Autodiscriminating optical reader

• US 20030146283A1
• Filed: 12/23/2002
• Published: 08/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Longacre, Andrew Jr., Hussey, Robert M., Ehrhart, Michael A., Koziol, Thomas J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,077,317 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10821 further details of bar or optical code scanning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10851 Circuits for pulse shaping, amplifying, eliminating noise signals, checking the function of the sensing device basic electronic circuitry H03
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1491 the method including a reconstruction step, e.g. stitching two pieces of bar code together to derive the full bar code

Abstract

The invention relates to an optical reading system comprising an optical reader (10) and a host processor (900). In one aspect of the invention, the host processor (900) may be configured to transmit a component control instruction in response to a user input command input by a user of the host processor (900) to remotely control the reader (10). The optical reader (10) subsequently receives the transmitted component control instruction and executes the component control instruction substantially on receipt thereof. In one embodiment, execution of the component control instruction by optical reader (10) has the same effect as the reader trigger (52) being manually pulled by a reader operator.

Claims

1. A method for operating an optical reader, said method comprising the steps of:

programming said optical reader to sequentially attempt to decode a set of stored image data in accordance with a plurality of different decoding programs; and

selectively disabling at least one of said decoding programs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 1D symbology decoding program.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 2D symbology decoding program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said decoding programs include both 1D and 2D symbology decoding programs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said disabling step includes the step of disabling all 1D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said disabling step includes the step of disabling all 2D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said programming step further includes the steps of establishing a parameter table in said optical reader having parameters specifying the modes of operation of said optical reader, and wherein said disabling step includes the step of changing at least one of said parameters.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 1D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 2D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

10. The method of claim 7, in which said parameter table includes parameters that specify corresponding scanning-decoding modes in which different respective relationships are established between scanning operations and decoding operations performed by said optical reader.

11. The method of claim 10, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode.

12. The method of claim 10, in which said scanning-decoding modes include a plurality of non-tracking modes.

13. The method of claim 10, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode and at least one non-tracking mode.

14. The method of claim 7, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a One Shot scanning-decoding mode.

15. The method of claim 7, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Done scanning-decoding mode.

16. The method of claim 7, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Done scanning-decoding mode.

17. The method of claim 7, in which said parameter table includes a multiple symbols parameter which, when enabled, causes said reading apparatus to attempt to decode more than one symbol from a single set of stored image data.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said disabling step includes the step of presenting a menu symbol to said optical reader.

19. The method of claim 7, wherein said disabling step includes the step of presenting a menu symbol to said optical reader.

20. An optical reader comprising:

an imaging assembly;

a memory;

a programmable controller in communication with said imaging assembly and said memory, said memory having stored therein a program controlling operation of said controller;

wherein said programmable controller is programmed to store image data into said memory and to attempt to sequentially attempt to decode said image data in accordance with a plurality of different decoding programs;

wherein said programmable controller is further configured to disable, upon reception of a user-activated command, at least one of said decoding programs.

21. The reader of claim 20, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 1D symbology decoding program.

22. The reader of claim 20, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 2D symbology decoding program.

23. The reader of claim 20, wherein said decoding programs include both 1D and 2D symbology decoding programs.

24. The reader of claim 20, wherein said controller is further configured to disable all 1D decoding programs on reception of a user-activated command.

25. The reader of claim 20, wherein said controller is further configured to disable all 2D decoding programs on reception of a user-activated command.

26. The reader of claim 20, wherein said memory has stored therein a parameter table having parameters specifying the modes of operation of said optical reader, and wherein said controller changes one of said parameters when receiving said user-activated command.

27. The reader of claim 26, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 1D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

28. The reader of claim 26, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 2D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

29. The reader of claim 26, in which said parameter table includes parameters that specify corresponding scanning-decoding modes in which different respective modes respective relationships are established between scanning operations and decoding operations performed by said optical reader.

30. The reader of claim 29, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode.

31. The reader of claim 29, in which said scanning-decoding modes include a plurality of non-tracking modes.

32. The reader of claim 29, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode and at least one non-tracking mode.

33. The reader of claim 26, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a One Shot scanning-decoding mode.

34. The reader of claim 26, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Stopped scanning-decoding mode.

35. The reader of claim 28, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Stopped scanning-decoding mode.

36. The reader of claim 26, in which said parameter table includes a multiple symbols parameter which, when enabled, causes said reading apparatus to attempt to decode more than one symbol from a single set of stored image data.

37. An optical reader comprising:

a housing;

an imaging assembly disposed in said housing; and

a programmable controller, said programmable controller being configured to;

acquire image data;

attempt to decode decodable indicia represented in said image data in accordance with a plurality of different decoding programs launched in accordance with a predetermined sequence; and

disable at least one of said decoding programs on receipt of a user-initiated command to disable at least one decoding program.

38. The reader of claim 37, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 1D symbology decoding program.

39. The reader of claim 37, wherein at least one of said decoding programs is a 2D symbology decoding program.

40. The reader of claim 37, wherein said decoding programs include both 1D and 2D symbology decoding programs.

41. The reader of claim 37, wherein said controller is further configured to disable all 1D decoding programs on reception of a user-activated command.

42. The reader of claim 37, wherein said controller is further configured to disable all 2D decoding programs on reception of a user-activated command.

43. The reader of claim 37, wherein said reader has stored therein a parameter table having parameters specifying the modes of operation of said optical reader, and wherein said controller changes one of said parameters when receiving said user-activated command.

44. The reader of claim 38, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 1D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

45. The reader of claim 38, wherein said parameter table includes a parameter which when changed disables all 2D decoding programs of said plurality of decoding programs.

46. The reader of claim 38, in which said parameter table includes parameters that specify scanning-decoding modes in which different respective relationships are established between scanning operations and decoding operations performed by said optical reader.

47. The reader of claim 46, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode.

48. The reader of claim 46, in which said scanning-decoding modes include a plurality of non-tracking modes.

49. The reader of claim 46, in which said scanning-decoding modes include at least one tracking mode and at least one non-tracking mode.

50. The reader of claim 46, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a One Shot scanning-decoding mode.

51. The reader of claim 46, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Stopped scanning-decoding mode.

52. The reader of claim 46, in which at least one of said parameters specifies a Repeat Until Stopped scanning-decoding mode.

53. The reader of claim 46, in which said parameter table includes a multiple symbols parameter which, when enabled, causes said reading apparatus to attempt to decode more than one symbol from a single set of stored image data.