US5591952A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bar code reader
Assignee: Symbol Technologies LLC
•
Filing: 1995-01-26
•
Granted: 1997-01-07
•
Expires: 2015-01-26
Abstract
Abstract In a bar code reader, a field of view which includes a symbol to be read is imaged upon a light-responsive array such as a CCD imager device. The output of this array is transferred to a memory array to provide a bit-mapped type of binary representation of the image including the symbol. The memory is scanned (instead of the field of view itself being mechanically scanned) to recognize and decode the symbol. Because the angular orientation of the symbol is variable, this binary representation may be interpreted to determine how the memory array is to be scanned to recognize the bar code symbol. For example, the distinctive patterns of characters used in bar codes may be found by scanning the memory and the relative positions of these patterns interpreted to determine the position, size and shape of the symbol in the memory, thereby defining at what angular displacement the memory array need be addressed to traverse the rows of the bar code symbol. Or, the memory array may be simply scanned using preselected scan lines (beginning with a raster-type scan) until code recognition is obtained.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark J. Krichever
- 👤 Boris Metlitsky
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 14:10
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K7/00; G06K7/10; G06K7/10544; G06K7/10821; G06K7/1092; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/06009; G06K19/06037; G06K7/10712; G06K7/10722; G06K7/14; G06K7/1404; G06K7/1439; G06K7/1443; G06K7/1456
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 46
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional bar code symbol having a plurality of linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information having a reading direction corresponding to said linear direction, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector array a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) directly transferring serially only to a serial port of a memory array a binary representation of light impinging on the light-detector array; (c) scanning said binary representation in the memory array via a parallel port of said memory array to produce electrical data output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical output including finding the presence of bar code symbol information by said processing means to thereby determine orientation of said linearly arranged pattern of bar code data in said bar code symbol; and (e) thereafter scanning said binary representation in the memory array via said parallel port of said memory array using addressing based on said determined orientation to produce electrical bar code data to said processing means, and decoding said electrical bar code data using said processing means.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
183 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional bar code symbol having a plurality of linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information having a reading direction corresponding to said linear direction, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector array a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) directly transferring serially only to a serial port of a memory array a binary representation of light impinging on the light-detector array; (c) scanning said binary representation in the memory array via a parallel port of said memory array to produce electrical data output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical output including finding the presence of bar code symbol information by said processing means to thereby determine orientation of said linearly arranged pattern of bar code data in said bar code symbol; and (e) thereafter scanning said binary representation in the memory array via said parallel port of said memory array using addressing based on said determined orientation to produce electrical bar code data to said processing means, and decoding said electrical bar code data using said processing means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said step of optically imaging includes directing light onto said field of view and focusing reflected light onto said light-detector array.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said light-detector array is a CCD device, and said step of transferring includes serially accessing the light-detector array.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said step of scanning the memory array includes addressing rows and columns of an array of memory cells of the memory array in a sequence of linear patterns including at least two linear patterns angularly positioned with respect to the rows and columns.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the symbol includes a plurality of rows of bar code patterns in a two-dimensional array.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said light-detector array is in a stationary unit aimed toward said field of view.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said light-detector array is in a hand-held unit adapted to be aimed toward the bar code symbol, and the hand-held unit includes a manually activated trigger; and wherein said method includes responding to activation of said trigger to initiate said steps of transferring and scanning.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the angular orientation of the symbol within the field of view may be non-parallel to the rows or columns of the light-detector array.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of determining the orientation of a symbol included in said representation and then scanning said memory array based upon said determination.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying patterns in said binary representation corresponding to bar code symbols.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 10 wherein said step of identifying includes the step of counting transitions from one type of binary data to the other.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
201 words
A method of operating a bar code scanner for reading two-dimensional bar code symbols of the type having a plurality of rows of bar code data, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating directly in a light-responsive array a binary representation of a two-dimensional field of view, said field of view including a symbol to be read; said generating including the step of optically imaging said field of view onto said light-responsive array to generate said binary representation of said field of view; then serially transferring said binary representation to a memory array by direct serial only coupling; (b) scanning said memory array via a parallel port to said memory array, said scanning including generating an effective scan line having an angular orientation corresponding to that of a representation of said symbol included within said binary representation, said scanning being effective to produce electrical data output; and scanning including using said processing means to read the electrical data output to locate a portion of the bar code information and determine said angular orientation of said bar code information, and thereafter addressing said memory based on said angular orientation to produce electrical data output corresponding to complete rows of said symbol.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
201 words
