Multiline scanner and electronic rolling shutter area imager based tunnel scanner

A conveyor belt system for processing objects, the system comprising:

• at least one processor configured to:
• activate one or more of a plurality of rows of sensors of a sensor array as the objects are transported within a field of view of the sensor array by the conveyor belt system, wherein each of the plurality of rows of sensors shares a common lens, and wherein a separation between two of the plurality of rows of sensors multiplied by a distance of a first object being transported from the common lens and divided by an effective focal length of the common lens equates to a minimum gap between the first object and a second object that can be processed by the conveyor belt system;
• switch activation among at least a portion of the plurality of rows of the sensor array to determine properties for the objects on the conveyor belt;
• and
• generate images from the object properties determined from the sensor array.

A computer-implemented method executed by a conveyor belt system for processing objects, the method comprising:

• activating one or more of a plurality of rows of sensors of an area array sensor as the objects are transported within a field of view of the area array sensor by the conveyor belt system, wherein each of the plurality of rows sensors shares a common lens, and wherein a separation between two of the plurality of rows of sensors multiplied by a distance of a first object being transported from the common lens and divided by an effective focal length of the common lens equates to a minimum gap between the first object and a second object that can be processed by the conveyor belt system;
• switching activation among at least a portion of the plurality of rows of the area array sensor to determine properties for the objects on the conveyor belt;
• and
• generating images from the object properties determined from the area array sensor.