Alternating Frame Exposure Control for Indicia Reading Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Indicia reading terminals face challenges in efficiently capturing and processing image data frames, particularly in varying lighting conditions and distances, due to limitations in exposure control and gain management across different frame featurizations.
Innovation Solution
The terminal employs alternating frames with distinct featurizations, each with its own exposure control and gain control processes, allowing for optimized image capture and processing by adjusting window positions and parameters to suit different reading scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single exposure control process is used for all frames, then the control process is simple, but the terminal cannot optimize image capture for varying lighting conditions and distances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame capture process into alternating frames with different featurizations. Even-indexed frames use one exposure control process while odd-indexed frames use another, allowing the system to adapt to varying lighting conditions and distances without requiring a single complex adaptive algorithm for all frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic switching between different exposure control processes and gain control processes for alternating frames. This periodic action allows the terminal to systematically explore different parameter settings across frame sequences, improving adaptability to changing conditions while maintaining manageable control logic.
2Productivity
If alternating frames with different featurizations are used, then the terminal can optimize for different reading scenarios, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the frame sequence into alternating segments with different featurizations (even-indexed vs odd-indexed frames). Each segment is processed with its own optimized parameters including window position, exposure control, and gain control, enabling specialized processing for different reading scenarios while maintaining overall system efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the frame sequence are assigned different processing qualities and parameters. Even-indexed frames receive one set of processing parameters while odd-indexed frames receive another, allowing the system to optimize local processing characteristics for specific reading distances and lighting conditions without uniformly increasing complexity across all frames.
3Measurement precision
If separate gain control processes are applied to different frame featurizations, then image signal optimization is improved, but the control mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic switching between different gain control processes for alternating frames. Even-indexed frames undergo one gain control process while odd-indexed frames undergo another, allowing systematic optimization of image signal quality across different frame types without requiring a single complex adaptive gain control algorithm.
Solution Approach 2:
The gain control mechanism is segmented into separate processes for different frame featurizations. This segmentation allows each gain control process to be optimized independently for its specific frame type, improving image signal quality for particular reading scenarios while keeping individual control processes relatively simple.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an indicia reading terminal operative to capture and process a succession of frames of image data during an operator activated read attempt. The succession of frames can comprise alternating frames, wherein the alternating frames can have first and second frame featurizations. The frames having the first frame featurization can have a first window position and the frames of the second featurization can have a second window position. In one embodiment, exposure of frames of the first featurization can be controlled according to a first exposure control process and exposure of frames of the second featurization can be controlled according to a second exposure control process. In one embodiment, gain that is applied to image signals of frames of the first featurization can be controlled according to a first gain control process and gain that is applied to image signals of frames of the second featurization can be controlled according to second gain control process.