US20080246967A1 - Apparatus for Reading a Color Symbol - Google Patents
Apparatus for Reading a Color Symbol Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080246967A1 US20080246967A1 US12/141,465 US14146508A US2008246967A1 US 20080246967 A1 US20080246967 A1 US 20080246967A1 US 14146508 A US14146508 A US 14146508A US 2008246967 A1 US2008246967 A1 US 2008246967A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- filters
- color
- symbol
- detector
- reading
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06K7/00—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns
- G06K7/10—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
- G06K7/12—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks
Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus for reading a color symbol, which comprises a matrix of color filters arranged in front of a detector. Light received from the filters of some colors is used to locate the color symbol, while light received from all the filters is used to read and decode the located symbol. Preferably, the filters used for locating the symbol are of the colors to which the detector is most sensitive. Preferably, the filters for locating the symbol are dominant in number.
Description
- This application is a continuation application to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/996,802, filed Nov. 24, 2004, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,957, granted Oct. 24, 2006, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/551,918, filed Oct. 23, 2006, now allowed, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
- The present invention relates to symbol reading and decoding techniques, and more particularly, to apparatus for reading color symbols, such as color one and two dimensional barcodes, with higher sensitivity and resolution.
- Barcodes, with various desired information encoded therein, are universally used in many circumstances. There are many types of barcodes, such as 1-D barcodes stacked barcodes, 2-D barcodes, etc. These barcodes are usually monochrome symbols that are encoded with information in specified patterns of barcode elements (or cells) of two sharply contrasted colors such as black and white. To increase the “information density” (i.e., the information included in the limited symbol area), various colors are also used as the barcode elements as in color barcodes. The color barcodes are usually also read by monochrome readers which identify different colors by different levels of electrical signals generated from light reflected from the symbol elements of different colors. However, the sensitivity and resolution of reading color symbols by monochrome readers is not satisfactory, especially when the color symbols are buried in a colorful background such as a color picture.
- One technique of reading such color symbols employs plural primary color filters, such as Red-Green-Blue filters. A drawback of such an arrangement is that significant loss of sensitivity results from the filtering of the light reflected from the symbol.
- Therefore, there exists a need for a reading system that can read a color symbol with high sensitivity and resolution, even if the color symbol is buried in a colorful background.
- The present invention provides an apparatus for reading a color symbol, which comprises a matrix of color filters provided in front of a detector. According to the teachings of the present invention, light received from the filters of some colors is used to locate the color symbol, while light received from other filters or all the filters is used to read and decode the located symbol.
- Preferably, the colors of the filters used for locating the symbol are in the range of wavelengths at which the detector is most sensitive. Preferably, the filters for locating the symbol are of the same color, which is preferably of a wavelength of the detector.
- Preferably, the pattern of the filters for locating the symbol is of a zigzag pattern, which is a part of the whole filter matrix.
- Preferably, one color of filters is used to locate the symbol, and all the filters are used to decode it.
-
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary color symbol reading system according the concept of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a matrix of filters of an embodiment according to the present invention; and -
FIG. 3 illustrates a zigzag line resulted from the zigzag pattern of the dominant color filters in the matrix ofFIG. 2 . - An embodiment of the color symbol reading apparatus according to the present invention is schematically illustrated in
FIG. 1 , which generally comprises a light source 14 (such as LED) for projecting light 1 to a color symbol (such as a color barcode) 20, adetector 11 for receivinglight 2 reflected from thesymbol 20 and for generating electrical signals from the receivedreflectance light 2, anamplifier circuitry 12 for amplifying the signals generated by thedetector 12, and adecoding circuit 13 for decoding the amplified electrical signals received from theamplifier circuitry 12 to obtain a reading result. - According to the present invention, a color filter array (CFA) or
filter matrix 10 which comprises filters of various colors is provided in front of thedetector 11 for filtering thereflectance light 2 before it is received by thedetector 11. Only the light passing the filters of some (but not all) colors are utilized to locate thecolor symbol 20, while the light passing all the filters are utilized to read and decode thesymbol 20. - An exemplary embodiment of the
filter matrix 10 is illustrated inFIG. 2 , which comprises filters of three different colors, i.e., the three component colors Cyan, Yellow, Magenta of CYM color system, which is expected to pass through more light than RGB filter system. InFIG. 2 , yellow filters are represented by “white”squares 15, cyan filters by “gray”squares 16, and magenta filters by “dark”squares 17. For clarity, only some of the filters are designated byreference numbers - Noticeably in
FIG. 2 ,yellow filters 15 are dominant in number throughout the area of thefilter matrix 10. In the example here, there are twice as many filters of yellow color as of each of the other two colors. Theyellow filters 15 subtract blue color in principle and pass other spectrum of light onto thedetector 11. In this preferred embodiment, thereflectance light 2 that passes theyellow filters 15 to be received by thedetector 11 is utilized to locate thecolored symbol 20. Thesymbol 20 is located as a whole symbol block but not by symbol elements. In this embodiment,detector 11 has a dominant sensitivity for the colors passing through the yellow filter. Thus, a high sensitivity of the detector in locating thecolor symbol 20 is achieved. - After the
color symbol 20 is located by thelight 2 passing theyellow filters 15, thelight 2 that passes all thecolor filters filter matrix 10 is utilized to read and decode thecolored symbol 20, which achieves a higher resolution as compared to prior color symbol readers. - In order to calculate run-length with minimum noise, pixels of the same color should be used. To this end, as illustrated in
FIG. 2 , the dominantyellow filters 15 are preferably arranged in the filter matrix in a zigzag pattern both horizontally and vertically. This generates azigzag line 15 a (seeFIG. 3 ) for calculating run-length with minimum noise. Once a finder of the barcode orcolor symbol 20 is found, the colors of thesymbol 20 can be then evaluated, which is useful for remaining processing of thesymbol 20. - Though the
yellow filters 15 are utilized as the dominant color filters in the preferred embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2 , any other color (such as cyan or magenta) may also be used as a dominant color to locate thecolored symbol 20. Preferably, thedetector 11 has the most sensitivity for the wavelength of the same color of the dominant color filter, or is the most sensitive to the color of the dominant color filters. - Other color systems can also be utilized. For example, filters can have red, green and blue colors as in an RGB color system, with one (e.g., red) of the colors as the color of the dominant filters for locating the
symbol 20. Filter matrices containing more than three types of filters could also be employed. It is desirable, although not critical to the present invention, that the wavelength at which thedetector 11 is most sensitive and the filter used to locate the symbol have similar wavelengths, in order to maximize the sensitivity. - Alternatively, the
matrix filters 10 may comprise more than three colors and the filters for locating thesymbol 20 may comprise more than one color (such as yellow inFIG. 2 ). For example, the filters for locating thesymbol 20 may comprise filters of several different colors. If so, the colors are preferably close to each other and thedetector 11 is more sensitive to them than other colors. - Though the above describes the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that, without departing the spirit of the present invention, numerous adaptations, variations and modifications are readily available to a person with ordinary skill in the art. For example, the
color filters FIG. 2 , such as honeycomb pattern. Thecolor symbol 20 can be a linear barcode of any dimension, a stacked barcode, a matrix barcode, etc., buried in a colorful background or not. The filters used for locating thecolor symbol 20 may or may not be dominant in number as compared to other filters. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is intended to be solely defined in the accompanying claims.
Claims (11)
1. Apparatus for reading a colored symbol comprising a matrix of filters of at least two different wavelengths of light placed in front of a detector, wherein a majority of the filters filter a dominant color substantially equal to a wavelength of said detector.
2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein a wavelength reflected by the colored symbol is substantially equal to the wavelength of said detector.
3. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the matrix of filters comprises a majority of filters substantially equal to the wavelength of said detector.
