Hand-held bar code scanner with jointly mounted scanning mirrors
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A hand-held bar code scanning device for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
- (a) a laser 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 located exterior of the hand-held device to result in reflected light traveling back to the device;
(b) a scanner in said hand-held device including a moving mirror assembly in said path driven by a motor, said scanner causing said light beam and a field of view for said reflected light to move along a scan line across the bar code symbol;
(c) a sensor mounted in said hand-held device detecting said reflected light via said moving mirror assembly and generating an electrical signal responsive to said reflected light;
(d) wherein said moving mirror assembly includes a curved mirror for focusing said reflected light on said sensor, and a generally-flat scan mirror different from said curved mirror for scanning said light beam along said scan line, and wherein said scan mirror and curved mirror are jointly supported and driven jointly by said motor;
(e) a housing having a gun-like shape with a barrel portion containing said light source, said scanner and said sensor, the housing having a pistol-grip type of handle, said sensor being mounted in said barrel portion forward of said moving mirror assembly.
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Abstract
A portable laser diode scanning head, aimable at each symbol to be read, emits and receives non-readily-visible laser light, and is equipped with a trigger-actuated aiming light arrangement for visually locating and tracking each symbol. A compact laser diode optical train and an optical folded path assembly, as well as an interchangeable component design and an integral window construction for the head also are disclosed.
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Citations
46 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 laser 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 located exterior of the hand-held device to result in reflected light traveling back to the device; (b) a scanner in said hand-held device including a moving mirror assembly in said path driven by a motor, said scanner causing said light beam and a field of view for said reflected light to move along a scan line across the bar code symbol; (c) a sensor mounted in said hand-held device detecting said reflected light via said moving mirror assembly and generating an electrical signal responsive to said reflected light; (d) wherein said moving mirror assembly includes a curved mirror for focusing said reflected light on said sensor, and a generally-flat scan mirror different from said curved mirror for scanning said light beam along said scan line, and wherein said scan mirror and curved mirror are jointly supported and driven jointly by said motor; (e) a housing having a gun-like shape with a barrel portion containing said light source, said scanner and said sensor, the housing having a pistol-grip type of handle, said sensor being mounted in said barrel portion forward of said moving mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A hand-held bar code scanning device for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
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(a) a gun-shaped housing having a barrel portion and a piston-grip type of handle, the forward end of the barrel portion being pointed toward the bar code symbol; (a) a light source mounted in said housing for generating a light beam, said light beam being directed along a path exiting a forward end of said barrel portion toward a bar code symbol located exterior of the hand-held device resulting in reflected light traveling back to the device; (b) a scanner in said housing including a moving mirror assembly in said path driven by a motor, said scanner moving said light beam and a field of view for said reflected light along a scan line across the bar code symbol; (c) a sensor mounted in said hand-held device detecting said reflected light for said scanned field of view via said moving mirror assembly, and generating electrical signals responsive to the reflected light, said sensor being positioned toward said forward end of said barrel portion of said housing with respect to said moving mirror assembly; (d) a trigger switch located at an upper part of said pistol-grip handle for activating said light source and said motor; (e) wherein said moving mirror assembly includes a curved mirror for focusing said reflected light on said sensor, and a scan mirror for scanning said light beam along said scan line, and wherein said scan mirror is different from said curved mirror, and said scan mirror and curved mirror are mounted and driven jointly. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of reading bar code symbols or the like, comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating a light beam in a hand-held device and directing said light beam along a path toward a bar code symbol located forward of the hand-held device to result in reflected light traveling back to the hand-held device; (b) moving said light beam and a field of view for said reflected light along a scan line across the bar code symbol by a scanner in said hand-held device, said scanner including a moving mirror assembly in said path driven by a motor, said moving mirror assembly including a scanning mirror and a collecting mirror mounted together and moving together, said scanning mirror being relatively flat and said collecting mirror being concave; (c) detecting said reflected light by a sensor mounted in said hand-held device forward of said moving mirror assembly, said reflected light traveling by a path including said collecting mirror of said moving mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. An optical scanning apparatus including a light source and a light sensor for reading an indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprising:
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a) a movable optical scanning element for reflecting a light beam from said light source in a path toward said indicia and scanning the light beam in a path across said indicia; b) a movable, generally-concave optical collecting element for collecting light reflected from said indicia, and for directing said reflected light toward said sensor, said scanning element and said collecting element being mirrors secured to one another to move together; and c) a motor for jointly and simultaneously moving said scanning and collecting elements. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of reading an indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprising the steps of:
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a) generating a light beam from a light source; a) reflecting said light beam by a movable optical scanning mirror in a path from said light source toward said indicia; b) collecting reflected light from said indicia by a movable, generally-concave optical collecting mirror, and directing said reflected light toward a light sensor; and c) jointly and simultaneously moving said scanning and collecting mirrors to scan the light beam and a field of view of said reflected light in a path across said indicia, said scanning and collecting mirrors being jointly mounted to move together. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A lightweight bar code scanning device configured for reading bar code symbols, comprising:
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a. a housing; b. a laser light source supported in the housing for generating a laser beam, said laser beam being directed along a path towards the bar code located exterior to the housing to result in reflected light from the bar code traveling back to the housing; c. a sensor supported in the housing for receiving said reflected light and generating an electrical signal responsive thereto; d. a movably supported mirror assembly in said housing, said mirror assembly including (i) a curved collecting mirror for receiving said reflected light and directing it in a path to reach said sensor, and (ii) a scanning mirror for receiving the laser beam from the source and directing it toward the bar code symbols to be read, said scanning and collecting mirrors being supported for joint movement with one another, and e. a drive mechanism for moving the mirror assembly, thereby to scan the laser beam and the field of view of the sensor across the bar code symbol. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification