IDENTIFICATION OF NON-BARCODED PRODUCTS

• US 20100116887A1
• Filed: 11/07/2008
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Barkan, Edward D., Sanders, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,479,996 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/440
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• 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

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns a bar code reader 10 that can both interpret bar codes and determine a feature of a target object 230 not having a bar code affixed thereto. The bar code reader includes a housing including one or more transparent windows H, V and defining a housing interior region. As a target object is swiped or presented in relation to the transparent windows an image of the target object is captured. A camera C1-C6 has an image capture sensor array positioned within the housing interior region for capturing an image of a bar code within a camera field of view. An image processing system has a processor for decoding a bar code carried by the target object. If the target object has no bar code, the image processing system determines a feature such as a dimension of the target object from images captured by the imaging system.

Claims

1. A bar code reader for reading bar codes and determining a feature of a target object not having a bar code affixed thereto, the bar code reader comprising:

a housing including one or more transparent windows and defining a housing interior region, a target object being swiped or presented in relation to the transparent windows for imaging a target object;

a camera having an image capture sensor array positioned within the housing interior region for capturing an image of a bar code within a camera field of view;

and

an image processing system comprising a processor for decoding a bar code carried by the target object or in the absence of a bar code, determining a feature of the target object from images captured by the imaging system.

2. The bar code reader of claim 1 wherein the feature is indicia identified by optical character recognition from images of the object.

3. The bar code reader of claim 1 wherein the feature is a length dimension of a characteristic of the target object.

4. The bar code reader of claim 1 wherein the housing has a horizontal window onto which the target object is placed for imaging.

5. The bar code reader of claim 1 further comprising a calibration scale attached to the housing having regularly spaced markings for imaging by the processing system for calibrating said processing system.

6. The bar code reader of claim 1 additionally comprising a calibration object having a visible calibration scale affixed thereto for imaging by the camera to allow the image processing system to determine dimensions of object features within the field of view.

7. The bar code reader of claim 1 wherein the image processing system correlates picture element spacing with spacings between markings on the visible calibration scale.

8. The bar code reader of claim 1 wherein the image processing system comprising an optical character recognition program for interpreting indicia on a target object having no bar code.

9. The bar code reader of claim 1 additionally comprising a scale and wherein a feature of an item not having a bar code affixed thereto is the item'"'"'s weight.

10. A method for imaging a target bar code comprising:

providing a housing having one or more transparent windows that define a region for movement and/or positioning of an object having a bar code;

positioning a camera having a sensor array within the housing for imaging bar codes on objects outside the housing;

capturing an image from a camera field of view as light from said field of view impinges onto said sensor array; and

interpreting images from the camera field of view to determine a presence of a bar code and if present decoding the bar code and if not present determining a feature of the target object within the camera field of view.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the feature is an indicia and further comprising determining said indicia using optical character recognition from the image.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the feature is a length dimension of the object.

13. The method of claim 10 additionally comprising capturing an image of a calibration object having markings regularly spaced across an extent of said calibration object and calibrating the sensor array to determine a pixel per length characteristic of said reader.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the calibration object is placed over at least a portion of one of said windows and then removed subsequent to capturing the image of said calibration object.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein imaging of the calibration object is performed prior to delivery of the reader to a customer and a pixel per length characteristic is stored in a memory of the reader.

16. The method of claim 10 comprising placing a target object in close proximity to a calibration object having regular markings to simultaneously image both the calibration object and the target object and then correlating the feature with spacings between markings on the calibration object.

17. The method of claim 10 comprising determining a weight of an item not bearing a bar code.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the weight of an item is used to confirm a visual determination of another item feature based on an image of that item.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein multiple items are placed on a scale surface and the weight of the multiple number of items is used to count said items by dividing a total weight by a unit weight per item.

20. An imaging system for use in a multi-camera imaging-based bar code reader having a housing supporting a plurality of transparent windows and defining an interior region, a target object being presented near or moved with respect to the plurality of windows for imaging a target bar code on a target object, the imaging system comprising:

a plurality of camera assemblies coupled to an image processing system, each camera assembly of the plurality of camera assemblies being positioned within the housing interior position and defining a field of view which is different than a field of view of each other camera assembly of the plurality of camera assemblies, each camera assembly including a sensor array and a light source in close proximity to the sensor array for illuminating a field of view;

one or more mirrors associated with each of the plurality of camera assemblies for returning light bouncing off a target object back to the sensor array of said camera assembly; and

one or more processors for evaluating images captured by said plurality of camera assemblies to determine a non bar code feature of target objects either presented within or swiped through at least one camera field of view.

21. The system of claim 20 a calibration object is imaged to calibrate the reader and wherein the feature is a length dimension of a target object.

22. An imaging-based bar code reader for imaging a target bar code on a target object, the bar code reader comprising:

a housing supporting one or more transparent windows and defining an interior region, a target object being presented to or swiped through the housing for imaging a target bar code;

an imaging system comprising

camera means having an image capture sensor array positioned within the housing interior region for capturing an image of a bar code within a camera field of view;

light source means for the camera means positioned in close proximity to the image capture sensor of said camera for emitting light; and

light reflecting means for defining multiple camera fields of view including mirrors positioned with respect to said light source and the sensor array along a light path to transmit light from the light source means to the field of view and transmit light that bounces from a target in the field of view back along said light path to the image capture sensor array; and

image processing means for selectively activating the light source means and identifying a bar code or non-bar code features from images captured by the imaging system.