Combined camera system
First Claim
1. A system for continuously focusing an optical scanning device upon a plurality of optically readable labels passing by said scanning device, said plurality of optically readable labels being affixed to a plurality of packages of differing height positioned upon a continuously moving belt, comprising:
- height sensing means for continuously sensing information representative of the height of each of said optically readable labels above said continuously moving belt to provide a distance signal representative of said sensed height; and
belt speed encoding means for providing a belt speed signal in accordance with the speed of said continuously moving belt; and
focusing means, responsive to said belt speed signal, for receiving said distance signal and continuously focusing said optical scanning device upon said optically readable labels in accordance with said distance signal.
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Abstract
The camera system of the present invention simultaneously searches for a number of differing optical acquisition targets. Upon detecting an acquisition target it decodes according to corresponding differing decoding algorithms. To facilitate this operation there is a system bus as well as a dedicated data bus for applying a scan signal of an optical scanning device to differing detection circuitry. This system may decode, for example, both bar codes and concentric rings. The scan signal is constantly adjusted according to both a dark reference for correcting offset and a white reference for correcting gain. The gain is also corrected according to the scanning rate as well as the amount of illumination present. A measure of this illumination may be applied directly to the optical scanning device by way of a fiber optic cable which transmits light from the illumination source. When detecting concentric rings the system of the present invention uses stored templates which represent a number of transformations of the target, for example, a number of magnifications. When the transformation of a target is determined, the corresponding stored template is correlated with the scan signal from the optical scanning device. To detect concentric rings the scan signal is applied to interleaving circuitry which correlates more than one scan at a time to provide constant throughput even though the stages of the detector operate at different speeds. Optical calibration is eliminated by fixed optics wherein all optical elements are rigidly mounted at very close tolerances. The illumination source is disposed on one focus of an ellipse wherein the other focus is disposed at the maximum scanning distance and the reflector is formed to define the illumination ellipse to maximize the light applied to the object. The various heat producing elements are disposed in sealed compartments which are cooled by forced air which is circulated through a heat exchanger. A real time focusing system is provided wherein the distance from the scanning device to an opposing surface is constantly monitored and the system is constantly focused according to the distance.
81 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for continuously focusing an optical scanning device upon a plurality of optically readable labels passing by said scanning device, said plurality of optically readable labels being affixed to a plurality of packages of differing height positioned upon a continuously moving belt, comprising:
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height sensing means for continuously sensing information representative of the height of each of said optically readable labels above said continuously moving belt to provide a distance signal representative of said sensed height; and belt speed encoding means for providing a belt speed signal in accordance with the speed of said continuously moving belt; and focusing means, responsive to said belt speed signal, for receiving said distance signal and continuously focusing said optical scanning device upon said optically readable labels in accordance with said distance signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for continuously focusing an optical scanning device upon a plurality of optically readable labels passing by said scanning device, said plurality of optically readable labels being affixed to a plurality of packages of differing height positioned upon a continuously moving belt, comprising the steps of:
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(a) continuously sensing information representative of the height of each of said optically readable labels above said continuously moving belt to provide a distance signal representative of said sensed height information; (b) providing a belt speed signal in accordance with the speed of said continuously moving belt; and (c) continuously focusing said scanning device upon said optically readable labels in accordance with said belt speed signal and said distance signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification