Autofocus barcode scanner and the like employing micro-fluidic lens
First Claim
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1. A machine-readable symbol reader to read machine-readable symbols carried by targets, the machine-readable symbol reader comprising:
- a microfluidic lens assembly having at least one fluid and a number of electrodes selectively operable to modify a shape of the at least one fluid;
an optical sensor positioned along an optical axis of the microfluidic lens assembly relatively behind the microfluidic lens assembly with respect to the target; and
at least one controller, the controller coupled to cause a selected potential to be applied to at least some of the electrodes of the microfluidic lens assembly to focus images of the target on the optical sensor.
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Abstract
A machine-readable symbol reader includes a microfluidic lens assembly providing responsive, reliable auto-focus functionality. A range finder may provide distance to a planar target (e.g., barcode symbol) information for use in auto-focusing, with or without localization. Illumination system, if included, is selectively controlled based on the distance to target and auto-focusing functionality to substantially reduce power consumption. The localization may color optical sensors.
103 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A machine-readable symbol reader to read machine-readable symbols carried by targets, the machine-readable symbol reader comprising:
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a microfluidic lens assembly having at least one fluid and a number of electrodes selectively operable to modify a shape of the at least one fluid;
an optical sensor positioned along an optical axis of the microfluidic lens assembly relatively behind the microfluidic lens assembly with respect to the target; and
at least one controller, the controller coupled to cause a selected potential to be applied to at least some of the electrodes of the microfluidic lens assembly to focus images of the target on the optical sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of operating a machine-readable symbol reader to read machine-readable symbols carried by targets, the method comprising:
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determining a distance between a microfluidic lens assembly of the machine readable symbol reader and the target;
adjusting a focal length of the microfluidic lens assembly based on the determined distance to the target;
capturing an image of a machine-readable symbol carried by the target; and
decoding the machine-readable symbol carried by the target. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of operating a machine-readable symbol reader to read color encoded machine-readable symbols carried by targets, the method comprising:
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acquiring an image through a three color filter at a single optical sensor;
determining a plurality of sub-windows of the image on which to operate;
for each of the colors, determining a subtraction-modulus-difference value for each of a number pixels in horizontally adjacent ones of the sub-windows and for each of a number pixels in vertically adjacent ones of the sub-windows;
accumulating the subtraction-modulus-difference value for each of at least three different colors;
aggregating adjacent sub-windows having accumulated subtraction-modulus-difference values below a defined threshold into a meta window of the image on which to operate;
determining a focus value corresponding to a focus condition at an initial focal length of the microfluidic lens assembly;
adjusting the microfluidic lens assembly to a second focal length;
determining a focus value corresponding to a focus condition at the second focal length of the microfluidic lens assembly;
determining a direction of change in the determined focus values;
repeatedly, adjusting the microfluidic lens assembly at different incremental focal lengths in a space of the image along the same direction in the space, and determining a focus value corresponding to a focus condition at the different incremental focal lengths until the focus value drops by more than a defined threshold; and
interpolating a best focus length from at least three of the focal lengths. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification