Imaging devices and methods for inhibiting or removing captured aiming pattern

• US 8,695,880 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2011
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Bremer, Edward C., Deng, Runhong
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US13/334,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20130161397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.21, 235/472.01, 235/462.11, 235/462.25, 235/462.46
• US Class Current: 235/462.21
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1011 Aiming
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1465 using several successive scans of the optical code

Abstract

A method for obtaining an image indicia includes performing one or more exposures of an imager to capture one or more images, and controlling active portions of an aiming pattern to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images or removing the aiming pattern from the one or more captured images. An attempted may be made to decode one or more decodable indicia utilizing the one or more captured images.

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising:

illumination subsystem operative for projecting an illumination pattern;

an aimer subsystem operative for projecting an aiming pattern;

an imaging subsystem comprising an image sensor array and an imaging optics assembly operative for focusing an image onto said image sensor array; and

wherein said imaging device is adapted to inhibit capture of or to remove the aiming pattern in one or more captured images; and

an image sensor integrated circuit comprising said image sensor array, and said image sensor integrated circuit operable to provide a first signal for use in controlling said illumination subsystem and said image sensor integrated circuit operable to provide a second separate signal for use in controlling said aimer subsystem, and wherein the first signal being different from the second signal.

2. The imaging device of claim 1 further comprising said imaging device being adapted to attempt to decode one or more decodable indicia using the one or more captured images.

3. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging device being adapted to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images comprises said imaging device being adapted so that an imager exposure for capturing the one of the one or more captured images occurs non-simultaneously after an ending of and before a beginning of adjacent active portions of the aiming pattern.

4. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging device being adapted to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images comprises said imaging device being adapted so that an active portion of the aiming pattern ends a time T1 prior to a beginning of an imager exposure for capturing one of the one or more captured images and so that the next active portion of the aiming pattern begins a time T2 after an ending of the imager exposure for capturing the one of the one or more captured images, and wherein T1 is greater than 0 and T2 is greater than O.

5. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging device being adapted to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images comprises said imaging device being adapted to begin an active portion of the aiming pattern upon read out of a center row of said image sensor array of one of the one or more captured images.

6. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging device being adapted to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images comprises said imaging device being adapted to begin an active portion of the aiming pattern upon read out of one of the one or more captured images.

7. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging subsystem is activatable for a plurality of exposure periods defining a plurality of frames for obtaining a plurality of captured images, and said imaging device is adapted to provide said aiming pattern comprising a plurality of active portions, and wherein active portions of the aiming pattern do not occur for some of the plurality of frames.

8. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said image sensor integrated circuit comprises memory providing a dedicated register for use in separately controlling said aimer subsystem.

9. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said imaging device being adapted to remove the aiming pattern in one of the one or more captured images.

10. The imaging device of claim 1 further comprising a housing incorporating said imaging subsystem and said aimer subsystem, and wherein said imaging device comprises a hand held imaging device.

11. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein the one or more captured images comprise one or more illuminated captured images.

12. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein said image sensor integrated circuit comprises memory providing a first register for providing the first signal for use in controlling said illumination subsystem, and a second register for providing the second signal for use in separately controlling said aimer subsystem.

13. A method for obtaining an image, the method comprising:

performing one or more exposures of an imager to capture one or more images;

controlling an illumination pattern;

controlling active portions of an aiming pattern to inhibit capture of the aiming pattern in the one or more captured images or to remove the aiming pattern from the one or more captured images; and

wherein the controlling the illumination pattern is based on a first signal from an image sensor integrated circuit, and the controlling active portions of the aiming pattern is based on a second separate signal from the image sensor integrated circuit, the first signal being different from the second signal.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising attempting to decode one or more decodable indicia utilizing the one or more captured images.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern so that an imager exposure for capturing one of the one or more captured images occurs non-simultaneously after an ending and before a beginning of adjacent active portions of the aiming pattern.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern so that an active portion of the aiming pattern ends a time T1 prior to a beginning of an imager exposure for capturing one of the one or more captured images and so that a next active portion of the aiming pattern begins a time T2 after an ending of the imager exposure for capturing the one of the one or more captured images, and wherein T1 is greater than 0 and T2 is the greater than O.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling a beginning of an active portion of the aiming pattern upon read out of a center row of the image sensor array of one of the one or more captured images.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling a beginning of an active portion of the aiming pattern upon read out of one of the one or more captured images.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling of the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling a plurality of active portions of the aiming pattern associated with a plurality of exposure periods defining a plurality of frames for obtaining a plurality of the captured images, and wherein the active portions of the aiming pattern do not occur for some of the plurality of frames.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling or removing comprises removing the aiming pattern from the one or more captured images.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein the performing comprises performing the one or more exposures of the imager to capture one or more illuminated images.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the image sensor integrated circuit comprises memory providing a first register for providing the first signal for use in controlling the illumination pattern, and a second register for providing the second signal for use in separately controlling said aimer pattern.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the controlling of the active portions of the aiming pattern comprises controlling a plurality of active portion of the aiming pattern associated with a plurality of exposure periods defining a plurality of frames for obtaining a plurality of illuminated captured images, and wherein active portions of the aiming pattern do not occur for some of the plurality of frames.

24. An imaging device comprising:

an aimer subsystem operative for projecting an aiming pattern;

an imaging subsystem comprising an image sensor array and an imaging optics assembly operative for focusing an image onto said image sensor array; and

an image sensor integrated circuit comprising said image sensor array, and said image sensor integrated circuit operable to provide a first signal for use in controlling said illumination subsystem and said image sensor integrated circuit operable to provide a second separate signal for use in controlling said aimer subsystem, and wherein the first signal being different from the second signal;

wherein said imaging device is adapted to remove the aiming pattern from one or more captured images and to adjust the value of pixels from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern.

25. The imaging device of claim 24 wherein said imaging device adapted to adjust the value of pixels from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern comprises said imaging device adapted to adjust the values of the pixels in a center region from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern.

26. The imaging device of claim 24 further comprising said imaging device being adapted to attempt to decode one or more decodable indicia using the one or more captured images having the aiming pattern removed.

27. A method for obtaining an image, the method comprising:

providing an image sensor integrated circuit comprising an image sensor array and an image sensor integrated circuit operable to provide a first signal for use in controlling an illumination subsystem and a second separate signal for use in controlling an aimer subsystem, the first signal being different from the second signal;

performing one or more exposures of an imager to capture one or more images having an aiming pattern; and

removing the aiming pattern from the one or more captured images;

wherein the removing the aiming pattern from one or more captured images comprises adjusting the value of pixels from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the adjusting the value of pixels from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern comprises adjusting the values of the pixels in a center region from one or more captured images having the aiming pattern.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising attempting to decode one or more decodable indicia utilizing the one or more captured images having the aiming pattern removed.