ORIENTING A SCANNING DEVICE WITH RESPECT TO A TARGET LOCATION

• US 20110147455A1
• Filed: 12/18/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Chuntao, Gyorfi, Julius S., Babin, Thomas S., Mok, Swee M., Collins, Timothy J., Mathew, Tom
• Granted Patent: US 8,215,550 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1011 Aiming

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for a scanning device to tell its user how to best orient the scanning device to scan a target location. The user approaches the target location and initiates a scan. The results of the scan are analyzed and compared to information about the target location. Based on the analysis, the user is told how to re-orient the scanning device, if that is necessary to achieve an acceptable re-scan of the target location. In a preferred embodiment, a screen on the scanning device presents a two-dimensional map based on the scan results and on the known relative locations of the target location and of nearby non-target locations. Locations on the map are highlighted to tell the user the results of the scan and to direct him to re-orient the scanning device if necessary.

Claims

1. A method for orienting a scanning device with respect to a target location, the method comprising:

orienting the scanning device, the orienting comprising setting a location of the scanning device and setting a direction of the scanning device;

initiating, by the scanning device, a scan;

receiving, by the scanning device, results of the scan;

analyzing the received results of the scan to determine a presence condition of the target location, the presence condition based, at least in part, on the received results of the scan, wherein the presence condition is selected from the group consisting of;

(a) the target location is not definitively found,

(b) the target location is found definitively but not uniquely, and

(c) the target location is found definitively and uniquely;

presenting, by the scanning device, an indication of the determined presence condition; and

repeating, if necessary, orienting the scanning device, initiating a scan, receiving results of the scan, analyzing the received results, and presenting an indication until the determined presence condition of the target location is presence condition (c) above.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the scanning device is selected from the group consisting of:

an RFID scanner and a laser scanner.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the target location is selected from the group consisting of:

a shelf and a bin.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the received results of the scan comprises producing a list of zero or more locations found by the scan.

5. The method of claim 4:

wherein condition (a) is determined if the list does not include the target location;

wherein condition (b) is determined if the list includes the target location and at least one other location; and

wherein condition (c) is determined if the list includes the target location and no other locations.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the list further comprises, for each location on the list, a proxy for a distance between the location and the scanning device.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the distance proxy for a location on the list is based, at least in part, on a selection from the group consisting of:

a distance measured between the location and the scanning device, a strength of a returned signal associated with the location, and an indication of a lowest-power scan that found the location.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

filtering the list to remove locations, if any, whose proxy distances are above a first threshold.

9. The method of claim 8:

wherein presence condition (a) is determined if the filtered list does not include the target location;

wherein presence condition (b) is determined if the filtered list includes the target location, if the filtered list includes at least one other location, and if the proxy distance associated with the other location is not greater by a second threshold than a proxy distance associated with the target location; and

wherein presence condition (c) is determined if the filtered list includes the target location and if either the filtered list includes no other locations or proxy distances associated with all other locations on the filtered list are greater by the second threshold than the proxy distance associated with the target location.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein presenting an indication of the determined presence condition comprises:

presenting a two-dimensional map of locations;

if presence condition (b) is determined, then highlighting a plurality of areas on the two-dimensional map corresponding to locations on the list; and

if presence condition (c) is determined, then highlighting an area on the two-dimensional map corresponding to the target location.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the received results of the scan is performed, at least in part, on a compute server remote from the scanning device.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting comprises presenting a light or a sound indicating the determined presence condition.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

before orienting, receiving information about the target location from a compute server remote from the scanning device.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

before orienting, presenting, by the scanning device, instructions on how to get near the target location.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

presenting, by the scanning device, an indication of how to re-orient the scanning device toward the target location.

16. A scanning device comprising:

a user interface configured for initiating a scan and for presenting an indication of a determined presence condition of a target location;

a scan transceiver configured for transmitting the scan and for receiving results of the scan; and

a processor operatively connected to the user interface and to the scan transceiver and configured for analyzing the received results of the scan to determine a presence condition of the target location, the presence condition based, at least in part, on the received results of the scan, wherein the presence condition is selected from the group consisting of;

(a) the target location is not definitively found,

(b) the target location is found definitively but not uniquely, and

(c) the target location is found definitively and uniquely.

17. The scanning device of claim 16 wherein presenting comprises presenting a light or a sound indicating the determined presence condition.

18. The scanning device of claim 16 wherein presenting an indication of a determined presence condition comprises:

presenting a two-dimensional map of locations;

if presence condition (b) is determined, then highlighting a plurality of areas on the two-dimensional map corresponding to locations on the list; and

if presence condition (c) is determined, then highlighting an area on the two-dimensional map corresponding to the target location.

19. The scanning device of claim 16 wherein the user interface is further configured for presenting an indication of how to re-orient the scanning device toward the target location.

20. The scanning device of claim 16 further comprising:

a communications transceiver operatively connected to the processor and configured for receiving information about the target location from a compute server remote from the scanning device.