Data reader apparatus having an adaptive lens
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A data reader for reading an indicium, comprising:
- a case configured to be held in a hand of a user of the data reader, said case configured to house components of said data reader, said components comprising;
a lens system for focusing illumination representing an image of said indicum, said lens system comprising a fluid lens;
a fluid lens control module configured to apply a fluid lens control signal to said fluid lens to control an operational parameter thereof;
an image sensor configured to receive said focused illumination representing said image of said indicium;
an image sensor control module configured to operate said image sensor to capture data comprising at least a portion of a frame of image data from said focused illumination representing said image of said indicium; and
a processing module configured to process said at least a portion of said frame of image data to extract therefrom information by the indicium.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for making and using handheld data readers comprising one or more fluid lenses. One or more fluid lenses are provided to allow a handheld data reader to perform such operations as reading indicia, including such additional operations as zooming, reorienting a viewing direction, focusing, adjusting an optical axis, and correcting for the effects of motion such as hand jitter. The fluid lens or lenses can be operated for example by applying electrical signals to fluid lenses comprising a plurality of fluids including at least one that is conductive and at least one that is non-conductive.
768 Citations
79 Claims
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1. A data reader for reading an indicium, comprising:
a case configured to be held in a hand of a user of the data reader, said case configured to house components of said data reader, said components comprising;
a lens system for focusing illumination representing an image of said indicum, said lens system comprising a fluid lens;
a fluid lens control module configured to apply a fluid lens control signal to said fluid lens to control an operational parameter thereof;
an image sensor configured to receive said focused illumination representing said image of said indicium;
an image sensor control module configured to operate said image sensor to capture data comprising at least a portion of a frame of image data from said focused illumination representing said image of said indicium; and
a processing module configured to process said at least a portion of said frame of image data to extract therefrom information by the indicium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A process for focusing a handheld data reader comprising a fluid lens, comprising the steps of:
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(a) operating said handheld data reader to acquire an image from a target, said fluid lens of said handheld reader configured to operate at a first focal length;
(b) assessing the acquired image to determine whether the image is suitably focused;
(c) in the event that the image is suitably focused, processing the image to retrieve information represented by the image; and
(d) in the event that the image is not suitably focused;
iteratively performing the steps of;
adjusting an operating parameter of said fluid lens to alter an operating focal property of said fluid lens; and
repeating steps (a) and (b) recited hereinabove until condition (c) is attained. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A process for focusing a handheld data reader comprising a fluid lens, comprising the steps of:
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(a) operating said handheld data reader using a first focal length to acquire an image from a target comprising an encoded indicium;
(b) attempting to retrieve encoded information from said acquired image;
(c) in the event that suitable information is retrieved from said image, reporting said information and terminating said process; and
(d) in the event that suitable information is not retrieved from said image;
iteratively performing the steps of;
adjusting said fluid lens to operate at a focal length different from a focal length previously employed;
repeating step (a) using said different focal length; and
repeating step (b);
until a selected one of the following is true;
condition (c) is attained;
the iterative steps (a) and (b) are repeated until at least one of a predetermined number of iterations and a predetermined time is reached. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40. A process for calibrating a handheld data reader apparatus comprising a fluid lens responsive to a control signal, comprising the steps of:
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(a) operating said handheld data reader to acquire an image from a target separated from said handheld data reader by a first distance;
(b) providing a control signal to control a focus of said fluid lens to within an acceptable range;
(c) recording, for later retrieval and use, a data point comprising at least one of (i) a metric related to said first distance, and (ii) a metric related to the value of said control signal in a non-volatile memory; and
(d) optionally, iteratively repeating steps (a), (b) and (c) to build a calibration table for said handheld reader apparatus, wherein at each repetition of step (a) after the first, said target and said handheld reader apparatus are separated by a distance different from a distance employed in a previous repetition of step (a). - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A handheld data reader for reading an indicium and comprising a fluid lens having a steerable optical axis, comprising:
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a case configured to be held in a hand of a user of the data reader, said case configured to house components of said data reader, said components comprising;
a fluid lens for transmitting light along an optical axis, said fluid lens having a plurality of first electrodes disposed at a first electrical contact region of a fluid responsive to an impressed electric potential, and at least a second electrode disposed at a second electrical contact region of said fluid responsive to an impressed electric potential; and
a fluid lens control module configured to apply at least one of a plurality of fluid lens control signals to at least one of said plurality of first electrodes of said fluid lens to control a direction of an optical axis thereof;
a plurality of sensors operating along at least two non-collinear vectors, said plurality of sensors configured to detect a change in orientation of said handheld data reader;
an optical axis reorientation unit configured to determine at least one control signal calculated to reorient said optical axis of said fluid lens to at least partially correct for said change of orientation of said handheld data reader, said at least one control signal then being applied as an electric potential to at least one of said plurality of first electrodes;
an image sensor configured to receive focused illumination representing an image of said encoded indicium;
an image sensor control module configured to operate said image sensor to capture data comprising at least a portion of a frame of image data from said focused illumination representing said image of said encoded indicium; and
a processing module configured to process said at least a portion of said frame of image data to extract therefrom information encoded by said encoded indicium;
whereby said handheld data reader is configured to at least partially correct for motion thereof when operated in a handheld manner. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A process for adjusting in real time an optical axis of a handheld data reader comprising a fluid lens, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a handheld reader comprising;
a case configured to be held in a hand of a user of the data reader, said case configured to house components of said data reader, said components comprising;
a fluid lens for transmitting light along an optical axis, said fluid lens having a plurality of first electrodes disposed at a first electrical contact region of a fluid responsive to an impressed electric potential, and at least a second electrode disposed at a second electrical contact region of said fluid responsive to an impressed electric potential; and
a fluid lens control module configured to apply a plurality of fluid lens control signals to said plurality of first electrodes of said fluid lens to control a direction of an optical axis thereof;
a plurality of sensors operating along at least two non-collinear vectors, said plurality of sensors configured to detect a change in orientation of said handheld data reader;
an optical axis reorientation unit configured to determine at least one control signal calculated to reorient said optical axis of said fluid lens to at least partially correct for said change of orientation of said handheld data reader, said at least one control signal then being applied as an electric potential to at least one of said plurality of first electrodes;
(b) determining a first direction of said optical axis by operation of said fluid lens control module;
(c) determining a first orientation of said handheld data reader by operation of said plurality of sensors operating along at least two non-collinear vectors;
(d) observing a change in orientation of said handheld optical reader from said first orientation to a second orientation;
(e) determining at least one control signal calculated to reorient said optical axis of said fluid lens to overcome said change of orientation of said handheld data reader; and
(f) applying said at least one control signal as an electric potential to at least one of said plurality of first electrodes;
whereby said optical axis of said fluid lens is reoriented to at least partially correct for said change in orientation of said handheld data reader to maintain said optical axis substantially along said first direction irrespective of a change of orientation of said handheld data reader. - View Dependent Claims (75)
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76. A process for correlating an operation of a first fluid lens to an operation of a second fluid lens, comprising the steps of:
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providing a first calibration relation for said first fluid lens and a second calibration relation for said second fluid lens, each of said first and said second calibration relations having the corresponding optical parameter of said first and said second fluid lenses as one variable and a control signal parameter as another variable;
selecting a value of said optical parameter at which said fluid lenses are to be operated;
extracting from each calibration relation the value of the control signal parameter corresponding to the selected value of said optical parameter, thereby obtaining a first value of said control signal representative of said first fluid lens and a second value of said control signal representative of said second fluid lens when each fluid lens operates at said selected value of said optical parameter; and
determining a difference in value between said first value of said control signal representative of said first fluid lens and said second value of said control signal representative of said second fluid lens when each fluid lens operates at said selected value of said optical parameter;
whereby matched operation of said first fluid lens and said second fluid lens at said selected value of said optical parameter is accomplished by applying a common control signal to both of said first and said second fluid lenses, with the additional application of said difference, accounting for sign, to a selected one of said first and said second lens. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79)
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Specification