Variable focal length imaging device
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsMehrban Jam, Geoff Lyon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A variable focal length imaging device. The device has an image-sensing component and a variable focal length lens in visual cooperation with the image-sensing component. The variable focal length lens has a focal length that varies across its surface such that a different portion of the lens focuses, onto different regions of the sensing component, objects at different distances from the lens. In this fashion, the device is able to read symbols at varying distances from the device.
Claims34
A variable focal length imaging device, comprising:
- an image-sensing component;
- and
- a variable focal length lens optically coupled with said image-sensing component, wherein said variable focal length lens has a focal length which varies across its surface such that different portions of said lens focus, onto different regions of said image-sensing component, objects at different distances from said lens, wherein said device is able to image symbols at varying distances from said device.
A device for decoding barcodes, comprising:
- a lens having a focal length that varies across its surface;
- an image-sensing component;
- a software program coupled to said image-sensing component, said program for processing data from said component to decode a barcode;
- and
- wherein said lens is at a fixed position relative to said image-sensing component, wherein light from a different portion of said lens brings objects at different distances from said lens substantially into focus at different regions of said component, and wherein provided said device is oriented to receive a portion of said barcode on a portion of said component in which it is sufficiently focused, said portion of said barcode is readable.
A portable electronic device, comprising:
- an image-sensing array;
- a progressive variable focal length lens focusing light on said image-sensing array, wherein said variable focal length lens has a focal length that varies across its surface such that a different portion of said lens focuses objects at different distances from said lens at different regions of said image-sensing array;
- an analog-to-digital converter coupled to said image-sensing array for receiving analog image data from said sensing array and converting to digital data;
- and
- a digital signal processor coupled to said analog-to-digital converter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.