Image reader having image sensor array

• US 9,576,169 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2015
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Ynjiun, Havens, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haupt, Kristy A
• Application Number:
  US14/925,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20160110574A1
• Time in Patent Office: 482 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10732 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10811 Focalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10831 Arrangement of optical elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors, prisms optical elements per se G02B
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/689 Motion occurring during a rolling shutter mode

Abstract

An image reader can include an image sensor array. An image reader in one embodiment can include an optical system capable of directing light reflected from a target onto the image sensor array. An image reader can be used for reading a dataform.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an integrated circuit including at least an image sensor array, wherein the image sensor array includes a plurality of pixels configured to capture image data, wherein the image sensor array is configured to capture the image data in a global shutter mode, and wherein in the global shutter mode all or substantially all of the plurality of pixels are configured to be simultaneously exposed in response to a global control timing pulse;

at least one processor connected to the integrated circuit; and

at least one memory associated with the at least one processor, the at least one memory including computer program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to;

search the image data for one or more markers indicating a decodable indicia;

apply a decoding algorithm associated with the at least one marker in an instance in which at least one marker of the one or more markers is detected, and

wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, are further configured to extract features from the image data indicative of a texture of the image data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a trigger configured to cause the image sensor array to capture the image data, and wherein the computer program instructions are further configured to search the image data for the one or more markers in response to actuation of the trigger.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer program instructions are configured to search the image data for the one or more markers in parallel with extracting features from the image data indicative of a texture of the image data.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein in an instance in which the computer program instructions decode the at least one decodable indicia before the features are extracted from the image data, the computer program instructions are configured to terminate extraction of features from the image data;

and

wherein in an instance in which computer program instructions extract features from the image data before decoding the at least one decodable indicia, the computer program instructions are configured to terminate searching the image data for the one or more markers or decoding the decodable indicia based upon detection of the one or more markers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if at least one marker of the one or more markers is detected and if the decoding algorithm associated with the at least one marker is unsuccessful, the at least one processor is configured to then extract features from the image data.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if no marker of the one or more markers is detected, the at least one processor is configured to then extract features from the image data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein computer program instructions are configured to extract the features from the image data in response to decoding the decodable indicia.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein extracting the features from the image data further comprises generating a numeric output indicative of the texture of the image data, and wherein the computer program instructions are further configured to categorize the image data into one or more categories based upon the numeric output.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer program instructions are configured to segment the image data into a plurality of regions, and wherein the computer program instructions are configured to extract features from each of the plurality of regions.

10. An apparatus comprising:

an image sensor array including a plurality of pixels configured to capture image data, wherein the image sensor array is configured to capture the image data in a global shutter mode, and wherein in the global shutter mode all or substantially all of the plurality of pixels are configured to be simultaneously exposed in response to a global control timing pulse;

at least one processor and at least one memory associated with the processor, the at least one processor and the at least one memory defining an autodiscrimination module comprising;

a dataform decode module configured to search the image data for one or more markers indicating a decodable indicia;

wherein in an instance in which at least one marker of the one or more markers is detected, the dataform decode module is configured to decode the decodable indicia in accordance with a decoding algorithm associated with the at least one marker, and

wherein the autodiscrimination module further comprises an image processing and analysis module configured to extract features from the image data indicative of a texture of the image data.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a trigger configured to cause the image sensor array to capture the image data, and wherein the dataform decode module is configured to search the image data for the one or more markers in response to actuation of the trigger.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the dataform decode module is configured to search the image data for the one or more markers in parallel with the image processing and analysis module extracting features from the image data indicative of a texture of the image data.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein in an instance in which the dataform decode module decodes the at least one decodable indicia before the image processing and analysis module extracts features from the image data, the dataform decode module is configured to terminate the operation of the image processing and analysis module;

and

wherein in an instance in which the image processing and analysis module extracts features from the image data before the dataform decode module detect decodes the at least one decodable indicia, the image processing and analysis module is configured to terminate the operation of the dataform decode module.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if at least one marker of the one or more markers is detected and if the decoding algorithm associated with the at least one marker is unsuccessful, the at least one processor is configured to then transfer the image data to the image processing and analysis module.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if no marker of the one or more markers is detected, the at least one processor is configured to then transfer the image data to the image processing and analysis module.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the image processing and analysis module is configured to extract the features from the image data in response to the dataform decode module decoding the decodable indicia.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the autodiscrimination module further comprises a generalized classifier module, and wherein the autodiscrimination module is configured to feed a numeric output of the feature extraction module into the generalized classifier module to categorize the image data into one or more categories.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the image processing and analysis module is configured to segment the image data into a plurality of regions, and wherein the image processing and analysis module is configured to extract features from each of the plurality of regions.