Portable optical scanning and pointing systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A convertible pointer/scanner module, comprising:
- a) a housing supported by a human operator, said housing including an upper casing having a window, and a lower portion supported by at least one finger of the operator'"'"'s hand;
b) a light emitter supported by the housing, for emitting a light beam through the window at a target, said light beam being movable relative to the target by the operator manually moving the housing in a pointing mode of operation;
c) an actuatable scanning element supported by the housing, for automatically moving the light beam when actuated; and
d) an actuator for actuating the scanning element to automatically move the light beam relative to the target in a scanning mode of operation.
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Abstract
A housing, held or worn by a user, contains a light emitter for emitting a light beam that is manually moved by the user relative to a target in a pointing mode of operation. An actuator is operative for actuating a scanning element to automatically move the light beam relative to the target in a scanning mode of operation. The actuator may be a switch or proximity sensor to switch between the modes.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A convertible pointer/scanner module, comprising:
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a) a housing supported by a human operator, said housing including an upper casing having a window, and a lower portion supported by at least one finger of the operator'"'"'s hand; b) a light emitter supported by the housing, for emitting a light beam through the window at a target, said light beam being movable relative to the target by the operator manually moving the housing in a pointing mode of operation; c) an actuatable scanning element supported by the housing, for automatically moving the light beam when actuated; and d) an actuator for actuating the scanning element to automatically move the light beam relative to the target in a scanning mode of operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A convertible pointer/scanner unit for highlighting a selected region of a human-readable, visual display presentation in a pointing mode of operation, and for electro-optically scanning a machine-readable bar code symbol in a scanning mode of operation, the unit comprising:
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a) a portable, hand-held housing aimable by a user at the human-readable presentation in the pointing mode, and independently aimable by the user at the machine-readable symbol in the scanning mode, said housing having a window; b) a light emitter supported by the housing, for emitting a light beam along a path through the window outwardly of the housing in both modes; c) a light sensor having a field of view and supported by the housing; d) an actuatable control element supported by the housing, for controlling movement of the light beam when actuated; and e) an actuator supported by the housing and operatively connected to the control element, for selecting between the modes, and for selectively sweeping the light beam along a closed, non-intersecting, curvilinear projection on the human-readable presentation in the pointing mode, and for sweeping at least one of the light beam and the field of view in the scanning mode. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A pointer/terminal unit for highlighting a selected region of a human-readable, visual display presentation in a pointing mode of operation, and for processing machine-readable data in a processing mode of operation, the unit comprising:
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a) a portable, hand-held housing aimable by a user at the human-readable presentation in the pointing mode; b) a light emitter supported by the housing, for emitting a light beam along a path outwardly of the housing in the pointing mode; c) an actuatable control element supported by the housing, for controlling movement of the light beam when actuated; d) an actuator supported by the housing and operatively connected to the control element, for selecting between the modes, and for selectively sweeping the light beam along a closed, non-intersecting, curvilinear projection on the human-readable presentation in the pointing mode; and e) a display on the housing, for displaying information to the user in the processing mode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A laser pointer unit for creating a visual display on a target, comprising:
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a) a portable, hand-held housing aimable by a user at a target; b) a laser emitter supported by the housing, for emitting a laser light beam along a path outwardly of the housing towards the target; c) an actuatable control element supported by the housing, for controlling the scanning movement of the laser light beam when actuated in at least two directions; and d) a drive supported by the housing and operatively connected to the control element, for selectively illuminating the target to form a closed, non-intersecting, curvilinear projection of a desired figure.
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Specification