Method and apparatus for providing omnidirectional lighting in a scanning device
First Claim
1. A digital scanning device for decoding a digitally encoded symbol comprising:
- a light source comprising a plurality of individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination to an encoded data symbol;
an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from the encoded data symbol when illuminated by the light source; and
a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements, the controller being programmed to selectively activate the lighting elements to vary the direction of the dark field illumination provided by the light source on the data encoded symbol and to process the image data collected by the image sensor to decode the symbol.
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Abstract
A system and method is provided for selectively controlling the illumination, and particularly dark field illumination, applied to a symbol to be decoded, and for determining a suitable or optimized level of lighting for decoding the symbol. A ring-shaped illuminator is provided, and is segmented into a plurality of individually-controllable lighting portions which can be, for example, quadrants. Initially, illumination is provided to the symbol through an initial set of lighting conditions. Feedback from acquired image data is then used to determine whether the lighting is suitable for decoding the symbol and, if not, a controller varies the lighting applied to the symbol, and additional image data is acquired. This process is continued until suitable conditions are met. Alternatively, activation and deactivation of the lighting segments can be manually selected by an operator to provide suitable conditions.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A digital scanning device for decoding a digitally encoded symbol comprising:
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a light source comprising a plurality of individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination to an encoded data symbol; an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from the encoded data symbol when illuminated by the light source; and a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements, the controller being programmed to selectively activate the lighting elements to vary the direction of the dark field illumination provided by the light source on the data encoded symbol and to process the image data collected by the image sensor to decode the symbol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A digital scanning device, comprising:
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a ring light source providing low angle dark field illumination to an adjacent surface including a symbol to be decoded; a controller connected to the ring light source for selectively varying the direction of the dark field illumination projected from the light source; and an image sensor connected to the controller for acquiring image data of the symbol, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the image data to determine whether the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol and to vary the light projected from the light source until the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A digital scanning device, comprising:
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an arcuate light source providing a low angle dark field illumination; a controller connected to the arcuate light source for selectively varying the direction of the dark field illumination projected from the light source; and an image sensor connected to the controller for acquiring image data at the symbol, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the image data to determine whether the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol and to vary the light projected from the light source until the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification