Method, system and apparatus for auxiliary label detection and association

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11100303-B2
Application number	US-201816214752-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2018
Priority date	Dec 10, 2018
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

A method of auxiliary label detection includes: at an imaging controller, obtaining (i) an image of a support structure and (ii) a plurality of primary label indicators each defining a position of a primary label within the image; at the imaging controller, selecting a detection region from the image based on a reference indicator; at the imaging controller, detecting an auxiliary label within the detection region based on predefined visual attributes of the auxiliary label; at the imaging controller, selecting one of the primary label indicators based on proximity between the auxiliary label and the selected primary label indicator; updating the selected primary label indicator with an identifier of the auxiliary label; and storing the updated primary label indicator in a memory.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of auxiliary label detection, comprising:
at an imaging controller, obtaining (i) an image of a support structure and (ii) a plurality of primary label indicators each defining a position of a primary label within the image;
at the imaging controller, selecting a detection region from the image based on obtaining a support structure edge indicator defining a position of the support structure edge within the image;
at the imaging controller, detecting an auxiliary label within the detection region based on predefined visual attributes of the auxiliary label;
at the imaging controller, selecting one of the primary label indicators based on proximity between the auxiliary label and the selected primary label indicator;
updating the selected primary label indicator with an identifier of the auxiliary label; and
storing the updated primary label indicator in a memory.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the detection region further comprises:
extracting an initial region of the image based on the support structure edge indicator;
identifying a blob in the extracted initial region; and
selecting the detection region corresponding to the blob.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the auxiliary label includes detecting an orientation of the auxiliary label relative to a reference orientation; the method further comprising:
determining whether the orientation exceeds a predefined threshold; and
when the orientation exceeds the predefined threshold, discarding the auxiliary label detection.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
when the orientation does not exceed the threshold, storing an auxiliary label indicator in the memory, defining (i) a position of the auxiliary label within the image and (ii) a type of the auxiliary label.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the auxiliary label includes detecting a position and a type of the auxiliary label; and
wherein updating the primary label indicator includes inserting the type of the auxiliary label into the primary label indicator.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein selecting the one of the primary label indicators comprises:
determining an expected primary label position based on the position of the auxiliary label;
determining whether one of the primary label indicators is at the expected position; and
when one of the primary label indicators is at the expected position, selecting the one of the primary label indicators.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
determining whether the selected primary label indicator is complete; and
when the selected primary label indicator is not complete, updating the primary label indicator with an obstructed status indicator.

8. A computing device for auxiliary label detection, the computing device comprising:
a memory storing (i) an image of a support structure and (ii) a plurality of primary label indicators each defining a position of a primary label within the image;
an imaging controller connected to the memory, the imaging controller configured to obtain the image of the support structure and the plurality of primary label indicators;
the imaging controller further configured to select a detection region from the image based on obtaining a support structure edge indicator defining a position of the support structure edge within the image;
the imaging controller further configured to detect an auxiliary label within the detection region based on predefined visual attributes of the auxiliary label;
the imaging controller further configured to select one of the primary label indicators based on proximity between the auxiliary label and the selected primary label indicator;
the imaging controller further configured to update the selected primary label indicator with an identifier of the auxiliary label; and
the imaging controller further configured to store the updated primary label indicator in the memory.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , further comprising:
a communications interface connected to the imaging controller;
wherein the imaging controller is further configured to transmit the updated primary label indicator via the communications interface.

10. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured, to select, the detection region, to:
extract an initial region of the image based on the support structure edge indicator;
identify a blob in the extracted initial region; and
select the detection region corresponding to the blob.

11. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured, to detect the auxiliary label, to detect an orientation of the auxiliary label relative to a reference orientation; and
wherein the imaging controller is further configured to:
determine whether the orientation exceeds a predefined threshold; and
when the orientation exceeds the predefined threshold, discard the auxiliary label detection.

12. The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured to:
when the orientation does not exceed the threshold, store an auxiliary label indicator in the memory, defining (i) a position of the auxiliary label within the image and (ii) a type of the auxiliary label.

13. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured, to detect the auxiliary label, to detect a position and a type of the auxiliary label; and
wherein the imaging controller is further configured, to update the primary label indicator, to insert the type of the auxiliary label into the primary label indicator.

14. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured, to select the one of the primary label indicators, to:
determine an expected primary label position based on the position of the auxiliary label;
determine whether one of the primary label indicators is at the expected position; and
when one of the primary label indicators is at the expected position, select the one of the primary label indicators.

15. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the imaging controller is further configured to:
determine whether the selected primary label indicator is complete; and
when the selected primary label indicator is not complete, update the primary label indicator with an obstructed status indicator.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of computer-readable instructions executable by an imaging controller, wherein execution of the instructions causes the imaging controller to:
obtain (i) an image of a support structure and (ii) a plurality of primary label indicators each defining a position of a primary label within the image;
select a detection region from the image based on a support structure edge indicator defining a position of the support structure edge within the image;
detect an auxiliary label within the detection region based on predefined visual attributes of the auxiliary label;
select one of the primary label indicators based on proximity between the auxiliary label and the selected primary label indicator;
update the selected primary label indicator with an identifier of the auxiliary label; and store the updated primary label indicator in a memory.

Assignees

• Zebra Tech Corp

Inventors

• Reza Shoja Ghiass
• Lam Joseph

Classifications

• G06Q10/087

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G06K7/1443 Primary

  locating of the code in an image · CPC title

• G06K7/1413

  1D bar codes · CPC title

• G09F3/0291

  Labels or tickets undergoing a change under particular conditions, e.g. heat, radiation, passage of time · CPC title