INDICIA READING TERMINAL INCLUDING FRAME PROCESSING

• US 20100147956A1
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Bower, Kevin D., Pankow, Matthew W., Bremer, Edward C., Hussey, Robert M., Wang, Ynjiun P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,083,148 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/472.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1013 Multi-focal
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10801 Multidistance reading

Abstract

There is described an indicia reading terminal that can be operative to process a frame of image data for attempting to decode a decodable indicia. A frame can be a frame that is among a succession of frames for subjecting to processing subsequent to and during a time a trigger signal is active. Such a succession of frames can include zero or more binned frames, zero or more unbinned frames, zero or more windowed frames, and zero or more unwindowed full frames. An indicia reading terminal can also include a variable focus imaging lens. Control of the variable focus imaging lens can be provided so that during an exposure period for a binned frame the variable focus imaging lens is set to a short range focus setting and further so that during an exposure period for a windowed frame the variable focus imaging lens is set to a long range focus setting.

Claims

1. An indicia reading terminal comprising:

an image sensor integrated circuit having a two dimensional image sensor array, said two dimensional image sensor array including a plurality of pixels, said indicia reading terminal including a binning module for applying a function using image information values representative of light incident at a plurality of pixels of said image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal further including a windowing module for use in selectively addressing a subset of pixels of said image sensor array for read out of a windowed frame;

an imaging lens for use in focusing an image of a target decodable indicia onto said two dimensional image sensor array;

a hand held housing encapsulating said two dimensional image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal being operative for manual activation of a trigger signal by an operator;

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative so that for a time that said trigger signal remains active, said hand held indicia reading terminal can process a succession of frames, said succession of frames including a binned frame, said succession of frames further including a windowed frame, the windowed frame having image data representing light incident at a group of pixels of said image sensor array, the group of pixels comprising less than 50% of a total number of pixels of said image sensor array, the windowed frame representing indicia within a defined area of a target substrate that is relatively smaller than a defined area within which indicia would be represented by a frame representing light incident on each pixel of said image sensor array;

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative to process a frame of said succession of frames for attempting to decode for decodable indicia.

2. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances.

3. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances, and wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is moved between a plurality of best focus distance settings ranging between a shorter range and longer range during said time that said trigger signal remains active, said indicia reading terminal being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be in said shorter range best focus distance setting during an exposure period for said binned frame.

4. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances, and wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is moved between a plurality of best focus distance settings ranging between a shorter range and a longer range during said time that said trigger signal remains active, said indicia reading terminal being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be in said longer range best focus distance setting during an exposure period for said windowed frame.

5. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said binning module includes an analog binning circuit incorporated in said image sensor integrated circuit for summing charges that have accumulated on a block of said plurality of pixels.

6. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said binning module averages image information values that are associated with a block of pixel positions.

7. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said binning module includes a CPU that sums multibit pixel values that are associated with a block of pixel positions.

8. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said imaging lens is one of a deformable lens or a non-deformable fluid lens.

9. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative to capture a full unbinned frame, the full unbinned frame having a certain frame time, where a frame time of said windowed frame is less than said certain frame time.

10. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative so that said terminal captures said windowed frame conditionally on satisfaction of a predetermined criteria.

11. The indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said group of pixels is a continuous group of pixels centered at a center of said image sensor array.

12. An indicia reading terminal comprising:

an image sensor integrated circuit having a two dimensional image sensor array, said two dimensional image sensor array including a plurality of pixels, said indicia reading terminal including a binning module applying a function using image information values representative of light incident at a plurality of pixels of said image sensor array;

an imaging lens for use in focusing an image of a target decodable indicia onto said two dimensional image sensor array;

a hand held housing encapsulating said two dimensional image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal being operative for manual activation of a trigger signal by an operator;

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative so that for a time that said trigger signal remains active, said hand held indicia reading terminal can process a succession of frames, said succession of frames including a first binned frame and a second binned frame;

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative to process a frame of said succession of frames for attempting to decode for decodable indicia; and

wherein said first binned frame has a bin size larger than a bin size of said second binned frame, and wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances, and wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is moved between first and second best focus distance settings during said time that said trigger signal remains active, said first best focus distance being relatively shorter than said second best focus distance, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be at said first best focus distance during an exposure period for said first binned frame, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be at said second best focus distance during an exposure period for said second binned frame.

13. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances.

14. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, including a color pattern filter disposed over said image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal being operative so that said binning module can be activated to convert color image information to monochrome image information.

15. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said succession of frames that can be processed for said time that said trigger signal remains active includes an unbinned frame.

16. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said succession of frames includes a windowed frame.

17. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said succession of frames includes a first binned frame and a second binned frame, said first binned frame having a bin size larger than a bin size of said second binned frame.

18. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said terminal is operative so that said terminal processes said second binned frame conditionally on satisfaction of a predetermined criteria.

19. The indicia reading terminal of claim 12, wherein said imaging lens is one of a deformable lens or a non-deformable fluid lens.

20. An indicia reading terminal comprising:

an image sensor integrated circuit having a two dimensional image sensor array, said two dimensional image sensor array including a plurality of pixels, said indicia reading terminal including a windowing module for use in selectively addressing a subset of pixels of said image sensor array for read out of a windowed frame having image data;

an imaging lens for use in focusing an image of a target decodable indicia onto said image sensor array;

a hand held housing encapsulating said two dimensional image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal being operative for manual activation of a trigger signal by an operator;

wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative for capture of a succession of frames during a time that said trigger signal remains active, wherein said succession of frames includes a first frame and a second windowed frame, said first frame representing light incident on a larger number of pixels of said image sensor array than said second windowed frame, wherein said second windowed frame represents light incident at a group of pixels comprising less than 50% of a total number of pixels of said image sensor array, wherein said imaging lens is a variable focus imaging lens capable of defining a plurality of best focus distances, and wherein said indicia reading terminal is operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is moved between first and second best focus distance settings during said time that said trigger signal remains active, said first best focus distance being relatively shorter than said second best focus distance, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be at said first best focus distance during an exposure period for said first frame, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that said variable focus imaging lens is controlled to be at said second best focus distance during an exposure period for said second windowed frame; and

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative to process a frame of said succession of frames for attempting to decode for decodable indicia.

21. The indicia reading terminal of claim 20, wherein said imaging lens is one of a deformable lens or a non-deformable fluid lens.

22. The indicia reading terminal of claim 20, wherein said first frame is a windowed frame representing light incident at a continuous group of pixels of said image sensor array, where said continuous group of pixels comprises less than 80% of a total number of pixels of said image sensor array.

23. The indicia reading terminal of claim 20, wherein said terminal is operative so that said terminal captures said second windowed frame conditionally on the satisfaction of a predetermined criteria.

24. An indicia reading terminal comprising:

an image sensor integrated circuit having a two dimensional image sensor array, said two dimensional image sensor array including a plurality of pixels and a color pattern filter disposed over said two dimensional image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal including a binning module for summing signal values representative of light incident at a block of said plurality of pixels of said image sensor array;

an imaging lens for use in focusing an image of a target decodable indicia onto said image sensor array;

a hand held housing encapsulating said two dimensional image sensor array, said indicia reading terminal being operative for manual activation of a trigger signal by an operator;

wherein said hand held indicia reading terminal is operative in a picture taking mode and an indicia decoding mode, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that when said terminal is operated for capture of a succession of frames with said picture taking mode active said binning module is not enabled so that said succession of frames captured with said picture taking mode active include color image data, said indicia reading terminal further being operative so that when said terminal is operated to process a succession of the frames with said indicia decoding mode active said binning module is enabled so that said succession of frames processed with said indicia decoding mode active includes a binned frame including monochrome image data for subjecting to an indicia decode attempt.

25. The indicia reading terminal of claim 24, wherein said imaging lens is one of a deformable lens or a non-deformable fluid lens.