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Automatically-triggered digital video-imaging based code symbol reading system supporting ambient illumination mode automatically selected by adaptive control process

  • US 20080041960A1
  • Filed: 06/12/2007
  • Published: 02/21/2008
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An automatically-triggered digital video-imaging based code symbol reading system adaptable to ambient illumination levels, comprising:

  • a housing having an imaging window;

    a digital image formation and detection subsystem, disposed in said housing, and having (i) image formation optics for projecting a field of view (FOV) from an area-type image detection array, through said imaging window and upon an object to be imaged during object illumination and video-imaging operations, and (ii) said area-type image detection array for detecting frames of digital video image data of the object during said object illumination and video-imaging operations;

    an automatic object detection subsystem, disposed in said housing, for automatically detecting the presence of the object in said FOV, and in response thereto, generating a trigger signal indicative of a triggering event;

    an illumination subsystem, disposed in said housing, having an active illumination mode and an ambient illumination mode, and an illumination array for producing a field of illumination in said FOV during said active illumination mode, wherein when said illumination subsystem is configured in said active illumination mode, said illumination array is driven so as to produce said field of illumination in said FOV during object illumination and video-imaging operations, and wherein when said illumination subsystem is configured in said ambient illumination mode, said illumination array is not driven and does not produce a field of illumination in said FOV, but rather, ambient illumination is allowed to flood said FOV during said object illumination and video-imaging operations;

    an automatic illumination control subsystem, disposed in said housing, for controlling illumination produced from said illumination array when said illumination subsystem is configured in said active mode during said object illumination and video-imaging operations;

    said automatic illumination control subsystem including circuitry for providing drive signals to said illumination array;

    a digital image capturing and buffering subsystem for capturing and buffering said frames of digital video image data in memory, during said object illumination and video-imaging operations;

    a digital image processing subsystem for processing said digital images and (i) measuring the exposure quality of one or more of said frames of digital video image data, and (ii) reading one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols graphically represented in said one or more frames of digital vide image data, and producing symbol character data representative of said read one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols;

    an input/output subsystem for transmitting said symbol character data to an external host system or other information receiving or responding device;

    a system control subsystem, disposed in said housing and responsive to said trigger signal, for managing, in memory, a set of system control parameters (SCPs) as well as a set of exposure quality threshold (EQT) parameters, and for controlling and/or coordinating the operations of said subsystems; and

    wherein, at any instant in time, said object illumination and video-imaging operations are characterized by currently set values of said set of SCPs and said set of EQT parameters.

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