Narrow-bodied, single-and twin-windowed portable laser scanning head for reading bar code symbols

• US 4,758,717 A
• Filed: 07/10/1986
• Issued: 07/19/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Barkan, Edward D., Swartz, Jerome, Shepard, Howard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US06/883,923
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462, 235/463, 235/472, 235/467, 235/385
• US Class Current: 235/462.46
• 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 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners

Abstract

A narrow-bodied, single-and twin-windowed, hand-held, laser scanning head for reading bar code symbols includes at least one window mounted at the rear region of the head, and through which either the incident beam going to the symbol and/or the reflected beam returning from the symbol, passes unobstructedly and exteriorly of, and past, the front and intermediate body regions of the head. A field-replaceable laser tube arrangement, a laser tube and method of making the same, an arrangement for and method of controlling a scanning system, optical passive elements for increasing the depth of field, a trigger protective device, and a one-piece support bench and method of fabricating the same by mass-production techniques are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An entirely field-portable data collection intelligent terminal for reading bar code symbols, each in its respective turn, comprising:

(a) a light-weight, hand-held laser scanning housing normally supportable by a user in a normally non-contacting relationship with the symbols during reading thereof;

(b) means on the housing for selecting and manually entering data collection information;

(c) means in the housing for generating a laser beam;

(d) means in the housing for directing the laser beam along a light path through an outlet port of the housing to each symbol;

(e) means in the housing for repetitively scanning the directed laser beam across each symbol for reflection therefrom;

(f) means in the housing for detecting the variable intensity of each scanned laser beam reflected from each symbol, and for generating an electrical signal indicative of the detected intensity for each symbol;

(g) means in the housing for processing each electrical signal, and for generating a processed electrical signal for each symbol;

(h) means in the housing for decoding the processed signal for each symbol to be read;

(i) manually actuatable trigger means on the housing for initiating reading of each symbol upon each manual actuation of the trigger means from one state to another by the user;

(j) means in the housing for determining a successful decoding of each symbol, and for non-manually terminating the reading of each symbol upon the determination of the successful decoding thereof;

(k) means in the housing for storing data collection information;

(l) means on the housing for displaying data collection information; and

(m) means in the housing for supplying power to the terminal.

2. The intelligent terminal as recited in claim 1, wherein the selecting means constitutes a keyboard, and wherein the displaying means constitutes a display, and wherein the keyboard and the display are mounted on the terminal for easy access and viewing by an operator.

3. In a scanning system for reading symbols, a hand-held scanning head comprising:

(a) means including a solid-state light source in the head;

(b) modulator means for energizing the source on and off at a predetermined frequency to emit a modulated incident light beam from the source;

(c) means for directing the modulated beam to successive symbols to be read;

(d) sensor means in the head and aimed at, and having a field of view on, a respective symbol;

(e) scanning means for scanning at least one of said modulated beam and said field of view across the respective symbol;

(f) said sensor means being tuned to the predetermined frequency and operative, during scanning, for detecting light of variable intensity reflected off the respective symbol, and for generating an electrical signal of increased signal-to-noise ratio which is indicative of the detected light intensity; and

(g) signal processing means in the head, for processing the electrical signal of increased signal-to-noise ratio to generate therefrom data descriptive of the respective symbol being read.

4. The hand-held head as recited in claim 3, wherein the light source is a laser diode.

5. The hand-held head as recited in claim 3, wherein the light source is a light-emitting diode.