Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for decoding bar code symbols using independent bar and space analysis

US5352878A · kind A · utility

51Cited by
21References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 29, 1993
Grant dateOct 4, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 29, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06K7/1486
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A bar code reader decodes a bar code symbol, one character at a time, by analyzing the spaces of each character independently from the bars of each character. The reader determines the widths of each space and each bar. The reader then determines a space-width threshold based on the widths of the spaces and a bar-width threshold based on the widths of the bars. The reader then classifies each space as being either narrow or wide by comparing each space to the space-width threshold. The reader also classifies each bar as being either narrow or wide by comparing each bar to the bar-width threshold. The reader then decodes the character according to the narrow/wide classifications.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.