A method of operating a bar code scanner for reading two-dimensional bar code symbols of the type having a plurality of rows of bar code data, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating directly in a light-responsive array a binary representation of a two-dimensional field of view, said field of view including a symbol to be read; said generating including the step of optically imaging said field of view onto said light-responsive array to generate said binary representation of said field of view; then serially transferring said binary representation to a memory array by direct serial only coupling; (b) scanning said memory array via a parallel port to said memory array, said scanning including generating an effective scan line having an angular orientation corresponding to that of a representation of said symbol included within said binary representation, said scanning being effective to produce electrical data output; and scanning including using said processing means to read the electrical data output to locate a portion of the bar code information and determine said angular orientation of said bar code information, and thereafter addressing said memory based on said angular orientation to produce electrical data output corresponding to complete rows of said symbol.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein said generating includes reading said memory in a regular pattern and checking for recognizable bar code characters, then reading said memory using a sequence of addresses determined from the location of said recognizable bar code characters.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein said step of scanning said memory array includes addressing rows and columns of an array of memory cells of that memory array in a sequence of linear patterns at a plurality of different angles with respect to the rows and columns.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein the symbol includes at least one row of bar code patterns.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 15 wherein the symbol includes a plurality of rows of bar code patterns in a two-dimensional array.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
39 words
Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said processing means accessing the memory array evaluates data read from said memory array to identify bar code patterns by detecting the ratio of data representing bars to data representing space between bars.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein the light-responsive array is in a hand-held unit which includes a manually activated trigger, and the method includes activating said trigger to initiate said step of generating.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein the angular orientation of said bar code symbol is variable, and the lines of said scanning of the memory array are at variable angles.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein said light-responsive array is in a stationary unit aimed toward a fixed field of view.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method according to claim 12 including, prior to said step of generating a scan line, performing the step of identifying patterns in said binary representation corresponding to the bar code symbol by reading out said binary representation and evaluating said read out in a CPU.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 21 wherein said step of identifying includes the step of counting transitions from one type of binary data to the other.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus according to claim 21 wherein said optical means directs a light beam onto said field of view and focuses reflected light onto said light-responsive array.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
153 words
Apparatus for reading a two-dimensional bar code symbol having plurality of rows of bar code information, comprising: (a) optical means for imaging upon a light-responsive array a field of view which includes said symbol to be read, the array having a serial output; (b) a memory array having a serial port receiving from said serial output a serial binary representation of light impinging upon said light-responsive array, the memory array also having a parallel port; (c) processing means accessing the memory array via said parallel port, to determine the orientation of a symbol included within said binary representation and producing electrical data output derived from said memory array by scanning based upon orientation, and said processing means including means for finding bar code information in said binary representation for one row of said symbol to determine said orientation of said symbol for accessing said memory array to scan complete rows of said symbol.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
153 words
Apparatus for reading a two-dimensional bar code symbol having plurality of rows of bar code information, comprising: (a) optical means for imaging upon a light-responsive array a field of view which includes said symbol to be read, the array having a serial output; (b) a memory array having a serial port receiving from said serial output a serial binary representation of light impinging upon said light-responsive array, the memory array also having a parallel port; (c) processing means accessing the memory array via said parallel port, to determine the orientation of a symbol included within said binary representation and producing electrical data output derived from said memory array by scanning based upon orientation, and said processing means including means for finding bar code information in said binary representation for one row of said symbol to determine said orientation of said symbol for accessing said memory array to scan complete rows of said symbol.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus according to claim 24 wherein said processing means accessing the memory array addresses rows and columns of an array of memory cells of the memory array in a sequence of linear patterns at a plurality of different angles with respect to the rows and columns.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
21 words
Apparatus according to claim 24 wherein said light responsive array is in a hand-held unit aimed toward the bar code symbol.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus according to claim 26 wherein the hand-held unit includes a manually activated trigger, said trigger being actuated to initiate said accessing of the light-responsive array.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to claim 24 wherein said means accessing the memory array evaluates data from the memory array to identify bar code patterns by counting transitions between data representing bar and data representing space between bars.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
167 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having a plurality of different linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information, each pattern having a reading direction corresponding to said linearly arranged patterns, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector device a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a port of a memory a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector device; (c) scanning said binary representation in said memory using a plurality of scan paths, via a port of said memory, to produce electrical output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical data output including finding the presence of a part of said encoded information by said processing means and further including determining the orientation of one of said plurality of said linearly arranged patterns in said symbol; and (e) thereafter scanning said binary representation in the memory using scan paths based on said determined orientation to produce encoded information to said processing means.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
167 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having a plurality of different linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information, each pattern having a reading direction corresponding to said linearly arranged patterns, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector device a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a port of a memory a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector device; (c) scanning said binary representation in said memory using a plurality of scan paths, via a port of said memory, to produce electrical output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical data output including finding the presence of a part of said encoded information by said processing means and further including determining the orientation of one of said plurality of said linearly arranged patterns in said symbol; and (e) thereafter scanning said binary representation in the memory using scan paths based on said determined orientation to produce encoded information to said processing means.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method according to claim 29 wherein said light-detector device is a two-dimensional array.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 29 wherein said symbol is a plurality of parallel rows of differing bar code data and said linearly arranged patterns are said rows.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 29 wherein said memory has a serial port for receiving said binary representation from said light-detector device, and has a second port for access by said processing means.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