4. Apparatus of claim 1 comprising at least three filters of different wavelengths.
5. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said wavelengths are of the color Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow.
6. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said wavelengths are of the color Red, Green, and Blue.
7. A method of locating and reading a symbol comprising locating the symbol by detecting light through filters arranged in a first pattern, and reading the symbol by detecting light through filters arranged in a second pattern.
8. A method of locating and reading a color symbol from a pattern, said method comprising using a matrix of filters of at least three different colors, wherein light passing through filters of a first color is used to locate the color symbol, and light passing through of a second and third color is used to read the symbol.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein at least one of said colors is yellow.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein filters of the first color are approximately equal in number to filters of the second and third colors combined.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein filters of the first color are arranged in a zig-zag pattern.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/141,465 US20080246967A1 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2008-06-18 | Apparatus for Reading a Color Symbol |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/996,802 US7124957B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2004-11-24 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
US11/551,918 US7401738B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2006-10-23 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
US12/141,465 US20080246967A1 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2008-06-18 | Apparatus for Reading a Color Symbol |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/996,802 Continuation US7124957B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2004-11-24 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20080246967A1 true US20080246967A1 (en) | 2008-10-09 |
Family
ID=36460056
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/996,802 Expired - Fee Related US7124957B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2004-11-24 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
US11/551,918 Expired - Fee Related US7401738B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2006-10-23 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
US12/141,465 Abandoned US20080246967A1 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2008-06-18 | Apparatus for Reading a Color Symbol |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/996,802 Expired - Fee Related US7124957B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2004-11-24 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
US11/551,918 Expired - Fee Related US7401738B2 (en) | 2004-11-24 | 2006-10-23 | Apparatus for reading a color symbol |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US7124957B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4773442B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE112005002892T5 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2006057197A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1593935A1 (en) * | 2004-05-06 | 2005-11-09 | Leica Geosystems AG | Levelling rod, level determining apparatus for said rod and level determining method |
US20060081711A1 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2006-04-20 | Junxiang Zhao | Color-identifying system for colored barcode and a method thereof |
KR100827240B1 (en) * | 2006-10-02 | 2008-05-07 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Apparatus and method for interpolate channels |
US9111186B2 (en) * | 2011-10-12 | 2015-08-18 | University Of Rochester | Color barcodes for mobile applications: a per channel framework |
USD836001S1 (en) | 2016-03-04 | 2018-12-18 | Discovery Inc. | Bar code for a pouch |
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US5568555A (en) * | 1992-02-12 | 1996-10-22 | Colorcode Unlimited, Inc. | Multi-color information encoding system |
US5576528A (en) * | 1994-12-23 | 1996-11-19 | Symbol Technologies, Inc. | Color processing for bar code symbol compaction |
US5714745A (en) * | 1995-12-20 | 1998-02-03 | Metanetics Corporation | Portable data collection device with color imaging assembly |
