Planar laser illumination and imaging (PLIIM) systems with integrated despeckling mechanisms provided therein
First Claim
1. A planar light illumination module (PLIM) of compact construction for producing a planar laser illumination beam (PLIB) which emanates substantially within a single plane along the direction of beam propagation towards an object to be optically illuminated, said PLIM comprising:
- a module housing having an axial extent, first and second end portions, a central bore formed along its axial extent, and a wedge-like recess integrally formed in said second end portion;
a visible laser diode (VLD) mounted along said bore at said first end portion of said module housing, for producing a laser beam generally along said axial extent;
a focusing lens mounted along said bore between said first and second end portions, for focusing said laser beam to a predetermined focal point; and
a laser beam expansion element mounted within said wedge-like recess at said second end portion of said module housing, and expanding said laser beam along a predetermined direction and producing a substantially planar laser illumination beam from said beam expansion component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods of and systems for illuminating objects using planar laser illumination beams having substantially-planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through the field of view (FOV) of image formation and detection modules employed in such systems. Each planar laser illumination beam is produced from a planar laser illumination beam array (PLIA) comprising an plurality of planar laser illumination modules (PLIMs). Each PLIM comprises a visible laser diode (VLD, a focusing lens, and a cylindrical optical element arranged therewith. The individual planar laser illumination beam components produced from each PLIM are optically combined to produce a composite substantially planar laser illumination beam having substantially uniform power density characteristics over the entire spatial extend thereof and thus the working range of the system. Preferably, each planar laser illumination beam component is focused so that the minimum beam width thereof occurs at a point or plane which is the farthest or maximum object distance at which the system is designed to acquire images, thereby compensating for decreases in the power density of the incident planar laser illumination beam due to the fact that the width of the planar laser illumination beam increases in length for increasing object distances away from the imaging optics. By virtue of the present invention, it is now possible to use both VLDs and high-speed CCD-type image detectors in conveyor, hand-held and hold-under type scanning applications alike, enjoying the advantages and benefits that each such technology has to offer, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks hitherto associated therewith.
228 Citations
1 Claim
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1. A planar light illumination module (PLIM) of compact construction for producing a planar laser illumination beam (PLIB) which emanates substantially within a single plane along the direction of beam propagation towards an object to be optically illuminated, said PLIM comprising:
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a module housing having an axial extent, first and second end portions, a central bore formed along its axial extent, and a wedge-like recess integrally formed in said second end portion;
a visible laser diode (VLD) mounted along said bore at said first end portion of said module housing, for producing a laser beam generally along said axial extent;
a focusing lens mounted along said bore between said first and second end portions, for focusing said laser beam to a predetermined focal point; and
a laser beam expansion element mounted within said wedge-like recess at said second end portion of said module housing, and expanding said laser beam along a predetermined direction and producing a substantially planar laser illumination beam from said beam expansion component.
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Specification