Optical scanner with hand-held and hands-free modes of use
First Claim
1. A portable system for electro-optically reading indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprising:
- a) a scan assembly including a light source for directing a light beam at an indicium for reflection therefrom, a light sensor having a field of view and operative for detecting light reflected from the indicium and for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the detected light, a scanner for scanning at least one of the light beam and the field of view, and an actuator for manually actuating the scanning assembly during a hand-held mode of operation;
b) a housing for supporting the scanning assembly, the housing including two parts detachably mounted to each other and an elongated support having a lower end region, one of the parts containing the scanning assembly, ther other of the parts being a cradle connected to the elongated support and operative for supporting said one of the parts, the cradle having upwardly-open, concavely curved walls, and said one of the parts having convexly curved side walls that rest on the concavely curved walls of the cradle; and
c) a base for supporting the housing during a hands-free mode of operation, the lower end region of the support being pivotably mounted to the base.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical scanner having an adjustable cradle or stand for allowing the user either to operate the scanner in the hand or while positioned in the cradle. In one embodiment, suitable for use with wireless-based hand-held scanners, a particular scanner may be associated with an individual cradle by scanning a bar code symbol associated with that cradle and storing and/or processing the ID data contained in the symbol. A simple mechanical arrangement is provided for switching the scanner either manually or automatically between one-dimensional and two-dimensional scanning, with corresponding changes in the cross-sectional shape and/or focus of the scanning laser beam.
137 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A portable system for electro-optically reading indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprising:
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a) a scan assembly including a light source for directing a light beam at an indicium for reflection therefrom, a light sensor having a field of view and operative for detecting light reflected from the indicium and for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the detected light, a scanner for scanning at least one of the light beam and the field of view, and an actuator for manually actuating the scanning assembly during a hand-held mode of operation; b) a housing for supporting the scanning assembly, the housing including two parts detachably mounted to each other and an elongated support having a lower end region, one of the parts containing the scanning assembly, ther other of the parts being a cradle connected to the elongated support and operative for supporting said one of the parts, the cradle having upwardly-open, concavely curved walls, and said one of the parts having convexly curved side walls that rest on the concavely curved walls of the cradle; and c) a base for supporting the housing during a hands-free mode of operation, the lower end region of the support being pivotably mounted to the base. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of electro-optically reading indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprising the steps of:
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a) scanning at least one of a light beam and a field of view over an indicium to be read; b) supporting components for performing the scanning step in a housing having two parts detachably mounted to each other and an elongated support that has a lower end region, one of the parts containing the scanning assembly, the other of the parts being a cradle connected to the elongated support and operative for supporting said one of the parts, the cradle having upwardly-open, concavely curved walls, and said one of the parts having convexly curved side walls that rest on the concavely curved walls of the cradle; and c) pivotably mounting the lower end region of the support to a base to pivot the housing relative to the indicium to be read.
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Specification