Method and apparatus for high resolution decoding of encoded symbols
A method for scanning and decoding encoded symbols comprises processing low resolution image data from a full field of view and/or high resolution image data from one or more windowed segments of the field of view to provide imaging that is easily adaptable to different types of symbols and varying environmental conditions. The scanning method can be switched between the low resolution mode and the high resolution mode automatically based on whether the low resolution data is sufficiently accurate to decode the symbol.
The present invention relates to scanning devices for decoding symbols, and more particularly to a method for decoding symbols using a high resolution image sensor.
Encoded symbols such as ID bar codes, 2D bar codes and symbols, such as data matrixes, are commonly found in retail, industrial, and other applications for identifying labeled goods, products, or components. Bar codes are symbols that comprise a series of alternating white and black elongated bars or modules which are aligned to define a code. Data matrixes comprise a plurality of black and white cells which are arranged in a two dimensional code. Both of these types of codes, as well as various other symbols known in the art, can be found in applications for identifying goods, applied either to a label or printed directly on a part or component.
Devices for reading encoded symbols typically employ an illumination device for shining light on the symbol and a camera module for detecting the reflected light. The camera module typically has a fixed focal distance and a fixed aperture, providing a fixed field of view (FOV). The sensor in the camera module is arranged as an array of pixels defined by a row and column location in the sensor, and typically employs a low resolution sensor having a VGA resolution of about 640×480 pixels. In operation, the scanning device illuminates the symbol, and the camera module detects image data as reflected light from the illuminated area in the field of view. A decoding algorithm is employed to decode the symbol based on the acquired data.
The decoding algorithms used in these devices require a certain number of pixels per symbology element bar or cell for accurate decoding. When the FOV is fixed, as is typically found in current devices, there is therefore a direct relationship between the resolution of the sensor (in pixels per row/column) and the smallest readable code (measured in mm/module for bar codes and mm/cell for matrix codes). To provide the appropriate resolution, and both fast and accurate decode times for different types of symbols, readers are therefore typically specialized for a specific application and include lenses and/or focal distances which are fixed based on the expected application and the expected type of symbol to be read.
These specialized devices are useful for work stations where a single type of symbol is expected to be read under stable environmental conditions. However, it is often desirable to read different types of marks at a single station. To allow for reading of different types of symbols under varying environmental conditions, therefore, handheld readers are also available which use autofocus or bifocal lenses. These devices extend the reading range of the scanning device and therefore provide a variety of magnifications, thereby providing more versatile scanning capable at reading different types of symbols. Scanning devices including autofocus and bifocal lenses, however, can also be expensive and difficult to use. Autofocus and bifocal devices, for example, are highly dependent on the skill of the operator, as the operator must manually position the reader depending on the type of code being read. Furthermore, as the reader is moved further away, proper illumination of the symbol becomes problematic, rendering accurate reading difficult. These devices, therefore, require frequent re-positioning, are time-consuming to use, and can also be inaccurate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for decoding an encoded digital symbol with a digital scanner which is useful for decoding various types of symbols in various environmental conditions. Initially, a low resolution image data set of a field of view including the symbol is acquired, and evaluated to attempt to decode the symbol. If the symbol is not decoded in the first step, a high resolution image data set of at least a portion of the field of view is acquired and, again, evaluated to determine if it can be decoded. If the symbol is again not decoded, additional high resolution image data sets of windowed portions of the field of view are acquired until the symbol is decoded.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for decoding an encoded digital symbol with a digital scanner is provided. Here, a high resolution image data set of a field of view of the scanner is acquired and stored. The data set is then sub-sampled and the resultant low resolution image data set is evaluated in an attempt to decode the symbol. If the decode attempt does not succeed, windowed portions of the high resolution image data set are selected and evaluated, windowing as appropriate until the symbol is decoded.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a digital scanner device is provided for decoding an encoded digital symbol. The scanner includes an illuminator for illuminating a field of view including the encoded digital symbol, a sensor comprising a plurality of pixels for detecting reflected light from the encoded digital symbol and to provide an electrical signal when light is detected, and a controller connected to the sensor to selectively read at least one of the pixels into an image data acquisition set. The controller is programmed to acquire a low resolution image data set by reading a subset of the pixels in the sensor distributed through the field of view, evaluate the low resolution image data set to decode the symbol, and, when the evaluation does not decode the symbol, to acquire a high resolution image data set by reading a full set of the pixels in a selected portion of the field of view. The high resolution image data set is then evaluated to decode the symbol and, when the evaluation of the high resolution image data set does not decode the symbol, reposition the selected portion of the field of view and acquiring and analyzing additional data sets until the symbol is decoded.
