System and method for detecting barcode printing errors
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- capturing an image of a barcode;
creating a box to surround the barcode in the captured image, wherein the box comprises top and bottom edges perpendicular to lines of the barcode and respectively aligned to the top and bottom of the lines in the barcode;
detecting unprinted gaps along each line from amongst the lines of the barcode, the unprinted gaps indicative of a printer malfunction;
connecting the unprinted gaps to form gap lines aligned in a direction parallel to at least one of the top and bottom edges of the box, wherein each gap line is of a thickness so as to fill corresponding unprinted gaps in the barcode; and
generating a printer malfunction report based on the formation of the gap lines.
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Abstract
Barcode verifiers automate the verification process by capturing an image of the printed barcode and analyzing the image according to an industry specification. Industry specifications (e.g., ISO/IEC 15416,15415) identify common printing errors and prescribe test methods for detecting and quantifying these errors. Typically, these tests sample a barcode along one or more scan lines. Print errors that are parallel to these scan lines may be missed by the test. The present invention embraces a system and method to detect unprinted lines in barcodes resulting from a printer malfunction and produce a printer malfunction report with information regarding the quantity, position, and magnitude of these print errors.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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capturing an image of a barcode; creating a box to surround the barcode in the captured image, wherein the box comprises top and bottom edges perpendicular to lines of the barcode and respectively aligned to the top and bottom of the lines in the barcode; detecting unprinted gaps along each line from amongst the lines of the barcode, the unprinted gaps indicative of a printer malfunction; connecting the unprinted gaps to form gap lines aligned in a direction parallel to at least one of the top and bottom edges of the box, wherein each gap line is of a thickness so as to fill corresponding unprinted gaps in the barcode; and generating a printer malfunction report based on the formation of the gap lines. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system, comprising:
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an imaging module for capturing images of a machine readable indicia; a memory communicatively coupled to the imaging module, wherein the memory stores instructions for verifying quality of the machine readable indicia; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the instructions for; identifying at least one of an unprinted line and lines in the machine readable indicia captured by the imaging module; determining a printer malfunction based on the identification; and providing a printer malfunction report based on the determination of the printer malfunction. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A system comprising:
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an imaging module for capturing an image comprising at least one of a user-data indicia encoded with user data and a printer-ID indicia encoded with a printer identity; a memory communicatively coupled to the imaging module, wherein the memory stores quality verification instructions; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the quality verification instructions for; identifying unprinted dots in the user-data indicia; determining a printer malfunction using the unprinted dots; decoding the printer-ID indicia; and providing a printer malfunction report comprising the printer malfunction associated with the printer identity. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising,
capturing an image comprising a user data indicia encoded with user data and a printer-ID indicia encoded with a printer identity; -
identifying unprinted dots in the user data indicia; determining a printer malfunction using the unprinted dots; decoding the printer-ID indicia to obtain a printer identity of a printer associated with printing of any of the user data indicia and the printer-ID indicia; providing a printer malfunction report comprising the printer malfunction associated with the printer identity. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification