Granted Patent B2

US 12,499,337 · App. 18/447,298 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Inventors: Davide Bruni (Bologna, IT); Federico Canini (Zola Predosa, IT); Mattia Fabbri (Savignano sul Rubicone, IT); Stefano Fracassi (Calderara di Reno, IT); Davide Gavioli (San Vito di Spilamberto, IT); Luca Perugini (Bologna, IT); Simone Spolzino (Granarolo dell'Emilia, IT)

Assignee: Datalogic IP Tech S.r.l.

G06K7/10722G06K7/10732G06K7/10752G06K7/1413G06K7/10851

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A code reader, comprising:

a light source configured to illuminate a target area;

an image sensor configured to capture an image of the target area;

an illumination drive circuit in electrical communication with the light source and configured to generate a continuous single, dual-intensity drive signal to the light source to cause the light source to operate in a high illumination time period or a low illumination time period, wherein a high current pulse is generated to cause the light source to produce a light strobe during the high illumination time period; and

an image capture circuit configured to control the image sensor and the illumination drive circuit for image capture to occur during at least one of the high illumination time period or the low illumination time period for the light source.

2 . The code reader of claim 1 , wherein the high illumination time period has a shorter duration than the low illumination time period.

3 . The code reader of claim 1 , wherein the illumination drive circuit comprises:

a power supply controller electrically coupled to an external power source;

an energy storage component electrically coupled to the power supply controller, and configured to store electrical energy;

a current sink in electrical communication with the light source; and

a driving circuit in electrical communication with the current sink and the power supply controller to drive the light source to output light.

4 . The code reader of claim 3 , wherein the current sink includes a field-effect transistor.

5 . The code reader of claim 3 , wherein the energy storage component includes at least one of a capacitor or a supercapacitor.

6 . The code reader of claim 3 , wherein the current sink is configured to constantly drain a variable amount of current.

7 . The code reader of claim 3 , wherein the power supply controller is configured to control parameters of the generation of the dual intensity drive signal to have high current pulses or low current signals responsive to a power enable signal.

8 . The code reader of claim 7 , wherein the high current pulses are above a threshold capable of being reached by the external power source.

9 . The code reader of claim 3 , wherein the driving circuit is further configured to provide different power consumption modes by regulating discharge resistance to current used to drive the light source.

10 . The code reader of claim 1 , wherein the driving circuit is configured to receive one or more control signals from an external controller to control operation thereof.

11 . The code reader of claim 10 , wherein the external controller is the image capture circuit.

12 . The code reader of claim 10 , the one or more control signals includes an illumination enable signal.

13 . The code reader of claim 10 , the one or more control signals includes a strobe signal for turning the light source on or off.

14 . The code reader of claim 10 , the one or more control signals includes an illumination synchronize select signal for synchronizing illumination over an exposure time period of the image sensor.

15 . The code reader of claim 10 , the one or more control signals includes an illumination current intensity signal for controlling illumination current intensity drained by the current sink.

16 . A method of operating a code reader, the method comprising:

illuminating a target area via a light source of the code reader;

capturing an image of the target area via an image sensor of the code reader;

generating, via an illumination drive circuit of the code reader, a continuous single, dual-intensity drive signal to the light source to cause the light source to operate in a high illumination time period or a low illumination time period, including generating a high current pulse to cause the light source to produce a light strobe during the high illumination time period; and

controlling the image sensor and the illumination drive circuit for image capture to occur during at least one of the high illumination time period or the low illumination time period for the light source.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein generating the continuous single, dual-intensity drive signal includes:

charging an energy storage component;

discharging the energy storage component to generate the high current pulse to cause the light source to produce the light strobe during the high illumination time period; and

limiting current to a low level current threshold to the light source during low level emission periods defined by times outside the high current pulse.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein limiting current during low level emission periods occurs over a duration longer than that of discharging the energy storage component to generate the high current pulse.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein discharging the energy storage component to produce a light strobe includes discharging the energy storage component at a substantially constant rate and for substantially the same duration.

20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein generating the continuous single, dual-intensity drive signal further includes:

limiting the high current pulse to a high level threshold for a time duration to cause the light source to produce a light strobe; and

wherein limiting current with the high level current threshold to generate the high current pulse and limiting current with the low level current threshold during low level emission periods alternates seamlessly to continuously illuminate a target area by the light source.

Continuity (4)

References Cited (42)