TERMINAL OUTPUTTING MONOCHROME IMAGE DATA AND COLOR IMAGE DATA

• US 20120002066A1
• Filed: 06/30/2010
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• 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 8,345,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14607 Geometry of the photosensitive area
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14625 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/44 by partially reading an SSIS array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/443 by reading pixels from selected 2D regions of the array, e.g. for windowing or digital zooming

Abstract

There is provided an imaging terminal comprising an image sensing and processing circuit that includes a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of pixels provided by monochrome pixels without color filter elements and a second subset of pixels provided by color pixels having color filter elements. The terminal can be operative so that the image sensing and processing circuit can output a frame of image data for storing in a CPU addressable image frame memory. The image sensing and processing circuit can be operative so that a frame of image data output by the image sensing and processing circuit for storing in a CPU addressable image frame memory can include monochrome pixel values that correspond to color pixel positions of the image sensor pixel array.

Claims

1. A terminal comprising:

an image sensing and processing circuit having a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of pixels and a second subset of pixels, the first subset of pixels being monochrome pixels devoid of color filter elements and a second subset of pixels being a color sensitive subset of pixels including color filter elements, the first subset of pixels having monochrome pixel positions, the second subset of pixels having color pixel positions;

a lens assembly for use in focusing an image onto the image sensor pixel array; and

a hand held housing, wherein the terminal is configured so that the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array is supported within the hand held housing;

a central processing unit (CPU);

an image frame memory addressable by the CPU;

wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a CPU addressable frame of image data for storage into the CPU addressable image frame memory, the image sensing and processing circuit being operative to determine monochrome pixel values corresponding to a plurality of the color pixel positions of the image sensor pixel array so the CPU addressable frame of image data output by the image sensing and processing circuit for storage into the image frame memory includes a plurality of monochrome pixel values that correspond to color pixel positions of the image sensor pixel array.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit includes an N row buffer.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit includes an N row buffer operative to simultaneously store image data corresponding to N rows of pixels of the image sensor pixel array, wherein the image frame memory is operative to simultaneously store image data corresponding to M rows of pixels of the image sensor pixel array, wherein M>

N.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit includes an N row buffer operative to simultaneously store image data corresponding to N rows of pixels of the image sensor pixel array, wherein the image frame memory is operative to simultaneously store image data corresponding to M rows of pixels of the image sensor pixel array, wherein M>

N, and wherein the N row buffer is not addressable by the CPU.

5. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative so that the CPU addressable frame of image data includes monochrome image data only and is devoid of color image data.

6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format.

7. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, the first format being a monochrome frame format, the second format being a monochrome and color frame format.

8. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of the first format and a frame of the second format contemporaneously.

9. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, the first format being a monochrome frame format, the second format being a monochrome and color frame format, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of the first format and a frame of the second format contemporaneously.

10. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the terminal is operative so that the CPU attempts to decode a decodable indicia utilizing the CPU addressable frame.

11. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit includes an N row buffer incorporated on a common integrated circuit with said image sensor pixel array.

12. An apparatus comprising:

an image sensing and processing circuit having a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of pixels and a second subset of pixels, the first subset of pixels being monochrome pixels devoid of color filter elements and a second subset of pixels being a color sensitive subset of pixels including color filter elements, the first subset of pixels having monochrome pixel positions, the second subset of pixels having color pixel positions;

the image sensing and processing circuit having an N row buffer for use in buffering image data corresponding to N rows of pixels of said image sensor pixel array;

wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of image data having image data corresponding to K rows of pixels of said image sensor pixel array, wherein K>

N, and wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to determine monochrome pixel values corresponding to a plurality of the color pixel positions of the image sensor pixel array utilizing the N row buffer so the frame of image data output by the image sensing and processing circuit includes a plurality of monochrome pixel values that correspond to color pixel positions of the image sensor pixel array.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the N row buffer is operative to buffer image data corresponding to less than ten percent of the number of rows of the image sensor pixel array.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, the first format being a monochrome frame format, the second format being a monochrome and color frame format.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of the first format and a frame of the second format contemporaneously.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of first format and a frame of a second format, the first format being different from the second format, the first format being a monochrome frame format, the second format being a monochrome and color frame format, wherein the image sensing and processing circuit is operative to output a frame of the first format and a frame of the second format contemporaneously.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the N row buffers incorporated on a common integrated circuit with the image sensor pixel array.

19. A method comprising:

providing a hand held imaging terminal having an image sensor pixel array, a trigger, a microprocessor addressable image frame memory, and a microprocessor in communication with the microprocessor addressable image frame memory, the image sensor pixel array having a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, the hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array having a first subset of pixels and a second subset of pixels, the first subset of pixels being monochrome pixels devoid of color filter elements and a second subset of pixels being a color sensitive subset of pixels including color filter elements, the first subset of pixels having monochrome pixel positions, the second subset of pixels having color pixel positions;

actuating said trigger to initiate a trigger signal;

responsively to the initiation of the trigger signal, 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;

digitizing analog intensity values read out into a pixel values to form a set of pixel values making up a frame of image data;

prior to output of said frame of image data for storage of said frame of image data into said image frame memory, processing said frame of image data for determination of monochrome pixel values corresponding to pixels of the second subset of pixels;

storing a processed frame image data into said image frame memory, the processed frame of image data having said determined monochrome pixel values corresponding to color pixel positions; and

addressing pixel values of said processed frame of image data stored into said image frame memory.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said determining includes interpolating the monochrome pixel values utilizing monochrome pixel values corresponding to pixel positions about a color pixel position.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said determining includes simple averaging.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein said determining includes correlation.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein said addressing includes addressing said pixel values for attempting to decode for decodable indicia.