Bar code symbol reading system having automatic hand-supportable bar code symbol reading device and stand for supporting projected scan field thereof

• US 5,895,907 A
• Filed: 11/26/1997
• Issued: 04/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilz, David M. Sr., Rockstein, George B., Knowles, Carl H., Bubnoski, David P.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL GUNYOUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/979,520
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462, 235/463, 235/466, 235/472, 235/454
• US Class Current: 235/472.02
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/106 having diffraction gratings as scanning elements, e.g. holographic scanners holographic optical elements G02B5/32, holography G03H
• 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 2207/1012 Special detection of object
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1016 Motor control or optical moving unit control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1018 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10564 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10584 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10594 Beam path
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10603 Basic scanning using moving elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10663 using hologram
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10673 Parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10693 for omnidirectional scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10702 Particularities of propagating elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors G06K7/10831 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10792 Special measures in relation to the object to be scanned
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10801 Multidistance reading
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10811 Focalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10851 Circuits for pulse shaping, amplifying, eliminating noise signals, checking the function of the sensing device basic electronic circuitry H03
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10871 : randomly oriented data-fields, code-marks therefore, e.g. concentric circles-code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 : constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10891 : the scanner to be worn on a finger or on a wrist
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/109 : adaptations to make the hand-held scanner useable as a fixed scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 : using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1443 : locating of the code in an image

Abstract

An automatic bar code symbol reading system comprising components for carrying out object detection, scanning, photoreceiving, A/D conversion, bar code presence detection, symbol decoding, data format conversion, data storage and data transmission functions. In general, the bar code symbol reading device includes a control system having a plurality of control centers that control the operation of the system components in accordance with preselected system control operations. Each of the control centers are responsive to control activation signals generated by certain of the system components upon the occurrence of predefined conditions. Certain of the control centers are capable overriding other control centers to provide diverse control capabilities which facilitates execution of intelligent operations and power consumption, during bar code symbol reading.

Claims

1. An automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system having a programmed mode of automatic operation for consecutively reading code symbols without system reactivation, said automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system comprising:

a hand-supportable housing having a light transmission aperture through which visible light can exit and enter said hand-supportable housing;

system activation means in said hand-supportable housing, for generating an activation signal indicative of the presence of an object in at least a portion of a scan field defined external to said hand-supportable housing;

activatable scan data producing means in said hand-supportable housing for producing, when activated, scan data from said object located in at least a part of said scan field, said activatable scan data producing means including

a laser beam producing means for producing and projecting a visible laser beam through said light transmission aperture, and scanning said visible laser beam across said scan field and a code symbol on said object, and

laser light detecting means for detecting the intensity of laser light reflected off said bar code symbol and passing through said light transmission aperture, and for automatically producing scan data indicative of said detected light intensity;

activatable scan data processing means for processing, when activated, produced scan data so as to detect and decode said scanned code symbol and automatically produce symbol character data representative of said decoded code symbol;

system control means for automatically activating said activatable scan data producing means and said activatable scan data processing means in response to the generation of said activation signal, and controlling the operation thereof during said programmed mode of automatic code symbol reading such that, during said programmed mode of automatic operation, two or more code symbols on one or more objects in said scan field can be consecutively detected and decoded without reactivation of said activatable scan data processing means or said activatable scan data processing means.

2. The automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system of claim 1,

wherein said code symbol is a bar code symbol, and

wherein said bar code symbol has first and second envelope borders, and said activatable scan data processing means detects said bar code symbol by detecting said first and second envelope borders.

3. The automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system of claim 1, wherein said system activation means comprises:

signal transmitting means for transmitting a signal into said scan field, and

signal receiving means for receiving said transmitted signal reflected off said object in at least a portion of said scan field, and automatically generating said activation signal in response to receiving said transmitted signal.

4. The automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system of claim 3, wherein said signal transmitting means comprises an infra-red light source for transmitting a pulsed infra-red light signal, and wherein said signal receiving means comprises an infra-red light detector and an optical element for focusing reflected infrar-red light pulses onto said infrar-red light detector.

5. The automatic hand-supportable laser scanning system of claim 1, wherein said laser beam producing means comprises a laser diode for producing a visible laser beam.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said hand-supportable housing comprises a head portion and a handle portion, and wherein said laser beam producing means, said laser beam scanning means, and said laser detecting means are disposed in said head portion.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said scan data processing means and said control means are disposed within said hand-supportable housing.

8. The system of claim 7, which further comprises a data output port for transmitting said symbol character data to a symbol character data storage means disposed external to said hand-supportable housing.

9. The system of 8, which further comprises a flexible connector cable physically associated with said data output port, for transmitting said bar code symbol data to said symbol character data storage means.