Color processing for bar code symbol compaction
US5576528A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 23, 1994 |
| Grant date | Nov 19, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 23, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K2019/06225
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for increasing the information density of a bar code symbol by generating multiple constituent bar code symbols, wherein each one is formed in a different color selected from a group of various primary colors, and overlaying each differently colored symbol on top of each other, thus forming an aggregate bar code symbol of various colors. In areas where the differently colored bars overlap each other, colors distinct from those in the original group of colors are formed. The aggregate bar code symbol is scanned by a solid state imaging device, and the scanned image is resolved by image processing techniques into the three constituent bar code symbols of the various colors. Each bar code symbol is then individually processed and decoded in accordance with the particular symbology used to encode the constituent bar code symbols. As a result of the present invention, multiple bar code symbols are printed in the space normally required by one bar code symbol, and each constituent symbol is separated by color resolution and decoded to form the original data. Thus, the information density of the bar code system is increased without the need for a new symbology. In a…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.