Techniques for optimization of barcodes

• US 8,931,687 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: West, Graham, Tait, Murray Stewart
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELLIS, SUEZU Y
• Application Number:
  US13/222,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20130048739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/494, 235/462.01
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06112 the marking being simulated using a light source, e.g. a barcode shown on a display or a laser beam with time-varying intensity profile
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1095 the scanner comprising adaptations for scanning a record carrier that is displayed on a display-screen or the like

Abstract

Techniques for optimization of barcode processing are presented. Barcode configuration data is distributed from a server service to a mobile client device. The mobile client device includes an application to inspect the capabilities of mobile client device and render the barcode configuration data into a barcode that is optimally scanned from the mobile client device when presented on a display of the mobile client device.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method programmed in a non-transitory processor-readable medium and to execute on a device configured to execute the method, comprising:

receiving barcode control information from a barcode distributor;

acquiring current image and current resolution settings from the device and acquiring limits on capabilities from the device for image and resolution settings by using an Application Programming Interface (API) for an Operating System (OS) of the device; and

translating the barcode control information into a barcode image on the device for access from the device by changing the current image and current resolution settings within the limits and once the barcode image is read by a barcode reader, resetting the device back to the current image and the current resolution settings.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the barcode control information in a vector-format from the barcode distributor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the barcode control information as data that is to be represented in the barcode image.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein acquiring the barcode control information further includes obtaining some of the data as syntax and semantic descriptions for how to render the data to the barcode image.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein acquiring the barcode control information further includes identifying bits of the data as representing squares for the barcode and an indication as to whether each square is to be black via set bits or is to be white via unset bits.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring further includes obtaining with the current image and the current resolution settings, the limits as being one or more of:

a dimensions for a display of the device and a resolution capability attribute for use with the dimensions of the display.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein obtaining further includes identifying the resolution capability attribute as a value for pixel resolution and spatial resolution for the display.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein obtaining further includes identifying a scaling factor for the barcode image based on the dimensions of the display.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein changing the current resolution setting includes increasing the current resolution setting to a resolution that is higher than the current resolution.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising, storing the barcode image on the device for subsequent access.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising, rendering the barcode image to a display of the device so that the barcode image is read by the barcode reader.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising, changing an orientation and a brightness setting for presenting the barcode image.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising, storing the limits in a file within the device for subsequent recall when translating other barcode images.

14. A processor-implemented method programmed in a non-transitory processor-readable medium and to execute on one or more processors configured to execute the method, comprising:

receiving a request for a barcode;

defining the barcode in terms of control data; and

transmitting the control data to a barcode renderer over a network for translation by the barcode renderer on a mobile device into the barcode, the barcode renderer using an Application Programming Interface (API) of an Operating System (OS) for the mobile device to determine how to render the barcode on the mobile device based on a current image resolution setting for a display of the mobile device, a limit for an image resolution that the mobile device is capable of handling, and a scaling factor for the display based on a screen size for the display, wherein the barcode renderer resets the mobile device back to a lower resolution once the barcode is presented to a barcode reader, when the barcode renderer increases the current image resolution setting for the display to render the barcode.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving further includes receiving the request from an enterprise service that is transacting with a user via the mobile device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving further includes receiving the request from a user or the barcode renderer via the mobile device.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein defining further includes translating the barcode into:

a vector format, a bitmap format, or a symbol format for representation as the control data.

18. A system, comprising:

a first machine having a client barcode renderer implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the client barcode renderer executed on the first machine; and

a second machine having a barcode distributer implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the barcode distributer executed on the second machine;

the client barcode renderer configured to interact with the barcode distributer to acquire barcode control data, which is not data that can be scanned as a particular barcode by a barcode reader, the barcode renderer further configured to obtain current image resolution setting for a display of the first machine along with a limit for resolution that the display is capable of achieving and a scaling factor based on a screen size for the display by using an Application Programming Interface (API) for an Operating System (OS) of the first machine and the barcode renderer to translate the barcode control data into a barcode that can be scanned from the barcode reader, and the barcode renderer to increase resolution of the first machine when rendering the barcode and reset resolution of the first machine back to the current image resolution when the barcode is read by the barcode reader, and wherein the barcode distributer configured to package and distribute the barcode control data to the barcode renderer over a network.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first machine is a mobile phone of a user and the second machine is located in a cloud processing environment.