Abstract: A hand-supportable Digital Imaging-Based Bar Code Symbol Reading Device comprises: an IR-based Object Presence and Range Detection Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Area-type Image Formation and Detection Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a Multi-Mode LED-based Illumination Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an Automatic Light Exposure Measurement and Illumination Control Subsystem; an Image Capturing and Buffering Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Image-Processing Bar Code Symbol Reading Subsystem; an Input/Output Subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; a System Mode Configuration Parameter Table; and a System Control Subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems. The bar code reading device can be configured and operated in numerous programmable modes of system operation to automatically read 1D and 2D bar code symbologies in a high-speed manner using advanced modes of image processing on captured images.

Abstract: A method of determining the lower limit of decoding resolution in a digital imaging-based bar code symbol reader. A software-based optical design program is used to generate the composite DOF chart of image formation optics employed in the digital imaging-based bar code symbol reader. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the object image is used to determine the smallest mil size code that can be decoded, at a given object distance, to produce an optical performance curve. The program calculates the size of the field of view (FOV) of a single sensor pixel, when projected through the image formation optics and out into object space. For both the 1.4 and 1.6 sampling limit pixel rules, the calculated FOV values are plotted on the same axes as the optical performance curve. Using graphical solution techniques, the sampling limit line of choice determines the lower limit of the decoding resolution in the imaging-based bar code symbol reader.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an IR-based object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems. The digital imaging-based bar code reading device employs a multi-mode bar code symbol reading image processor that is dynamically reconfigurable in response to real-time image analysis carried out upon captured narrow and wide area images.

Abstract: Method of performing autodiscrimination of 1D/2D bar code symbologies in a semi-automatic hand-supportable imaging-based bar code symbol reader having narrow-area and wide-area image capture modes of operation. The hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an automatic object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems.

Abstract: A digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading system which comprises: an automatic object presence and range detection subsystem; an image formation and detection subsystem having an area-type image sensing array with a field of view (FOV); a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having LED illumination arrays for producing fields of narrow-band illumination in near and far portions of the FOV; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; and a system control subsystem for controlling the subsystems. The LED illumination arrays are automatically driven by the automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem in response to the generation of control activation signals by the automatic object presence and range detection subsystem.

Abstract: A hand-supportable semi-automatic digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading system comprises: an automatic object presence detection subsystem; a multi-mode image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-actuatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem for controlling the subsystems. The digital imaging-based bar code reading system employs a three-tier modular software architecture for carrying out its image-processing based bar code symbol reading operations. The three-tier software architecture comprises an application layer, a system core layer, and an operating system (OS) layer.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an ir-based object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; a system mode configuration parameter table; and a system control subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an IR-based object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems. The multi-mode image-processing based bar code reading subsystem has a modular image-processing architecture constructed from four major image processing modules, namely: a tracker module, a finder module, a marker module, and a decoder module.

Abstract: A hand-supportable Digital Imaging-Based Bar Code Symbol Reading Device comprises: an IR-based Object Presence and Range Detection Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Area-type Image Formation and Detection Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a Multi-Mode LED-based Illumination Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an Automatic Light Exposure Measurement and Illumination Control Subsystem; an Image Capturing and Buffering Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Image-Processing Bar Code Symbol Reading Subsystem; an Input/Output Subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; a System Mode Configuration Parameter Table; and a System Control Subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems. The digital imaging-based bar code reading device employs a multi-mode bar code symbol image processor that is dynamically reconfigurable in response to real-time image processing operations carried out on captured digital images.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading system comprises: an automatic object presence detection subsystem; an image formation and detection subsystem having an area-type image sensing array with a field of view (FOV); a LED-based illumination subsystem having an LED illumination array for producing a field of narrow-band illumination within the FOV; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; and a system control subsystem for controlling the subsystems. The image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem has a mode of image processing, wherein a captured digital image is automatically processed along a set of parallel virtual scan lines spaced-apart by a number of pixel-offset distances proportional to the maximum pixel height of the region of interest (ROI) in the captured digital image containing a bar code symbol.

Abstract: A hand-supportable automatic digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an automatic object presence detection subsystem; an area-type image formation and detection subsystem having a narrow-area image-capture mode of operation; a LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area illumination mode of operation; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; and an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem. The automatic object presence detection subsystem automatically detects an object, and the LED-based illumination subsystem automatically illuminates the detected object in a field of narrow-area narrow-band illumination, while the area-type image formation and detection subsystem captures a narrow-area image thereof.

Abstract: A hand-supportable Digital Imaging-Based Bar Code Symbol Reading Device comprises: an IR-based Object Presence and Range Detection Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Area-type Image Formation and Detection Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a Multi-Mode LED-based Illumination Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an Automatic Light Exposure Measurement and Illumination Control Subsystem; an Image Capturing and Buffering Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Image-Processing Bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem integrated with each of the above-described subsystems. The hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code reading device employs automatic object presence and range detection to control the generation of near-field and far-field wide-area illumination during bar code symbol imaging operations.

Abstract: A wireless hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprising: an automatic object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; a multi-mode image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; a manually-actuatable trigger switch; and a system control subsystem for controlling these subsystems.

Abstract: A hand-supportable semi-automatic Digital Imaging-Based Bar Code Symbol Reading Device comprises: a Multi-Mode Area-type Image Formation and Detection (IFD) Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a Multi-Mode LED-based Illumination Subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an Image Capturing and Buffering Subsystem; a Multi-Mode Image-Processing Bar Code Symbol Reading Subsystem; a manually-activatable trigger switch.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reader comprises: an automatic object presence detection subsystem; a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having narrow-area and wide-area image-capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having independently controllable LED illumination arrays; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; and a system control subsystem for controlling the subsystems. The hand-supportable imaging-based bar code reader employs a method of intelligently illuminating objects during image capture, wherein the LED illumination arrays are independently controlled during particular moments of object illumination to generate digital images of objects which, through digital image analysis, are determined to be substantially free of noise (i.e.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an ir-based object presence and range detection subsystem; a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having a field of view (FOV) and narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem having narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; and a system control subsystem. The LED-based multi-mode illumination subsystem produces three different fields of LED-based illumination in automatic response to the detection of different conditions within the FOV, by the automatic object presence and range detection subsystem.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: a image formation and detection subsystem; a LED-based illumination subsystem; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem; an input/output subsystem; and a system control subsystem for controlling the subsystems. During each image capture cycle, a single frame of pixel data is automatically detected by the CMOS area-type image sensing array when substantially all rows of pixels therein are in a state of integration and have a common integration time, and then the single frame of pixel data is transmitted from the CMOS area-type image sensing array into a FIFO buffer, and then mapped into memory, for subsequent image processing.

Abstract: A hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code symbol reading device comprises: an automatic object presence and range detection subsystem; an area-type image formation and detection subsystem having a CMOS area-type image detection array, and narrow-area and wide area image capture modes of operation; an LED-based illumination subsystem having LED arrays, and narrow-area and wide area illumination modes of operation; an automatic light exposure measurement and illumination control subsystem; an image capturing and buffering subsystem; and an image-processing bar code symbol reading subsystem.

Abstract: An automatically-activated wireless code symbol reading system comprising a hand-supportable housing having a manually-activatable data transmission switch under automatic communication range dependent control. When a bar code symbol is read, the bar code reader is located inside the predetermined RF data communication range of the system, then the symbol character data string, produced at substantially the same time as the manual activation of the data transmission switch, is transmitted to the base station over the wireless RF communication link. If the device is outside the range, then an audible and/or visual indication is automatically generated, and the packaged symbol character data string is packaged and transmitted to a data storage buffer aboard the bar code reader. Then when the bar code symbol reader is moved within the communication range of the system, the buffered/packaged symbol character data is automatically transmitted to the base station by the RF-based data communication link.

Abstract: A bar code symbol reading system is disclosed comprising a hand-supportable bar code symbol reading device which embodies an electronically-controlled bar code symbol reading engine for producing a raster-type laser scanning pattern in either a hands-free or hands-on mode of operation for scanning 1-D and 2D bar code symbols. The electronically-controlled bar code symbol reading engine has (i) a high-speed/high-resolution raster scanning mode of operation, during which a high-speed, high-resolution raster-type scanning pattern is precisely generated under electronic control, and (ii) a high-speed/low-resolution raster scanning mode of operation during which a high-speed, low-resolution raster-type scanning pattern is precisely generated under electronic control.