Bar code reading device for reading 1D or 2D bar code symbols

• US 8,602,309 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Longacre, Andrew Jr., Hussey, Robert M., Koziol, Thomas J., Ehrhart, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, APRIL ALICIA
• Application Number:
  US12/484,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20090308927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,639 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.01, 235/462.18, 235/462.19, 235/462.45, 235/472.01
• US Class Current: 235/462.45
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10821 further details of bar or optical code scanning devices
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1491 the method including a reconstruction step, e.g. stitching two pieces of bar code together to derive the full bar code

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bar code reading device for reading 1D or 2D bar code symbols. The bar code reading device, in one embodiment, can receive a command to disable symbology reading. In another embodiment, a bar code reading device can have a timercount and an image memory. In one embodiment, a bar code reading device can be configured to read bar code symbols of more than one bar code symbology.

Claims

1. A method for operating a hand held bar code reader for decoding either a 1D or 2D bar code symbol:

(a) providing a timercount memory space for storing timercount data;

(b) providing an image memory space for storing bit image representation data;

(c) moving said hand held bar code reader across said 1D or 2D bar code symbol while imaging a succession of 1D slices thereof;

(d) storing a bit image representation of each slice into said image memory space;

(e) examining image data of said image memory space after storage of each bit image representation to determine if the image memory space includes representation of a 2D finder pattern;

(f) if a 2D finder pattern is found at step (e), storing a predetermined number of additional slice bit image representations into said image memory space, the predetermined number being a number sufficient to assure that a symbol representation of sufficient size to allow decoding is stored in said image memory space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said moving step includes the step of asynchronously moving said hand held bar code reader across said 1D or 2D bar code symbol.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further includes the step of setting a scan counter if it is determined at step (e) that said image memory space includes a representation of a 2D finder pattern.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said method includes the steps of (i) setting a scan counter if it is determined at step (e) that said image memory space includes a representation of the 2D finder pattern;

and (ii) attempting to decode the 1D or 2D bar code symbol as a 2D bar code symbol if a count of said scan counter has been satisfied.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes setting a scan counter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes setting a scan counter responsively to the examining image data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing includes using the imaging memory space on a first in-first out basis.

8. A method for operating a bar code reader for decoding either a 1D or 2D bar code symbol:

(a) providing a timercount memory space for storing timercount data;

(b) providing an image memory space for storing bit image representation data;

(c) imaging a succession of 1D slices of said 1D or 2D bar code symbol while providing relative movement between the 1D or 2D bar code symbol and said bar code reader;

(d) storing a bit image representation of each slice into said image memory space;

(e) examining image data of said image memory space after storage of each bit image representation to determine if the image memory space includes representation of a 2D finder pattern;

(f) if a 2D finder pattern is found at step (e), storing a predetermined number of additional slice bit image representations into said image memory space, the predetermined number being a number sufficient to assure that a symbol representation of sufficient size to allow decoding is stored in said image memory space.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said imaging step includes the step of asynchronously moving said bar code reader across said 1D or 2D bar code symbol.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said method further includes the step of setting a scan counter if it is determined at step (e) that said image memory space includes a representation of a 2D finder pattern.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said method includes the steps of (i) setting a scan counter if it is determined at step (e) that said image memory space includes a representation of the 2D finder pattern;

and (ii) attempting to decode the 1D or 2D bar code symbol as a 2D bar code symbol if a count of said scan counter has been satisfied.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the method includes setting a scan counter.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the method includes setting a scan counter responsively to the examining image data.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the storing includes using the imaging memory space on a first in-first out basis.

15. A method for operating a bar code reader for decoding either a 1D or 2D bar code symbol:

(a) providing a timercount memory space for storing timercount data;

(b) providing an image memory space for storing bit image representation data;

(c) imaging a succession of 1D slices of said 1D or 2D bar code symbol while providing relative movement between the 1D or 2D bar code symbol and said bar code reader;

(d) storing a bit image representation of each slice into said image memory space;

(e) examining image data of said image memory space after storage of each bit image representation to determine if the image memory space includes representation of a 2D finder pattern;

(f) if a 2D finder pattern is found at step (e), storing additional slice bit image representations into said image memory space, the additional slice bit image representations being of a number sufficient to assure that a symbol representation of sufficient size to allow decoding is stored in said image memory space.