METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DECODING BAR CODE IMAGES USING MULTI-ORDER FEATURE VECTORS

摘要

A method and apparatus for decoding a pixel image representative of a bar code symbol. The bar code symbol is comprised of a plurality of encoded character values each of which corresponds to one of a plurality of prototype bar patterns, wherein each of the prototype bar patterns has a set of predetermined bar width feature values associated therewith. A set of bar width information estimates is determined from the pixel image. The set of bar width information estimates being representative of a character value stored in the bar code symbol. The set of bar width estimates is compared to a selected set of predetermined bar width feature values. Based on this comparison, it is determined whether the character value stored in the bar code symbol corresponds to the selected set of predetermined bar width information values.