US6478223B1 (en) * | 2000-01-12 | 2002-11-12 | Intermec Ip Corporation | Machine-readable color symbology and method and apparatus for reading same with standard readers such as laser scanners |
US20030201325A1 (en) * | 1999-12-15 | 2003-10-30 | Takahiro Saito | Information code and its reading device |
US20040200904A1 (en) * | 2001-09-17 | 2004-10-14 | Mark Pinson | Machine-readable symbol and related method |
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JPH05174204A (en) * | 1991-12-24 | 1993-07-13 | Olympus Optical Co Ltd | Color bar-code and bar-code reader |
JPH05242287A (en) * | 1992-02-27 | 1993-09-21 | Olympus Optical Co Ltd | Color bar code recording and reproducing device |
JPH06111054A (en) * | 1992-09-28 | 1994-04-22 | Dainippon Ink & Chem Inc | Color code recognizing method |
JPH06111084A (en) * | 1992-09-28 | 1994-04-22 | Toppan Moore Co Ltd | Graphic code and its deciphering method and its device |
JP3235249B2 (en) | 1992-12-18 | 2001-12-04 | 株式会社デンソー | Optical information reader |
JP2908662B2 (en) * | 1993-03-18 | 1999-06-21 | 東北リコー株式会社 | Color image reader |
JP3623012B2 (en) * | 1995-06-01 | 2005-02-23 | シャープ株式会社 | Digital information recording method and digital information decoding apparatus |
JPH0981711A (en) * | 1995-09-20 | 1997-03-28 | Olympus Optical Co Ltd | Information recording medium, information reproduction system, and information recording the system |
JP3834853B2 (en) | 1995-12-06 | 2006-10-18 | 日立マクセル株式会社 | Multiple print reading method |
JP3676887B2 (en) * | 1996-08-08 | 2005-07-27 | 理想科学工業株式会社 | Color two-dimensional code and color two-dimensional code creation device |
US6062475A (en) * | 1997-06-25 | 2000-05-16 | Metanetics Corporation | Portable data collection device including color imaging dataform reader assembly |
JP4430155B2 (en) * | 1999-04-09 | 2010-03-10 | 有限会社テクノカルチャー | Base material on which bar code is recorded, bar code reading method and apparatus |
US6816197B2 (en) * | 2001-03-21 | 2004-11-09 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Bilateral filtering in a demosaicing process |
JP2003091697A (en) * | 2001-09-17 | 2003-03-28 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | Two-dimensional code system and method for the same |
WO2003025845A1 (en) * | 2001-09-17 | 2003-03-27 | Codemagic | Machine-readable symbol and related method |
ATE373535T1 (en) | 2003-08-27 | 2007-10-15 | Gen Tek Technologies Marketing | METHOD FOR MAKING A CAM-ENGAGED CRANK SWINGER |
JP3988886B2 (en) | 2003-12-01 | 2007-10-10 | シャープ株式会社 | Color solid-state imaging device |
JP3827694B2 (en) * | 2004-10-15 | 2006-09-27 | 株式会社ソニー・コンピュータエンタテインメント | Object, image data, and image data transmission method |
-
2004
- 2004-11-24 US US10/996,802 patent/US7124957B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2005
- 2005-11-11 DE DE112005002892T patent/DE112005002892T5/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2005-11-11 JP JP2007524692A patent/JP4773442B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2005-11-11 WO PCT/JP2005/021183 patent/WO2006057197A1/en active Application Filing
-
2006
- 2006-10-23 US US11/551,918 patent/US7401738B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2008
- 2008-06-18 US US12/141,465 patent/US20080246967A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US5568555A (en) * | 1992-02-12 | 1996-10-22 | Colorcode Unlimited, Inc. | Multi-color information encoding system |
US5576528A (en) * | 1994-12-23 | 1996-11-19 | Symbol Technologies, Inc. | Color processing for bar code symbol compaction |
US5714745A (en) * | 1995-12-20 | 1998-02-03 | Metanetics Corporation | Portable data collection device with color imaging assembly |
US20030201325A1 (en) * | 1999-12-15 | 2003-10-30 | Takahiro Saito | Information code and its reading device |
US6478223B1 (en) * | 2000-01-12 | 2002-11-12 | Intermec Ip Corporation | Machine-readable color symbology and method and apparatus for reading same with standard readers such as laser scanners |
US20040200904A1 (en) * | 2001-09-17 | 2004-10-14 | Mark Pinson | Machine-readable symbol and related method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20060108423A1 (en) | 2006-05-25 |
US7401738B2 (en) | 2008-07-22 |
US20070040039A1 (en) | 2007-02-22 |
WO2006057197A1 (en) | 2006-06-01 |
US7124957B2 (en) | 2006-10-24 |
JP2008521068A (en) | 2008-06-19 |
DE112005002892T5 (en) | 2007-10-04 |
JP4773442B2 (en) | 2011-09-14 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
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STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |