Method for reading indicia off a display of a mobile device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for reading indicia off a display of a mobile device, and specifically discloses a method of scanning and reading indicia off a display. The method may utilize a light sensor of a mobile device to improve the quality of reading indicia, such as a barcode, off a display. A scanner illuminates the mobile device in order to increase the backlight intensity and obtaina high contrast image on the display and then ceases illumination in order to scan the high contrast image without specular reflection caused by the scanner illumination. In one embodiment, the scanner illuminates the mobile device for a period of time to achieve the maximum level of brightness that the mobile device is capable of emitting on the display in the period of time before ceasing the illumination. In another embodiment, the scanner detects whether the change in brightness is greater than predefined level before ceasing the illumination.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method of scanning and reading indicia of a display. More specifically, the present invention utilizes a mobile device's light sensor to improve the quality of reading indicia such as barcodes on a display. Background technique [0002] In general, traditional point-of-sale systems have the ability to read barcodes from the screen of a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Use cases may include reading mobile coupons, loyalty cards, or other use cases. It can be difficult for conventional 1D or 2D barcode scanners to read barcodes from the screen of a smartphone because these barcode scanners are not optimized for these applications. For example, illumination from a scanner can cause reflections on the screen that can make it difficult for the scanner to read barcodes. Additionally, the backlight intensity on a smartphone can be dimmed, which can make it difficult to read due to lack of contrast. [0003] According...

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