;

image data reading means for reading image data from said image data reading region.

2. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an image data reading parameter indicator structure.

3. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction parameter includes an image data output parameter indicator structure.

4. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes

dimension indicator means for indicating a dimension of said image data reading region determined by said determining means.

5. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes

dimension indicator means for indicating a dimension of said image data reading region determined by said determining means;

and

position indicator means for indicating a position of said image data reading region determined by said determining means.

6. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes identification indicator means for indicating an identification of said symbol and wherein said memory space has stored thereon dimension indicator means determinable based on said identification indicator means for indicating a dimension of said image data reading region.

7. The system of

claim 6

, wherein said memory space further has stored thereon position indicator means determinable based on said identification indicator means for indicating a position in relation to said captured image reading instruction symbol of said image data reading region to be read by said controller.

8. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol and said controller are configured so that said controller determines at least one imaging characteristic of said image reading instruction symbol, and wherein said image data reading means reads said image data of said image data reading region in accordance with said at least one imaging characteristic.

9. The system of

claim 8

, wherein said at least one imaging characteristic is a scaling characteristic.

10. The system of

claim 8

, wherein said at least one imaging characteristic is a distortion characteristic.

11. The system of

claim 8

, wherein said at least one image characteristic is an orientation characteristic.

12. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said reading means includes means for constructing a secondary bit map representation of indicia represented in said image data reading region and wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes gray scale depth indicator means for controlling a gray scale depth of said secondary bit map representation.

13. The system of

claim 1

, wherein said reading means includes means for constructing a secondary bit map representation of indicia represented in said image data reading region said image reading instruction symbol includes pixel resolution indicator means for controlling a pixel resolution of said secondary bit map representation.

14. The system of

claim 1

, further comprising feedback indicia means responsive to said captured bit map representation, for indicating to a user that said imaging assembly should be moved when said determining means determine that said image data reading region is not included in said bit map representation.

15. The system of

claim 1

, further comprising feedback indicia means responsive to said captured bit map representation, for indicating to a user a direction in which said imaging assembly should be moved so that said bit map representation includes said image data reading region, when said determining means determines that said image data reading region is not included in said bit map representation.

16. The system of

claim 1

, further comprising output means for outputting image data processed from said images data reading region, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes output indicator means for controlling said output means.

17. A system for processing image information in a scene, said system comprising:

an optical reader including at least one imaging assembly for outputting image information and a controller in communication with a memory space for controlling said imaging assembly;

an image reading instruction symbol;

capture means controlled by said controller for capturing image data representing a scene including said image reading instruction symbol;

image processing means controlled by said controller and responsive to said image reading instruction symbol for processing image information representing said scene.

18. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an image data reading parameter indicator structure.

19. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction parameter includes an image data output parameter indicator structure.

20. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes at least one indicator for controlling said image processing means and wherein said image processing means reads image data not representing said symbol in accordance with said at least one indicator.

21. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes at least one indicator structure for controlling said image processing means, and wherein said image processing means includes determining means for determining an image data reading region in said captured image data in accordance with said at least one indicator structure.

22. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes at least one indicator structure for controlling said image processing means, wherein said image processing means includes determining means for determining an image data reading region in said captured image data, and wherein said image processing means includes output means for outputting image data processed from said image data reading region.

23. The system of

claim 22

, wherein said at least one indicator structure is a dimension indicator structure for indicating a dimension of said image data reading region determined by said determining means.

24. The system of

claim 23

, wherein said at least one indicator structure includes

a dimension indicator structure for indicating a dimension of said image data reading region determined by said determining means;

and

a position indicator structure for indicating a position of said image data reading region determined by said determining means.

25. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an identification indicator structure for indicating an identification of said symbol and wherein said memory space has stored thereon dimension indicator means determinable based on said identification indicator structure for indicating a dimension of said image capture region.

26. The system of

claim 25

, wherein said memory space further has stored thereon position indicator means determinable based on said identification indicator structure for indicating a position in relation to said captured image reading instruction symbol of said image data reading region to be read by said controller.

27. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image processing means includes supplementary image capture means for capturing supplementary image data representing said scene.

28. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes at least one indicator structure for controlling said image processing means, and wherein said image processing means includes determining means for determining an image data reading region in said captured image data in accordance with said indicator structure.

29. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an image data output parameter indicator structure, and wherein said image processing means outputs image data in accordance with said output parameter indicator structure.

30. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an indicator structure indicating a compression algorithm to be used by said reader, and wherein said image processing means outputs image data utilizing a compression algorithm as indicated by said indicator structure.

31. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol includes an indicator structure indicating an output destination of image data, and wherein said image processing means outputs image data to a destination in accordance with said indicator structure.

32. The system of

claim 17

, wherein said image reading instruction symbol and said controller are configured so that said controller determines at least one imaging characteristic of said image reading instruction symbol, and wherein said image data processing means process image data of said image data reading region in accordance with said at least one imaging characteristic.

33. The system of

claim 32

, wherein said at least one imaging characteristic is a scaling characteristic.

34. The system of

claim 32

, wherein said at least one imaging characteristic is a distortion characteristic.

35. The system of

claim 32

, wherein said at least one image characteristic is an orientation characteristic.