Patent ID: 7789309
Filing Date: 2010-09-07
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
1. An automatic digital video-imaging based code symbol reading system for reading code symbols on objects presented at a point of sale (POS) environment, comprising: a housing having an imaging window; a digital image formation and detection subsystem, disposed within said housing, and having (i) image formation optics for projecting a field of view (FOV) from an area-type image detection array, through said imaging window, and upon an object to be imaged during object illumination and video-imaging operations, and (ii) said area-type image detection array for detecting frames of digital video image data of the object during said object illumination and video-imaging operations; an illumination subsystem, disposed within said housing, and having an illumination array for producing and projecting a field of illumination within said FOV during said object illumination and video-imaging operations; an automatic object motion detection subsystem, disposed in said housing, for automatically detecting the motion of the object in said FOV, and automatically generating (i) a trigger signal indicative of the presence of the object within said FOV, and (ii) motion-related data representative of at least one motion characteristic of said object with respect to said FOV; an automatic illumination control subsystem, disposed within said housing, and being responsive to motion-related data generated by said automatic object motion detection subsystem, for automatically controlling said illumination array during said object illumination and video-imaging operations; a digital video frame capturing and buffering subsystem, disposed within said housing, for capturing and buffering said frames of digital video image data in memory, during said object illumination and video-imaging operations; a digital video image processing subsystem, disposed in said housing, for processing said frames of digital video image data and reading one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols graphically represented in said frames of digital video image data, and producing symbol character data representative of said read one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols; an input/output subsystem, disposed in said housing, for transmitting said symbol character data to an external host system or other information receiving or responding device; and a system control subsystem, disposed in said housing, and responsive to said trigger signal, for controlling and/or coordinating the operation of one or more of said subsystems above; wherein said system control subsystem maintains a control loop for as long as (i) the object is persistently detected in said FOV by said automatic object motion detection subsystem, and (ii) a code symbol has not been successfully read by said digital video imaging processing subsystem; and wherein, during said maintained control loop, (i) said detected object is illuminated within said field of illumination produced by said illumination subsystem, and (ii) a sequence of frames of digital video images are captured and buffered by said digital video frame capturing and buffering subsystem, and processed by said digital video image processing subsystem.