INTERACTIVE SENSOR SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DIMENSIONING

• US 20100250183A1
• Filed: 10/28/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Viscount, Brian, WILLINS, Bruce
• Granted Patent: US 8,265,895 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/02 Means for marking measuring points

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to interactive systems and methods for dimensioning with a mobile device. The mobile device can include an accelerometer, imager, and a corresponding algorithm configured to compute dimensions based on a plurality of inputs from the accelerometer, imager, etc. Specifically, the accelerometer allows the mobile device to measure acceleration and time, and the algorithm is configured to convert these measurements into distances. Additionally, with a three-axis accelerometer, the user can move the device off an axis being measured and still receive an accurate measurement, i.e. the algorithm can compensate for off-axis movement. Further, the present invention can incorporate an imager on the mobile device to provide additional compensation supplementing the algorithm and allowing the user additional freedom to be positioned away from the starting and end-point of a measurement.

Claims

1. A measuring method by a user of a device, comprising:

aligning a device to a first point, wherein the device comprises a sensor;

activating measurement in the device;

moving the device to align the device to a second point;

deactivating the measurement in the device;

receiving a distance from the device based on sensor data, wherein the distance comprising a distance between the first point and the second point on an axis.

2. The measuring method of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an imager, and wherein the aligning the device to the first point comprises aligning an aiming pattern in the imager to the first point.

3. The measuring method of claim 2, wherein the distance is further based on the sensor data plus offsets from the imager to remove sensor data from any movement off of the axis.

4. The measuring method of claim 3, wherein the imager is configured to detect reference points and compute device orientation based on movement of the reference points.

5. The measuring method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating a timer responsive to activating the measurement;

deactivating the timer responsive to deactivating the measurement; and

utilizing a time from the timer with the sensor data to compute the distance.

6. The measuring method of claim 5, further comprising:

activating an imager responsive to activating the measurement;

monitoring offsets from the axis through the imager as the device is moved; and

removing the offsets from the sensor data.

7. The measuring method of claim 6, wherein the removing the offsets comprises analyzing symmetry of a pattern in the imager as the device moves and analyzing distortions of the pattern as the device moves.

8. A measuring method by a device, comprising:

providing an aiming pattern on a first point;

activating a timer;

gathering sensor data from an accelerometer as the device is in motion;

providing the aiming pattern on a second point; and

computing distance on an axis from the first point to the second point based on a time from the timer and the sensor data from the accelerometer.

9. The measuring method of claim 8, wherein the device further comprises an imager, and wherein the aiming pattern is provided on the first point through the imager.

10. The measuring method of claim 9, wherein the distance is further based on the sensor data plus offsets from the imager to remove sensor data from any movement off of the axis.

11. The measuring method of claim 9, wherein the imager is configured to detect reference points and compute device orientation based on movement of the reference points.

12. The measuring method of claim 8, further comprising:

activating an imager responsive to activating the timer;

monitoring offsets from the axis through the imager as the device is moved; and

removing the offsets from the sensor data.

13. The measuring method of claim 12, wherein the removing the offsets comprises analyzing symmetry of a pattern in the imager as the device moves and analyzing distortions of the pattern as the device moves.

14. A device, comprising:

a display;

an input mechanism;

an accelerometer;

a processor;

a local interface communicatively coupling the display, the input mechanism, the accelerometer, and the processor;

wherein the accelerometer is configured to provide acceleration data to the processor for a plurality of axes;

wherein the processor is configured to compute a measurement based on user input, a timer, and the acceleration data.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the display comprises a user interface configured to interact with a user for performing measurements.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the user input comprises an activation and deactivation of a measurement, and wherein the activation and deactivation sets the timer to provide a time utilized to calculate the measurement with the acceleration data.

17. The device of claim 15, further comprising an imager, wherein the processor is further configured to receive image frames from the imager and to compute relative movement between each of the image frames thereby determining an orientation of the device.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the orientation is utilized by the processor to remove any acceleration data not on a measurement axis.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to analyze the symmetry of the projected aiming pattern in the imager as the device moves, and wherein the symmetry and the distortions are utilized by the processor to correct offsets associated with the device.

20. The device of claim 19, where the aiming pattern comprises a two-dimensional pattern designed to promote detection of angular offsets when imaged, while continuing to enable targeting of objects for dimensioning, bar codes, and documents.