Abstract: The method for automatic regulation comprises the steps of: acquiring an image; attempting reading of at least one optical code in the acquired image; detecting characteristic quantities of the acquired image only if the reading has been successful; and carrying out a large number of acquisitions of different images, obtaining a significant statistical datum of the characteristic quantities. The controlled parameters of the optical system are modified on the basis of this statistical datum detected, to optimise the reading. If the relationship between each controlled parameter and the respective characteristic quantities is not monotonic, the current valve of the controlled parameter is modified by at least one small positive deviation and one small negative deviation with respect to the current value; the value of the controlled parameter providing the best reading then becomes the central value for the successive readings.

Abstract: A method of locating highly variable brightness or color regions in an image having at least one specifically ordered region corresponding, for example, to the image of an optical code defined by different-colored elements with a predetermined orientation and at least one highly variable brightness or color region of an order level other than that of the specifically ordered region. A first intermediate binary image is generated representing the acquired image divided into a number of contiguous first subimages, each having a first logic value if corresponding to a specifically ordered region and a second logic value otherwise. A second intermediate binary image is generated representing the acquired image divided into a number of contiguous second subimages, each having a first logic value if corresponding to a specifically ordered region and/or to a highly variable brightness or color region and a second logic value otherwise.

Abstract: A method of locating an optical code of the maxicode type wherein a central target element comprises three concentric black rings separated by two white annular spaces and a white circular central space defining the center of the target element. The method includes the steps of: acquiring and binary-coding an image of the optical code; examining rows and columns of the binary-coded image, each row or column having black elements, each defined by at least one elementary representation unit of a first binary value, and white elements, each defined by at least one elementary representation unit of a second binary value; performing a sequence control step to locate, in each examined row or column of the image, at least one predetermined sequence of white and black elements; and performing an assigning step in which the rows or columns in the image containing a sequence of white and black elements corresponding to the predetermined sequence are recognized as intersecting the center of the target element.

Abstract: A method of compensating the edge positions of a signal generated by scanning elements of a bar code, the method including the steps of lighting the code and determining the light diffused by the code to generate in response a signal having a substantially alternating waveform defined by a sequence of high-amplitude portions separated by and joined to low-amplitude portions by steeply sloping edges of the waveform. A number of local minimum and maximum points of the waveform are determined to determine coordinates defining approximate edge positions. The coordinates are then corrected to generate modified coordinates, each relative to a corrected position of the edge compensating for any shift in the edge induced by blurring of the signal.

Abstract: A method wherein an image of an object bearing an optical code is divided into a number of elementary images for which a brightness gradient vector is calculated. The calculated gradients of a magnitude above a given threshold value (Glim) are transformed to eliminate the information relative to the direction of the vector, while maintaining the information relative to the path of the vector. The transformed and quantized vectors of a subimage including a number of elementary images are added to calculate a total gradient vector, which is compared with reference values to select significant subimages containing a sufficient number of gradient vectors of substantially the same path.

Abstract: A method whereby the image of a bar code is located in a digitized image of an object traveling along a conveyor belt; the orientation of the longitudinal axis of the code with respect to a reference system of the image is determined, and the code is scanned along lines parallel to the longitudinal axis of the code to generate respective vectors describing the pattern of the code image brightness signal along the respective line; and the vectors are digitized and projected to generate a real-number vector containing the coordinates of the brightness signal transition points indicating the shape and location of the code elements.