Method of and apparatus for producing a digital image of an object with reduced speckle-pattern noise, by consecutively capturing, buffering and processing a series of digital images of the object over a series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods

A method of producing a 2-D digital image of an object with reduced speckle-pattern noise power, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) over a series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods, consecutively capturing a series of 2-D digital images of an object with speckle-pattern noise, using a hand-supportable PLIIM-based area-type imager moved relative to said object during said image capturing operations;
• (b) buffing said series of 2-D digital images over said series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods;
• and
• (c) processing corresponding pixel data subsets defined over a small window in said set of captured 2-D digital images so as to produce spatially corresponding pixel data subsets in a reconstructed 2-D digital image of the object, containing speckle-pattern noise having a substantially reduced level of RMS power.

A hand-supportable PLIIM-based linear imager for producing a digital linear image of an object with reduced speckle-pattern noise power, said hand-supportable PLIIM-based linear imager comprising:

• a hand-supportable housing having a light transmission aperture;
• a planar laser illumination array (PLIA), mounted within said hand-supportable housing, and including a plurality of laser diodes for producing and projecting a planar laser illumination beam (PLIB) so as to illuminate said object as it is moving past said light transmission aperture;
• and
• an image formation and detection (IFD) module, mounted within said hand-supportable housing, and having a linear image detection array and image forming optics for providing said image detection array with a field of view (FOV), wherein said PLIB and FOV are arranged in a coplanar relationship along the working range of said hand-supportable PLIIM based linear imager so that the PLIB illuminates primarily within said FOV of the IFD module;
• and
• an image processing computer for performing the following operations:
• (1) over a series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods, consecutively capturing a series of digital linear images of an object with speckle-pattern noise;
• (2) buffing said series of digital linear images over said series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods;
• and
• (3) processing corresponding pixel data subsets defined over a small window in said set of captured digital linear images so as to produce spatially corresponding pixel data subsets in a reconstructed digital linear image of the object, containing speckle-pattern noise having a substantially reduced level of RMS power.

A hand-supportable PLIIM-based area-type imager for producing a 2-D digital image of an object with reduced speckle-pattern noise power, said hand-supportable PLIIM-based area-type imager having a working range and comprising:

• a hand-supportable housing having a light transmission aperture;
• a planar laser illumination array (PLIA), mounted within said hand-supportable housing, and including a plurality of laser diodes for producing and projecting a planar laser illumination beam (PLIB) so as to illuminate said object as it is moving past said light transmission aperture;
• and
• an image formation and detection (IFD) module, mounted within said hand-supportable housing, and having an area-type image detection array and image forming optics for providing said area-type image detection array with a field of view (FOV), wherein said PLIB and FOV are arranged in a coplanar relationship along the working range of said hand-supportable PLIIM based area-type imager so that the PLIB illuminates primarily within said FOV of the IFD module;
• and
• an image processing computer for performing the following operations:
• (1) over a series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods, consecutively capturing a series of 2-D digital images of an object with speckle-pattern noise;
• (2) buffing said series of 2-D digital images over said series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods;
• and
• (3) processing corresponding pixel data subsets defined over a small window in said set of captured 2-D digital images so as to produce spatially corresponding pixel data subsets in a reconstructed 2-D digital image of the object, containing speckle-pattern noise having a substantially reduced level of RMS power.