Apparatus having hybrid monochrome and color image sensor array

• US 9,058,527 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• 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 P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US14/221,874
• Publication Number:
  US 20140203084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 235/462.47, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/472.03, 235/462.11
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10732 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10752 Exposure time control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10811 Focalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks
• 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 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1443 locating of the code in an image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/10 for generating image signals from different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/42 by switching between different modes of operation using different resolutions or aspect ratios, e.g. switching between interlaced and non-interlaced mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/532 by controlling global shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

There is provided in one embodiment an apparatus having an image sensor array. In one embodiment, the image sensor array can include monochrome pixels and color sensitive pixels. The monochrome pixels can be pixels without wavelength selective color filter elements. The color sensitive pixels can include wavelength selective color filter elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an image sensor array having a plurality monochrome pixels;

wherein the apparatus is configured to capture a gray scale image frame based on an intensity of light detected by at least the plurality of monochrome pixels, and to transfer the gray scale image frame to an indicia decode circuit, wherein the indicia decode circuit is configured to attempt to decode a decodable indicia represented by the gray scale image frame;

wherein the image sensor array is configured to obtain the grey scale image frame in a global shutter mode by simultaneously exposing at least the plurality of monochrome pixels in response to a global exposure control timing pulse; and

wherein the plurality of monochrome pixels are distributed according to a distribution pattern such that a shape of the gray scale image frame corresponds to a shape of the decodable indicia.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image sensor array is a CMOS image sensor array, and wherein the CMOS image sensor array comprises column circuitry and row circuitry, wherein the column circuitry and the row circuitry enable data to be read out from individual pixels within the CMOS image sensor array.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a subset of polarized pixels configured to polarize incoming light rays.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gray scale image frame is further based on an intensity of light detected by the polarized pixels such that the device is configured to decode the decodable indicia captured using the polarized subset of pixels.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the global shutter mode, all or substantially all of at least the plurality of monochrome pixels in the image sensor array are exposed in response to a global exposure control timing pulse.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indicia decode circuit further comprises:

an autodiscrimination module configured to search the gray scale image frame for one or more markers indicating the decodable indicia, wherein in an instance in which at least one marker of the one or more markers is detected, the indicia decode module is configured to decode the gray scale image frame in accordance with a decoding algorithm associated with the at least one marker.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indicia decode circuit further comprises:

a bar code symbol decoding circuit configured to decode representations of a bar code in the decodable indicia.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one illumination light source configured to illuminate at least a portion of the decodable indicia in response to an illumination control timing pulse;

wherein the exposure control timing pulse and the illumination control timing pulse are coordinated.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to a single row of monochrome pixels.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distribution of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to an elongate rectangle comprising a plurality of rows of monochrome pixels.

11. A bar code reading device comprising:

an image sensor array having a plurality of monochrome pixels;

wherein the device is configured to capture a gray scale image frame using at least the plurality of monochrome pixels and is configured to transfer the gray scale image frame to a bar code decode module, wherein the bar code decode module is configured to attempt to decode a representation of a bar code that is captured in the gray scale image frame;

wherein the image sensor array is configured to obtain the gray scale image frame in a global shutter mode by simultaneously exposing at least the plurality of monochrome pixels in response to a global exposure control timing pulse; and

wherein the plurality of monochrome pixels are distributed according to a distribution pattern such that a shape of the gray scale image frame corresponds to a shape of the bar code.

12. The bar code reading device of claim 11, further comprising:

a subset of polarized pixels configured to polarize incoming light rays.

13. The bar code reading device of claim 12, wherein the gray scale image frame is further based on an intensity of light detected by the polarized pixels such that the device is configured to decode representations of the bar code captured using the polarized subset of pixels.

14. The bar code reading device of claim 11, wherein the distribution of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to a single row of monochrome pixels.

15. The bar code reading device of claim 11, wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to an elongate rectangle comprising a plurality of rows of monochrome pixels.

16. A bar code reading device comprising:

a two-dimensional image sensor array comprising;

a first subset of pixels comprising a plurality of monochrome pixels configured for use in generation of a frame of image data; and

a second subset of pixels;

wherein the first subset of pixels may be selectively addressed independently of the second subset of pixels by the device to read out the frame of image data, such that the bar code reading device is configured to decode representations of a bar code captured in the frame of image data; and

wherein at least the first subset of pixels is configured to be operated in a global shutter mode, wherein all or substantially all of at least the first subset of pixels in the image sensor array are exposed in the image sensor array in response to an exposure control timing pulse; and

wherein the first subset of pixels are distributed according to a distribution pattern such that a shape of the frame of image data corresponds to a shape of the bar code.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the frame of image data represents a gray scale image frame based on an intensity of light detected at the first subset of pixels.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein in the global shutter mode, a plurality of rows of pixels in the image sensor array are exposed over a common exposure period in response to the exposure control timing pulse.

19. The bar code reading device of claim 16, wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to a single row of monochrome pixels.

20. The bar code reading device of claim 16, wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of monochrome pixels corresponds to an elongate rectangle comprising a plurality of rows of monochrome pixels.