Portable oblique optical reader system and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus for reading optical indicia on a target surface, comprising:
- a) a portable terminal unit of tablet configuration having an optical window at an underside thereof and defining a major plane;
b) an optical reader having an optical axis directed through said window and having a given depth of field and field of view at a given range from said window;
c) said optical reader having an optical axis directed obliquely to said major plane such that at least a portion of said field of view is horizontally displaced from said terminal unit as said terminal unit is disposed with said major plane horizontally oriented; and
d) said optical reader having an area-type image sensor defining a sensor plane and said image sensor positioned to intersect the optical axis of the optical reader and to receive light reflected from that portion of a target surface contained within the optical reader'"'"'s field of view and depth of field.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable hand-held reader unit for reading two-dimensional information and generating an image therefrom wherein an optical axis of the reader is oriented obliquely to the surface containing the coded information. The reader includes a sensing system designed such that the rectilinear dimension of the generated image corresponding to an axis of the coded information undergoing the most distortion from oblique reading is magnified, by the lens system or the resolution configuration of the image sensor, to a greater extent than that of the rectilinear dimension undergoing the least distortion from oblique reading. Alternatively, the sensor is oriented relative to the optical axis such that the received image does not exhibit the distortion which may result from oblique reading. The coded information may contain height-to-width ratio of the coded information such that the generated image can be automatically corrected for distortion from oblique reading. Ranging marker beams may be used in conjunction with the obliqueness correcting embodiments to align the reader with the coded information.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for reading optical indicia on a target surface, comprising:
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a) a portable terminal unit of tablet configuration having an optical window at an underside thereof and defining a major plane; b) an optical reader having an optical axis directed through said window and having a given depth of field and field of view at a given range from said window; c) said optical reader having an optical axis directed obliquely to said major plane such that at least a portion of said field of view is horizontally displaced from said terminal unit as said terminal unit is disposed with said major plane horizontally oriented; and d) said optical reader having an area-type image sensor defining a sensor plane and said image sensor positioned to intersect the optical axis of the optical reader and to receive light reflected from that portion of a target surface contained within the optical reader'"'"'s field of view and depth of field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification