Symbol Technologies, LLC

Sundeep Kumar

Stephen M Osterweil

Kevin D Hunter

Paul R Poloniewicz

Steven M Chew

Edward D Barkan

Paul Dvorkis

Duanfeng He

James R Giebel

John Barile

Anthony D Biuso

Harold Charych

Frederick Schuessler

Hal Charych

Cary Chu

Mehul M Patel

Joseph Cai

Michael O'Haire

Robert May

Steven J Shellhammer

Vadim R Gololobov

A bar code scanning system and method for reading and processing bar code symbology uses a scanning station installed above the check-out stand and a receiving station at some distance away from the scanning station. The scanning station projects light onto a surface of the check-out stand. The projected light can have a well defined border indicating where a user should place items to be scanned. Alternatively, a pattern coincident with the projected light can be projected onto the surface and which includes a target indicating where items should be placed for scanning. Light reflected by items in the target region is processed to decode optical symbology on the item and produce a signal that is representative of said sensed symbology. Information about the scanned item can be processed and displayed by the receiving station for use in, e.g., a point-of-sale transaction. The system can also be configured to capture images of a user's payment card for use in payment processing and to store images of at least selected scanned items for use in subsequent processes.

Zero-footprint camera-based point-of-sale bar code presentation scanning system

A data encoding/decoding scheme includes a plurality of bar code symbols each carrying a portion of the data in which improved error correction capabilities are incorporated. According to one aspect, once data codewords have been derived to form the symbols, a first set of data correction elements are derived from a first field, then a second set of error correction elements are derived from the data elements and the first set of error correction elements using a second, wider field.

Error correction in macro bar code symbols

A scanner determines whether a target is a bar code symbol and, if so, whether that symbol is one-dimensional or two-dimensional. For two-dimensional symbols, the scanner aligns a scanning pattern with the symbol and expands the scanning pattern to reach only to the top and bottom edges of the symbol, not beyond. The scanner also has a microprocessor-control scanning engine that uses a coil to drive a scanning element and pick up feed back signals from the scanning element. A pulse-width-modulated regulator also provides fast and efficient operation for driving the coil. The scanning engine can also be designed to generate a pattern that precesses across the target, and a powerful interface to the scanning engine allows decoding and control logic to work efficiently with and independently of the scan engine.

Laser scanner for controlling the optical scanning of bar codes

A method of reading bar code symbols includes determining one or more parameters based upon the quantity and/or quality of the data which is being acquired, and providing the user with information concerning that parameter. The parameter may, for example, be the rate at which code words in the symbol are being read, and that information may be passed to the user by way of an LED which flashes at a rate which varies with the data acquisition rate. For a given bar code symbol being read, the rate of flashing varies with the position of the bar code reader with respect to the symbol. To improve the data acquisition rate, the user simply moves and/or rotates the bar code reader with respect to the symbol in a direction which causes the rate of flashing to increase. The invention extends to a bar code reader having means for providing an indication to a user of the relative suitability, for optimal reading of a symbol, of the current position of the reader.

Bar code scanner positioning

A electro-optical memory includes a substrate on which is printed (or otherwise inscribed) a complex symbol or 'label' or 'bar code' of a high density two-dimensional symbology. The bar code contains component symbols or 'codewords' which are placed in row and column formation, with a variable number of codewords per row, and a variable number of rows. The symbology utilizes implicit bar code encoding scheme for implicit encoding the number of rows and the number of columns of codewords, as well as a predetermined amount of error correction. The symbology is capable of supporting a fixed number of bar code variants, with each variant having a predetermined number of rows and columns of codewords, and a predetermined error correction capability. For some codewords the implicit encoding scheme is combined with a gray coding scheme to reduce the inter-row codeword crosstalk. Systems are used for printing and decoding the bar codes of the invented symbology in applications where improved storage density and tight real estate requirements are of utmost importance. A memory may be used in conjunction with a scanner and a suitable control system in a number of applications, e.g., robotics operations or automated object searching.

Two-dimensional bar code symbology using implicit version information

Laser scanner system for controlling the optical scanning of bar codes

A method and apparatus for increasing the information density of a bar code symbol by generating multiple constituent bar code symbols, wherein each one is formed in a different color selected from a group of various primary colors, and overlaying each differently colored symbol on top of each other, thus forming an aggregate bar code symbol of various colors. In areas where the differently colored bars overlap each other, colors distinct from those in the original group of colors are formed. The aggregate bar code symbol is scanned by a solid state imaging device, and the scanned image is resolved by image processing techniques into the three constituent bar code symbols of the various colors. Each bar code symbol is then individually processed and decoded in accordance with the particular symbology used to encode the constituent bar code symbols. As a result of the present invention, multiple bar code symbols are printed in the space normally required by one bar code symbol, and each constituent symbol is separated by color resolution and decoded to form the original data. Thus, the information density of the bar code system is increased without the need for a new symbology. In addition, a single bar code symbol may be divided into multiple portions of substantially the same size and printed substantially over each other in different colors, thus producing a single compacted bar code symbol with increased information density. The compacted bar code symbol may be recovered by scanning and resolving the symbol back into its constituent portions, concatenating the portions together, and decoding the resulting bar code symbol in accordance with standard techniques.

Color processing for bar code symbol compaction

Laser scanning system and scanning method for reading bar codes

Growing community of inventors

East Setauket, NY, United States of America

Sundeep Kumar