Hand held bar code scanner with automatic scanner deenergization
First Claim
1. A hand-held bar code scanning device for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
- (a) a light source mounted in the hand-held device for generating a light beam, said light beam being directed along a path toward a bar code symbol exterior of the hand-held device;
(b) a scanner in said hand-held device in said path for scanning said light beam along a scan line across the bar code symbol, said scanner including a mirror driven by an electric motor;
(c) a sensor mounted in said hand-held device detecting the intensity of reflected light from said light beam traveling from said bar code symbol back to said hand-held device, and generating an electrical signal responsive to the intensity of said reflected light;
(d) a controller including a manually.activated trigger switch in said hand-held device and coupled to said light source and said motor to energize and de-energize said light source and said motor, said controller energizing said light source and motor in response to said switch and automatically de-energizing said light source and said motor responsive to said generating of said electrical signal after said light has been scanned across said scan line.
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Accused Products
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 for 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.
117 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A hand-held bar code scanning device for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
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(a) a light source mounted in the hand-held device for generating a light beam, said light beam being directed along a path toward a bar code symbol exterior of the hand-held device; (b) a scanner in said hand-held device in said path for scanning said light beam along a scan line across the bar code symbol, said scanner including a mirror driven by an electric motor; (c) a sensor mounted in said hand-held device detecting the intensity of reflected light from said light beam traveling from said bar code symbol back to said hand-held device, and generating an electrical signal responsive to the intensity of said reflected light; (d) a controller including a manually.activated trigger switch in said hand-held device and coupled to said light source and said motor to energize and de-energize said light source and said motor, said controller energizing said light source and motor in response to said switch and automatically de-energizing said light source and said motor responsive to said generating of said electrical signal after said light has been scanned across said scan line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of reading bar code symbols, comprising the steps of:
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(a) activating a light source in a hand-held unit by a control circuit in said hand-held unit to generate a light beam directed along a path toward a bar code symbol located exterior of the hand-held unit, reflected light from said light beam traveling from said bar code symbol back to said hand-held unit; (b) activating a scanning mirror driven by an electric motor located in said hand-held device to scan said light beam along a scan line across the bar code symbol; (c) detecting the intensity of said reflected light at said hand-held device as said light beam moves along said scan line across the bar code symbol, and generating an electrical signal responsive to the intensity of said reflected light; (d) and automatically deactivating both said light source and said motor by said control circuit in said hand-held unit after said scan line has been produced and in response to said generating of said electrical signal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A hand-held unit for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
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(a) a light source in a hand-held unit generating a light beam to be directed along a path toward a bar code symbol located exterior of the hand-held unit, reflected light from said light beam traveling from said bar code symbol back to said hand-held unit; (b) scanning optics driven by an electric motor located in said hand-held device and scanning said light beam along a scan line across the bar code symbol; (c) a detector responsive to said reflected light at said hand-held device as said light beam moves along said scan line across the bar code symbol, and generating an electrical signal responsive to said reflected light; (d) and a control circuit in said hand-held unit for automatically deactivating both said light source and said motor after said bar code signal has been scanned and in response to said generating of said electrical signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification