Decodable indicia reading terminal with optical filter

• US 8,636,215 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2011
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Ding, Yiwu, Feng, Chen, Wang, Ynjiun Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Haupt, Kristy A
• Application Number:
  US13/170,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20120325911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 235/454, 235/455, 235/462.42
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10821 further details of bar or optical code scanning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10831 Arrangement of optical elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors, prisms optical elements per se G02B
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks

Abstract

A decodable indicia reading terminal can comprise a housing including a housing window, a multiple pixel image sensor disposed within the housing, an imaging lens configured to focus an image of decodable indicia on the image sensor, an optical bandpass filter disposed in an optical path of light incident on the image sensor, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter configured to convert an analog signal read out of the image sensor into a digital signal representative of the analog signal, and processor configured to output a decoded message data corresponding to the decodable indicia by processing the digital signal.

Claims

1. A decodable indicia reading terminal comprising:

a housing including a housing window;

a multiple pixel image sensor disposed within said housing;

an imaging lens configured to focus an image of decodable indicia on said image sensor;

an optical bandpass filter disposed in an optical path of light incident on said multiple pixel image sensor, said optical bandpass filter configured so that light incident on each pixel of said multiple pixel image sensor passes through said optical bandpass filter and is subject to bandpass filtering by said optical bandpass filter in common wavelength ranges, said optical bandpass filter configured to pass light of two or more selected ranges of wavelengths and to attenuate light of wavelengths outside of said two or more selected ranges of wavelengths;

an analog-to-digital (ND) converter configured to convert an analog signal read out of said image sensor into a digital signal representative of said analog signal, said analog signal representative of light incident on said image sensor; and

a processor configured to output a decoded message data corresponding to said decodable indicia by processing said digital signal.

2. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1 configured to acquire images in a monochrome mode and in a color mode.

3. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter is disposed between said housing window and said imaging lens.

4. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter is disposed said imaging lens assembly and said image sensor.

5. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter is disposed at a surface of said imaging lens assembly.

6. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said multiple pixel image sensor comprises a micro-lens;

and

wherein said optical bandpass filter is disposed at a surface of said micro-lens.

7. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter is built-in into said imaging lens assembly.

8. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said multiple pixel image sensor comprises a micro-lens;

and

wherein said optical bandpass filter is built-in into said micro-lens.

9. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter is built-in into said housing window.

10. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said filter comprises a multi-layer coating.

11. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said filter comprises periodic structures.

12. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, further comprising one or more illumination LEDs configured to illuminate a substrate bearing decodable indicia.

13. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim, 1 further comprising one or more illumination LEDs having different spectral characteristics, said one or more illumination LEDs configured to illuminate a substrate bearing decodable indicia.

14. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, further comprising one or more illumination LEDs, each illumination LED of said one or more illumination LEDs comprising one or more dies having different spectral characteristics;

wherein said one or more illumination LEDs are configured to illuminate a substrate bearing decodable indicia.

15. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, further comprising one or more illumination LEDs configured to illuminate a substrate bearing decodable indicia, by emitting light having an illumination light spectrum;

wherein said illumination light spectrum varies at different areas of said substrate.

16. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1 further comprising one or more illumination LEDs configured to illuminate said substrate, by emitting light having an illumination light spectrum;

wherein a center wavelength of said optical bandpass filter is configured to match said illumination light spectrum.

17. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said optical bandpass filter includes a passband configured to match a backlight emitted by a portable communication device.

18. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said housing is provided by a hand held housing.

19. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said housing is provided by a point-of-sale workstation housing.

20. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said housing is provided by a presentation housing.

21. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said two or more selected ranges of wavelengths include a first range of wavelengths encompassing red light wavelengths and a second range of wavelengths encompassing green light wavelengths.

22. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said two or more selected ranges of wavelengths include a first range of wavelengths encompassing red light wavelengths and a second range of wavelengths encompassing blue light wavelengths.

23. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said two or more selected ranges of wavelengths include a first range of wavelengths encompassing green light wavelengths and a second range of wavelengths encompassing blue light wavelengths.

24. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said two or more selected ranges of wavelengths include a first range of wavelengths , a second range of wavelengths, and a third range of wavelengths.

25. The optical indicia reading terminal of claim 24, wherein the first range of wavelengths encompass red light wavelengths, wherein the second range of wavelengths encompass green light wavelengths, and wherein the third range of wavelengths encompass blue light wavelengths.