Portable data collection device with dataform decoding and image capture capability

A portable data collection device comprising:

• a) an image sensor, including a two dimensional photosensor array comprising multiple rows of photosensor elements which accumulate electrical charges over an exposure period from light reflected from a target area, the photosensor elements being read out after an exposure period to generate a signal representative of an image of a two dimensional target area;
• b) an optic system positioned to focus illumination reflected from the target area onto said image sensor;
• c) signal processing circuitry coupled to said image sensor, receiving said signal, converting the signal to digital image data representative of the image of the target area and buffering the digital image data;
• d) image processing circuitry electrically coupled to the signal processing circuitry for:
• i) receiving the digital image data;
• ii) locating and decoding a portion of the digital image data representative of an image of a dataform in the target area and generating decoded dataform data corresponding to data encoded in the dataform;
• and
• iii) locating and storing a portion of the digital image data representative of an image within a desired image area of the target area;
• e) output port circuitry electrically coupled to the image processing circuitry for outputing data including the decoded dataform data and the portion of the digital image data corresponding to the image within the desired image area;
• f) a portable hand held housing encasing said image sensor, optic system, signal processing circuitry, and image processing circuitry;
• and
• g) a first trigger switch positioned exteriorly of said housing and activating said device to locate and decode the image of the dataform in the target area and to locate and store the portion of the digital image data representative of the image within the desired image area.

A method of capturing a digital representation of an image within a desired image area associated with a dataform having known features and wherein the desired image area is of a predetermined size and is at a predetermined position with respect to known features of the dataform, the steps of the method comprising:

• a) focusing reflected light from a two dimensional target area including the dataform and the desired image area onto a two dimensional photosensor array comprising multiple rows of photosensor elements;
• b) reading out electrical charges accumulating on the photosensors of the photosensor array to generate a signal representative of an image of the target area;
• c) converting the signal to digital image data representative of the image of the target area;
• d) analyzing the digital image data to locate a portion of the digital image data corresponding to the known features of the dataform to determine a location and an orientation of the image of the dataform within the target area;
• e) determining a location of the desired image area within the target area based on the location and the orientation of the image of the dataform within the target area and the predetermined position and predetermined size of the desired image area with respect to the known features of the dataform;
• and
• f) storing digital data representative of the image within the desired image area.

A method of capturing a digital representation of an image within a desired image area associated with a dataform having known features and including encoded position data in the dataform representing a position of the desired image area with respect to the known features of the dataform, the method comprising:

• a) focusing reflected light from a two dimensional target area including a dataform and the desired image area onto a two dimensional photosensor array comprising multiple rows of photosensor elements which are read out after an exposure period to generate a signal representative of an image of the target area;
• b) converting the signal to digital image data representative of the image of the target area;
• c) analyzing the digital image data to locate a portion of the digital image data corresponding to the known features of the dataform to determine a location and an orientation of the image of the dataform within the target area;
• d) decoding the dataform to obtain the encoded position data representative of the position of the desired image area with respect to the known features of the dataform;
• e) determining the location of the desired image area within the target area based on the location and the orientation of the image of the dataform within the target area and the position data;
• and
• f) storing digital data representative of the portion of the image within the desired image area.

A method of capturing a signature of an individual participating in a transaction, the steps of the method comprising:

• a) providing a dataform including data representative of the transaction, the dataform including known features;
• b) providing the signature of the individual on a substrate within a signature area, the signature area being at a predetermined position with respect to the dataform;
• c) focusing reflected light from a two dimensional target area, including the dataform and the signature area onto a two dimensional photosensor array comprising multiple rows of photosensor elements;
• d) reading out electrical charges accumulating on the photosensors of the photosensor array to generate a signal representative of an image of the target area;
• e) converting the signal to digital image data representative of the image of the target area;
• f) analyzing the digital image data to locate a portion of the digital image data corresponding to the known features of the dataform to determine a location and an orientation of the image of the dataform within the target area;
• g) using the location and the orientation of the image of the dataform and the predetermined position of the signature area with respect to the known features of the dataform to determine a location of the signature area within the target area;
• and
• h) storing digital data representative of the signature within the signature area.