Closed-Boundary Barcode Layout for Small-Code Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional barcodes, especially 2D barcodes, face challenges in alignment due to their small size and require large frame buffers for accurate decoding, which is inefficient and impractical.
Innovation Solution
A barcode system featuring a code region surrounded by a closed boundary region, allowing for decoding direction independence from the boundary, enabling alignment without the need for a large frame buffer, and a barcode reader with an image sensor and processing circuit to identify and decode the code region within the boundary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a 2D barcode is made small to save space, then the space efficiency is improved, but the alignment difficulty increases and requires a large frame buffer
Solution Approach 1:
The barcode is segmented into a code region and a distinct boundary region. The boundary region acts as a separate alignment reference that can be easily identified by the barcode reader, allowing accurate positioning even when the overall barcode size is small. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing dedicated alignment markers without increasing the total barcode area.
Solution Approach 2:
The boundary region serves as an intermediary element between the code region and the barcode reader's image processing system. It provides a clear visual reference that mediates the alignment process, enabling the reader to locate and orient the barcode accurately without requiring a large frame buffer to capture the entire barcode area.
2Measurement precision
If a large frame buffer is used to capture the entire barcode for alignment, then the alignment accuracy is improved, but the memory consumption and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment function is extracted from the main code region and placed in the boundary region. This allows the barcode reader to focus on detecting the boundary region for alignment purposes only, rather than needing to capture and process the entire barcode area with high resolution. The extraction of alignment information to a dedicated region reduces the required frame buffer size while maintaining alignment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The boundary region is designed to provide preliminary alignment information before the actual code decoding process. By having pre-defined alignment markers in the boundary region, the system can perform initial positioning and orientation without requiring a large frame buffer to capture all possible alignment scenarios, thus reducing memory requirements while maintaining precision.
3Device complexity
If the decoding direction is fixed relative to the boundary region, then the decoding process is simplified, but the barcode cannot be read from different orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary region is designed with universal geometric characteristics (such as a closed shape with identifiable features) that can be recognized and oriented from any direction. This allows the barcode reader to detect the boundary region, determine the required rotation angle, and decode the code region in the correct orientation regardless of how the barcode is positioned on the capsule. The boundary region serves multiple functions: alignment reference, orientation indicator, and decoding guide.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the decoding direction based on the detected orientation of the boundary region. Rather than having a fixed decoding direction, the reader determines the angle of the boundary region and rotates the decoding coordinates accordingly. This dynamic adaptation allows the barcode to be read from any orientation while keeping the decoding process relatively simple through automated coordinate transformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy alignment of barcodes without the requirement for a large frame buffer, improving efficiency and practicality in barcode reading applications, such as in coffee machines.
Implementation Method 1
an image sensor, configured to optically sense a sensed image
Data Source
AI summary
A barcode, comprising: a code region, comprising at least two different types of information which represents code information of the code region; and a boundary region, formed as a closed shape surrounding the code region; wherein a decoding direction of the code region is not relative to the boundary region. The present invention also provides a barcode processing system which can process the barcode to generate a control command, and provides a coffee machine using the barcode processing system. The barcode can be easily aligned by a closed boundary region, without using a frame buffer with a large size.