Portable bar code reader having improved autodiscriminating features

• US 20040256465A1
• Filed: 07/08/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1994
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Longacre, Andrew Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,275,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/462.49
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10821 further details of bar or optical code scanning devices
• 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 7/14 using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1491 the method including a reconstruction step, e.g. stitching two pieces of bar code together to derive the full bar code

Abstract

A bar code reading device processing two-dimensional electronic representations in the decoding of bar code symbols, which can automatically discriminate between code symbologies such as PDF 417 code symbology and UPC code symbology. The bar code reading device may further have improved reprogramming features and improved menuing features.

Claims

1. A method for reading a reflective indicia utilizing a portable hand-held indicia reader including a one-dimensional image sensor, said method comprising:

illuminating said reflective indicia with a light source having a frequency in a specified frequency range, said reflective indicia including a plurality of rows, each row including a row address pattern and at least one of a data codeword and an error detection codeword;

sweeping said hand-held indicia reader manually and asynchronously over said reflective indicia;

capturing an electronic representation of said reflective indicia by processing lighted reflected from said reflective indicia; and

analyzing said electronic representation of said reflective indicia to determine whether said reflective indicia is a one dimensional bar code symbol, said analyzing further including executing an automatic discrimination algorithm if said reflective indicia is a one dimensional bar code symbol.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said row address pattern includes a start pattern, a left row indicator codeword, a right row indicator codeword and a stop pattern.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said automatic discrimination algorithm is implemented in software.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said reflective indicia is a UPC bar code symbol.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said reflective indicia is an EAN bar code symbol.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein said reflective indicia is a PDF417 bar code symbol.

7. A hand-held bar code reader for reading a reflective indicia, said bar code reader comprising:

a housing, said housing capable of being gripped and differently oriented in space by a human operator;

an illumination system within said housing, said illumination system illuminating a plurality of rows of said reflective indicia as said hand-held bar code reader is manually and asynchronously moved over said reflective indicia, said illumination system including a light source having a frequency in a specified frequency range, each of said plurality of rows having a series of high and low reflectivity elements representing a row address pattern and at least one of a data codeword and an error detection codeword;

a one dimensional image sensor within said housing, said image sensor capturing an electronic representation of said reflective indicia by processing lighted reflected from said reflective indicia;

a microprocessor within said housing, said microprocessor in electrical communication with said illumination system and said image sensor; and

a computer memory within said housing and in electrical communication with at least said microprocessor, said computer memory including a software module that when executed by said microprocessor analyzes said electronic representation to determine whether said reflective indicia is a one dimensional bar code, said software module further including a one dimensional bar code autodiscrimination decoding algorithm executed by said microprocessor if said reflective indicia is determined to be a one dimensional bar code.

8. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said image sensor is a charge coupled device.

9. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said computer memory is a PEROM.

10. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said row address pattern includes a start pattern, a left row indicator codeword, a right row indicator codeword and a stop pattern.

11. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said reflective indicia is a UPC bar code symbol.

12. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said reflective indicia is an EAN bar code symbol.

13. The bar code reader according to claim 7 wherein said reflective indicia is a PDF417 bar code symbol.