In still another aspect of the invention, a method for analyzing image data is provided. The method comprises the steps of analyzing a sub-sampled image data set of the field of view for a selected image parameter, and, if the image parameter is not found, analyzing a fully sampled portion of a certain field of view for the image parameter. If the image parameter is not found in the fully sampled portion, windowing through the data and analyzing a different fully sampled portion of the field of view for the image parameter until the parameter is identified.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a digital scanner for decoding symbols is provided including an image sensor comprising an array of pixels for imaging the symbol and a controller connected to the sensor to analyze image data acquired by the sensor. The controller is programmed to selectively acquire and decode low resolution image data comprising a sub-sampling of pixels in the field of view, acquire and decode high resolution image data comprising a full sampling of pixels in at least a portion of the field of view, acquire low resolution image data and switch to acquire high image resolution data when decoding of the low resolution image data fails.
These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention and reference is made therefore, to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the figures and more particularly to
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To provide a full range of capabilities, the digital scanning device 10 can, in some applications, be selectively operated in each of a low resolution mode, in which acquired data is sub-sampled over the entire FOV as described above, in a high resolution mode, in which acquired data is fully sampled over a portion of the field of view and subsequent acquisitions “window” through the field of view, and an automatic switching mode, as described with reference to
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In step 70, the controller 38 in CPU board 24 attempts to decode the low resolution image data set by applying a decode algorithm. In step 72 a determination is made as to whether the decode of the low resolution image data set has been successful. If the decode is successful, the process is complete, the CPU board 24 activates an indicator 36 indicating that a decode has been completed, and can also transmit decode data to the host system 50 (step 74). If the decode is not successful, the low resolution image data set is evaluated to determine whether a finder pattern or code, which provides symbol location information to the scanner can be located within the symbol being analyzed (step 76). If so, the finder pattern is used to set windowing parameters (step 78) for acquiring additional high resolution image data sets of the symbol which are smaller in size than the FOV, but which include most and preferably all, of the pixels 62 in at least a portion of the sensor 42, as shown schematically in
If a finder pattern is not available, in step 80 default windowing parameters for selecting an initial the location for acquiring “windowed” high resolution image data is instituted. Referring now to
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The present invention therefore provides a scanning device which is capable of consistently reading a variety of symbols in a variety of environmental conditions without the need for the operator to adjust to either the symbol being scanned or the surrounding conditions. By employing a higher resolution sensor and processing smaller or lower resolution portions of the available pixels, the invention also provides fast processing of the data, particularly when the reduced image contains all the information needed to decode the symbol.
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Therefore, although specific embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent that a number of variations could be made within the scope of the invention. For example, although a handheld scanner with specific hardware configuration has been described above, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many variations could be provided in the hardware and software described. Additionally, a fixed mount scanning device could also be used. Furthermore, although specific lighting conditions and symbols have been described, these are not considered to be limitations of the invention, as the methods described herein could be employed in various applications, as will be apparent from the description above. Additionally, although the method has been described above for use in decoding symbols, it will be apparent that similar methods can also be used in several imaging applications. It should be understood therefore that the methods and apparatuses described above are only exemplary and do not limit the scope of the invention, and that various modifications could be made by those skilled in the art that would fall under the scope of the invention. To apprise the public of the scope of this invention, the following claims are made:
Claims
1. A method for decoding an encoded digital symbol with a digital scanner, the method comprising the following steps:
- (a) acquiring a low resolution image data set of a field of view including the symbol;
- (b) evaluating the low resolution image data set to decode the symbol;
- (c) acquiring a high resolution image data set of at least a portion of the field of view if the symbol has not been decoded in step (b);
- (d) evaluating the high resolution image data set to decode the symbol
- (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) until the symbol is decoded.
2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises selecting a windowed portion of the field of view.
3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein step (e) comprises selectively moving the windowed portion through the field of view as successive high resolution sets of image data are acquired.
4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises the step of evaluating the low resolution image data set to detect a location of the symbol in the low resolution image and using the location to determine the portion of the field of view for acquiring the high resolution image data set.
5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein step (e) includes selectively windowing through the field of view in a predetermined pattern.
6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the low resolution image is acquired by sub-sampling the pixels in a sensor array.
7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the high resolution image is acquired by sampling all of the pixels in the selected portion of the array.
8. A method for decoding an encoded digital symbol with a digital scanner, the method comprising the following steps:
- (a) acquiring a high resolution image data set of a field of view of the scanner;
- (b) storing the high resolution image data set;
- (c) sub-sampling the high resolution data set and evaluating the resultant low resolution image data set to decode the symbol;
- (d) selecting windowed portions of the high resolution image data set if the symbol has not been decoded in step (c);
- (e) evaluating the windowed portion of the high resolution image data set to decode the symbol; and
- (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) until the symbol is decoded.
