Barcode Reader Scan Avoidance Detection Using Weight Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
In retail environments, instances of 'scan avoidance' occur when barcodes are not captured or decoded by barcode readers due to items being moved too quickly or obscured, leading to potential losses as items are taken without being scanned.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a weighing scale associated with a barcode reader to detect unstable weights over a threshold duration, monitoring for failures in transitioning from a non-capturing to a capturing state or failures in decoding barcodes, and generating alerts for potential scan avoidance events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the barcode reader operates in a low-power state to conserve energy, then energy consumption is reduced, but the scanner may fail to capture barcodes when items are moved through the field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the weight sensor detect item placement on the scale before the barcode reader activates. This preliminary weight detection triggers the barcode reading sequence, ensuring the scanner is ready to capture barcodes immediately when items are placed, thus maintaining reliability while avoiding continuous operation and energy waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the weight sensor to dynamically control the barcode reader's power state. When the sensor detects weight changes indicating item placement, it sends a signal to activate the barcode reader. This feedback mechanism ensures the scanner operates only when needed, balancing energy conservation with reliable barcode capture.
2Reliability
If the barcode reader continuously monitors for barcodes to ensure no scan avoidance events, then detection reliability is improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the detection function into two independent components: a weight sensor that monitors physical presence and a barcode reader that captures and verifies codes. This segmentation allows each component to operate independently and efficiently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable scan avoidance detection through the coordination of both components.
Solution Approach 2:
The weight sensor acts as an intermediary that bridges the physical action of item placement and the digital response of the barcode reader. It mediates between these two systems by triggering the barcode reading process based on weight changes, simplifying the overall system architecture while ensuring reliable detection of scan avoidance events.
3Measurement precision
If the system captures images and verifies barcodes for every weight change to prevent scan avoidance, then detection accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a rapid verification process where the barcode reader quickly captures an image and attempts to decode the barcode in real-time as the item passes through the field of view. This rushing through the verification process ensures high detection accuracy while minimizing the time penalty, allowing the system to maintain checkout speed despite the additional verification step.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs a partial verification by capturing an image and attempting barcode decoding without requiring extensive image processing or multiple verification attempts. This partial action approach provides sufficient accuracy to detect scan avoidance events while avoiding the time cost of more thorough processing methods.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of detecting scan avoidance events are disclosed herein. An example method includes measuring, by a weighing scale associated with a barcode reader, an unstable weight over a timeframe having a duration that is greater than a threshold duration. The method further includes monitoring for (i) the barcode reader's failure, during the first timeframe, to transition from a first state in which an imager of the barcode reader does not transmit images for decoding to a second state in which the imager captures images over an FOV including a product scanning region and transmits the captured images for decoding; or (ii) the barcode reader's failure to decode a barcode from images captured over the FOV including the product scanning region during the first timeframe; and generating an alert indicating a potential scan avoidance event responsive to both the measured unstable weight over the timeframe and one of (i) or (ii).