Methods and apparatus to read barcodes on reflective surfaces

An apparatus comprising:

• an imaging device configured to capture one or more images of a surface of an item;
• a processing device;
• and
• a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processing device, cause the apparatus to:
• detect whether a specular reflection is present in the one or more images;
• when a specular reflection is detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using a predetermined pattern of first processing suitable to identify a barcode on a reflective surface and second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface;
• and
• when a specular reflection is not detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using the second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface.

An imaging reader comprising:

• an imaging device configured to capture one or more images of a surface of an item;
• a computing device configured to detect when a specular reflection is present in the one or more images, and determine the surface is reflective when a specular reflection is detected;
• and
• a barcode reader configured to:
• when a specular reflection is detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using a predetermined pattern of first processing suitable to identify a barcode on a reflective surface and second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface;
• and
• when a specular reflection is not detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using the second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface.

A non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause an imaging reader to:

• detecting whether a specular reflection is present in one or more images of a surface of an item;
• determining the surface is reflective when a specular reflection is detected;
• when a specular reflection is detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using a predetermined pattern of first processing suitable to identify a barcode on a reflective surface and second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface;
• and
• when a specular reflection is not detected, process one or more additional images of the surface using the second processing suitable to identify a barcode on a non-reflective surface.