Digital picture taking optical reader having hybrid monochrome and color image sensor array

• US 8,720,784 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Ynjiun
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US13/213,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20110303750A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.11, 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/472.03, 235/462.43
• US Class Current: 235/462.45
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0004 Hybrid readers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• 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: H04N 2209/042 having a single pick-up sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/13 characterised by the spectral characteristics of the filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light

Abstract

A portable hand held optical reader having a specially constructed two-dimensional image sensor array is operational in a bar code decoding mode and in a picture taking mode. The specially constructed image sensor array, in one embodiment, is a hybrid monochrome and color image sensor pixel array, wherein a first subset of the pixels are monochrome pixels devoid of wavelength selective color filter elements and a second subset of the pixels are color sensitive pixels including wavelength selective color filter elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a two-dimensional solid state image sensor array comprising;

a monochrome subset of pixels comprising monochrome pixels that are devoid of wavelength selective filter elements and are adapted for use in generation of monochrome image data; and

a color subset of pixels comprising color sensitive pixels that include wavelength selective filter elements and are adapted for use in generation of color image data;

wherein the apparatus is adapted for generation of a frame of image data having pixel positions corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color subset of pixels; and

wherein for generation of the frame of image data having pixel positions corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color subset of pixels, the apparatus exposes the monochrome subset of pixels during a monochrome pixel exposure period for controlling exposure of the monochrome subset of pixels and exposes the color subset of pixels during a color pixel exposure period for controlling exposure of the color subset of pixels.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is adapted to attempt to decode a decodable indicia utilizing the frame of image data having pixel positions corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color subset of pixels.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period is non-overlapping with the color pixel exposure period.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period occurs subsequent to the color pixel exposure period.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period has a different stop time than the color pixel exposure period.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period has a different start time than the color pixel exposure period.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period has a different start time and a different stop time than the color pixel exposure period.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein for generation of the frame of image data having pixel positions corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color subset of pixels, the apparatus combines image data of different frames the different frames including a monochrome image data frame having image data corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and a color image data frame having image data corresponding to the color subset of pixels.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein for generation of the frame of image data having pixel positions corresponding to the monochrome subset of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color subset of pixels, the apparatus selectively addresses the monochrome subset of pixels for capture of a monochrome frame of image data, selectively addresses the color subset of pixels for capture of a color frame of image data, and combines the monochrome frame of image data and the color frame of image data.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said image sensor array is constructed so that said monochrome pixels are selectively addressable independent of said color sensitive pixels such that image data corresponding to said monochrome pixels are selectively read out independent of image data corresponding to said color sensitive pixels.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said color sensitive pixels of said two-dimensional solid state image sensor array are uniformly distributed throughout said two-dimensional solid state image sensor array.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said image sensor array includes a checkerboard pattern of pixels, and wherein the pixels of color subset of color sensitive pixels are at spaced apart positions of said image sensor array and uniformly or substantially uniformly distributed throughout said image sensor array.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said wavelength selective filter elements of said color sensitive pixels are selected from the group consisting of cyan filter elements and magenta filter elements.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said image sensor array is configured so that said monochrome pixels can be driven into reset while said color sensitive pixels are exposed for image data read out.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pixels of said monochrome subset of pixels each have a monochrome surface area dimension, and the pixels of said color subset of pixels each have a color surface area dimension, said monochrome surface area dimension not equal to said color surface area dimension.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said monochrome pixels of said monochrome subset are smaller dimensioned than said color sensitive pixels of said color subset.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a hand held housing supporting the two dimensional image sensor array.

18. The portable bar code reading device of claim 17, wherein said image sensor array is constructed so that said monochrome pixels are selectively addressable independent of said color sensitive pixels such that image data corresponding to said monochrome pixels are selectively read out independent of image data corresponding to said color sensitive pixels.

19. The portable bar code reading device of claim 17, wherein said image sensor array is configured so that said monochrome pixels can be driven into reset while said color sensitive pixels are exposed for image data read out.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the monochrome pixel exposure period has a different stop time than the color pixel exposure period.