Patent ID: 7571858
Filing Date: 2009-08-11
Classification: A47F,G02B,G06K,G06Q,G07G

Abstract:
1. A point of sale (POS)-based digital image capturing and processing system illuminating objects using automatic object detection, spectral-mixing based illumination and linear imaging techniques, said POS-based digital image capturing and processing system comprising: a system housing installable at a POS station, and having an imaging window; a coplanar illumination and imaging station disposed within said system housing, for projecting a coplanar illumination and imaging plane through said imaging window into an imaging volume during object illumination and imaging operations; wherein said coplanar illumination and imaging station includes (i) an image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem having a linear image sensing array and optics providing a field of view (FOV) on said linear image sensing array and extending into said imaging volume; (ii) a spectral-mixing based illumination subsystem producing a first field of visible illumination from an array of visible laser diodes (VLDs), and producing a second field of invisible illumination from an array of infrared (IR) laser diodes (LDs); wherein said first and second fields of illumination spatially overlap and intermix with each other to produce a composite spectrally-mixed illumination beam that is substantially coplanar with said FOV; (iii) an illumination control subsystem for controlling the relative power ratio of visible illumination and invisible illumination (VIS/IR) during system operation; and (iv) an image capturing and buffering subsystem for capturing and buffering one or more digital images of an illuminated object detected by said linear image sensing array; a digital image processing subsystem for automatically processing said one or more buffered digital images so as to read one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols graphically represented in said one or more digital images; an automatic object motion detection subsystem for automatically detecting the object moving through said imaging volume, and generating signals indicative of said detected object motion; and a control subsystem, responsive to said signals generated by said automatic object motion detection subsystem, for controlling and/or orchestrating the operations of the subsystems within said coplanar illumination and imaging station.