9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of locating a finder pattern in the low resolution image.
10. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein step (d) further comprises the step of using the finder pattern to define the portion of the high resolution image to evaluate.
11. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein step (e) further comprises the step of locating a finder pattern in the high resolution image.
12. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein step (c) comprises sub-sampling the image data set at a half resolution.
13. A digital scanner device for decoding an encoded digital symbol, the digital scanner device comprising:
- an illuminator for illuminating a field of view including the encoded digital symbol;
- a sensor comprising a plurality of pixels for detecting reflected light from the encoded digital symbol and to provide an electrical signal when light is detected; and
- a controller connected to the sensor to selectively read at least one of the pixels into an image data acquisition set;
- wherein the controller is programmed to:
- (a) acquire a low resolution image data set by reading a subset of the pixels in the sensor distributed through the field of view;
- (b) evaluate the low resolution image data set to decode the symbol;
- (c) when the evaluation does not decode the symbol, acquire a high resolution image data set by reading a set of the pixels in a selected portion of the field of view;
- (d) evaluating the high resolution image data set to decode the symbol;
- (e) when the evaluation of the high resolution image data set does not decode the symbol, reposition the selected portion of the field of view and repeating (c) and (d) until the symbol is decoded.
14. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the controller is further programmed to evaluate the low resolution image date set to locate a finder pattern in the encoded symbol.
15. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 14, wherein the finder pattern is used to select the portion of the field of view for the acquisition of the high resolution image data set.
16. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the sensor comprises a switch for providing a signal to the controller to selectively enable the high resolution acquisition of image data.
17. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the subset of pixels acquired in the low resolution image acquisition data set comprises one fourth of the pixels in the field of view.
18. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the high resolution image data set comprises data from all of the pixels in half of the field of view.
19. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the set of pixels in the high resolution image data set comprises all of the pixels in the selected portion.
20. The digital scanner device as recited in claim 13, wherein the subset of pixels in the low resolution image data set are distributed through the field of view at a lower density than the set of pixels in the high resolution image data set.
21. A digital scanner for decoding symbols, the scanner comprising:
- an image sensor comprising an array of pixels for imaging the symbol; and
- a controller connected to the sensor to analyze image data acquired by the sensor, wherein the controller is programmed to selectively:
- acquire and decode low resolution image data comprising a sub-sampling of pixels in the field of view;
- acquire and decode high resolution image data comprising a full sampling of pixels in at least a portion of the field of view; and
- acquire low resolution image data and switch to high image resolution data when decoding of the low resolution image data fails.
22. The digital scanner as recited in claim 21, wherein the sensor is a high resolution sensor having a resolution of at least 1280 by 1024 pixels.
23. The digital scanner as recited in claim 21, wherein the controller is programmed to window through the field of view when acquiring high resolution image data.
24. The digital scanner as recited in claim 21, wherein the controller is programmed to acquire image data for all of the pixels in the field of view when acquiring high resolution image data.
25. The digital scanner as recited in claim 21, further comprising a switch for selecting between low resolution image acquisition, high resolution image acquisition, and switching between low and high resolution image acquisition.
26. A method for analyzing image data of an encoded symbol, comprising the following steps:
- (a) applying a decoding algorithm to analyze a sub-sampled image data set of the field of view;
- (b) if the data set is not decoded in step (a), applying a decoding algorithm to analyze a fully sampled portion of the full field of view;
- (c) if the imaging parameter is not found in step (b), applying a decoding algorithm to analyze a different fully sampled portion of the field of view; and
- (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) until the encoded symbol is decoded.
27. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein step (a) comprises analyzing a half sampled image data set of the field of view.
28. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein step (a) comprises acquiring a high resolution image data set for the full field of view and storing the high resolution image data set for processing.
29. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein step (a) comprises acquiring a sub-sampled low resolution data set.
30. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein steps (b) and (c) comprise acquiring a windowed high resolution data set.
31. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein steps (a), (b) and (c) comprise evaluating the image data set to find a finder pattern in the encoded symbol.
32. The method as defined in claim 26, wherein step (a) comprises sub-sampling the image data set at successively increasing sampling levels.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 4, 2004
Publication Date: Feb 9, 2006
Inventors: Laurens Ninnink , William Equitz (Waban, MA)
Application Number: 10/911,209
International Classification: G06K 7/10 (20060101);