INDICIA READING APPARATUS HAVING IMAGE SENSING AND PROCESSING CIRCUIT

• US 20100289915A1
• Filed: 06/21/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Ynjiun P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,984,855 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10851 Circuits for pulse shaping, amplifying, eliminating noise signals, checking the function of the sensing device basic electronic circuitry H03
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence

Abstract

A TTR time of a reading apparatus can also be reduced by designing an apparatus to exhibit a certain timing relationship between a receipt of a trigger signal and/or more of image capture and decoding. An apparatus in one embodiment can be configured to continuously capture frames of image data prior to receipt of a trigger signal and can further be configured so that an output decoded message is decoded from a frame of image data having a capture initiation time of prior to the time of receipt of a trigger signal. An apparatus configured to output a decoded message from a frame of image data having a capture initiation time of prior to a time of receipt of a trigger signal can have a TTR time of less than a frame capture period of the apparatus.

Claims

1. A method for processing image data with use of a hand held imaging apparatus having an image sensor array, a trigger, a microprocessor addressable image frame memory and a microprocessor in communication with the microprocessor addressable image frame memory, the method comprising:

(a) actuating said trigger to initiate a trigger signal;

(b) reading out image signals from a contiguous grouping of pixels of said image sensor array, the image signals comprising an analog intensity value for each pixel of the grouping, the analog intensity value for each pixel indicating light incident on the pixel;

(c) digitizing each of the analog intensity values read out at step (b) into a pixel value to form a set of pixel values making up a frame of image data;

(d) prior to output of said set of pixel values for capture of said pixel values into said image frame memory, processing said set pixel values for determination of data indicating a location of a decodable indicia representation represented by said set of pixel values;

(e) capturing said set of pixel values into said image frame memory; and

(f) addressing pixel values of said set of pixel values captured into said image frame memory at step (e) at a determined location of a decodable indicia.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said data indicating a location includes a coordinate data indicating a block having highest edge strength scores.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said data indicating a location includes a set of block edge strength scores.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising attempting to decode for decodable indicia utilizing pixel values of the set of pixel values captured into said image frame memory.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing by said image sensor and processing circuit for determining is responsive to a configuring of the imaging apparatus by a user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing by said image sensing and processing circuit for determining includes application of edgelets.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing by said image sensing and processing circuit for determining includes application of curvelets.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing by said image sensing and processing circuit for determining includes application of edgelets and curvelets.