174 words
A method of operating a scanner for reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having differing pattern s in vertical versus horizontal directions and having preferred directional paths for reading data therein, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating with a light-responsive device a representation of a two-dimensional field of view, the field of view including said symbol to be read; said generating including the step of optically imaging said field of view onto said light-responsive device to generate said representation of said field of view; then transferring said representation in binary form to a memory array; (b) scanning said memory by accessing said memory array by processing means, said scanning including generating a scan line by addressing said memory and evaluating data accessed by said addressing to find indications of valid data for a complete row of said symbol to thereby develop a scan line for a first readable path, and thereafter generating additional scan lines oriented to said scan line for a first readable row, to read additional paths of said symbol.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
174 words
A method of operating a scanner for reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having differing pattern s in vertical versus horizontal directions and having preferred directional paths for reading data therein, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating with a light-responsive device a representation of a two-dimensional field of view, the field of view including said symbol to be read; said generating including the step of optically imaging said field of view onto said light-responsive device to generate said representation of said field of view; then transferring said representation in binary form to a memory array; (b) scanning said memory by accessing said memory array by processing means, said scanning including generating a scan line by addressing said memory and evaluating data accessed by said addressing to find indications of valid data for a complete row of said symbol to thereby develop a scan line for a first readable path, and thereafter generating additional scan lines oriented to said scan line for a first readable row, to read additional paths of said symbol.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
155 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having a plurality of different linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information, each pattern having a preferred reading direction corresponding to said linearly arranged patterns, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector device a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a port of a memory a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector array; (c) scanning said binary representation in the memory using a plurality of scan paths, via a port of said memory to produce electrical data output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical data output including finding said symbol by detecting characteristics of a portion of said symbol, then orienting said scan paths until a full pattern is found in a given scan path, then continuing to scan said memory using further scan paths oriented according to said given scan path.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
155 words
A method of reading a two-dimensional symbol, said symbol having a plurality of different linearly arranged indicia patterns of encoded information, each pattern having a preferred reading direction corresponding to said linearly arranged patterns, said method comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector device a field of view including said symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a port of a memory a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector array; (c) scanning said binary representation in the memory using a plurality of scan paths, via a port of said memory to produce electrical data output to processing means; (d) evaluating said electrical data output including finding said symbol by detecting characteristics of a portion of said symbol, then orienting said scan paths until a full pattern is found in a given scan path, then continuing to scan said memory using further scan paths oriented according to said given scan path.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method according to claim 34 wherein further scan paths are linear and parallel.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method according to claim 34 wherein said light-detector device is a two-dimensional array.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 34 wherein said symbol is a plurality of parallel rows of differing bar code data and said linearly arranged patterns are said arrays.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 34 wherein said memory has a serial port for receiving said binary representation from said light-detector device, and has a second port for access by said processing means.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of reading a bar code symbol or the like comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector array a field of view including a symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a memory array a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector array; (c) scanning said memory array along a sequence of scan paths to produce electrical data output to at least a corresponding segment of a row including bar code information; (d) changing said sequence of scan paths if a partial row of bar code information is detected within a single scan line of said scan paths; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) until the data represented in the complete symbol has been recognized.
Claim 46
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of reading a bar code symbol or the like comprising the steps of: (a) optically imaging upon a light-detector array a field of view including a symbol to be read; (b) transferring to a memory array a binary representation of light impinging upon the light-detector array; (c) scanning said memory array along a sequence of scan paths to produce electrical data output to at least a corresponding segment of a row including bar code information; (d) changing said sequence of scan paths if a partial row of bar code information is detected within a single scan line of said scan paths; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) until the data represented in the complete symbol has been recognized.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3774014A
Cited
US3978317A
Cited
US3978318A
Cited
JPS51114026A
Cited
US4152583A
Cited
JPS5414627A
Cited
US4251798A
Cited
US4360798A
Cited
JPS55115166A
Cited
JPS55115164A
Cited
US4387297A
Cited
US4387297B1
Cited
US4369361A
Cited
US4355301A
Cited
JPS576977A
Cited
US4418277A
Cited
US4418276A
Cited
US4570057A
Cited
US4516017A
Cited
US4736095A
Cited
US4460120A
Cited
US4409470A
Cited
US4673805A
Cited
US4758717A
Cited
JPS58166867A
Cited
US4500776A
Cited
JPS6027074A
Cited
US4766300A
Cited
US4746789A
Cited
JPS61133486A
Cited
US4652730A
Cited
US4760248A
Cited
JPS61208583A
Cited
US4753498A
Cited
US4748319A
Cited
US4761544A
Cited
JPS62236085A
Cited
US4850009A
Cited
US4864630A
Cited
US4727245A
Cited
US4748318A
Cited
US4728784A
Cited
JPS63204485A
Cited
US4822986A
Cited
US4879456A
Cited
US4967074A
Cited
US4794239A
Cited
US4902883A
Cited
US4988852A
Cited
US4873426A
Cited
US4948955A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-01-07 | 2000-07-08 | 2001-01-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-01-07 | 2004-07-08 | 2005-01-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-01-07 | 2008-07-08 | 2009-01-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |