Optical code reader and methods and articles therefor

• US 6,131,813 A
• Filed: 06/17/1998
• Issued: 10/17/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Knighton, Mark S., Logan, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): St. Cyr, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/098,705
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 235/454, 235/462.01, 235/462.15, 235/462.18, 235/462.25, 235/462.45, 235/471, 235/472.01
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10732 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10762 Relative movement
• 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

Abstract

A method comprises steps of sensing a first user action, transmitting a first optical message in response to the first user action, and performing at least one optical code reading step in response to non-receipt of a valid response to the first optical message. An apparatus to perform the aforementioned steps and an article of manufacture to direct the aforementioned steps are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

sensing a first user action;

optically transmitting a first optical message from an emitter in response to the first user action, the first optical message encoding a first data sequence; and

performing at least one optical code reading step in response to detecting non-receipt of a valid response to the first optical message, the at least one optical code reading step comprising illuminating an optical code using the emitter.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-receipt of the valid response comprises receipt of an invalid response to the first optical message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one optical code reading step is performed in response to determining non-receipt of the valid response within a time period after transmitting the first optical message.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one optical code reading step comprises optically reading the optical code using a detector, wherein the valid response is non-received by the detector.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

sensing a second user action;

optically transmitting a second optical message from the emitter in response to the second user action, the second optical message encoding a second data sequence; and

performing at least one data communication step in response to receipt of a valid response to the second optical message, the at least one data communication step comprising optically transmitting an optical data message from the emitter.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one data communication step comprises optically receiving an optical message using a detector, wherein the valid response is optically received by the detector.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the first user action and the second user action are sensed by a switch.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein each of the first user action and the second user action comprises a user-initiated depression of the switch.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the first data sequence and the second data sequence are equivalent.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one optical code reading step comprises reading the optical code and storing data associated with the optical code, and wherein the at least one data communication step comprises optically transmitting an optical message from the emitter the optical message encoding the optical code.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the optical code includes a bar code.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising inhibiting any optical code reading steps between sensing the first user action and detecting the non-receipt of the valid response to the first optical message.

12. An article of manufacture comprising:

a machine-readable storage medium; and

machine-readable data stored by the machine-readable storage medium, the machine-readable data to direct an optical code reader to sense a first user action, to optically send a first optical message from an emitter in response to the first user action, the first optical message encoding a first data sequence, and to perform at least one optical code reading step in response to detecting non-receipt of a valid response to the first optical message, the at least one optical code reading step comprising illuminating an optical code using the emitter.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a sensor to sense at least one user action;

a message generator responsive to the sensor to generate a first message in response to a first user action, the first message encoding a first data sequence;

an emitter responsive to the message generator to optically transmit the first message;

a detector;

a logic circuit responsive to the detector to detect non-receipt of a valid response to the first message; and

an optical code reader circuit responsive to the logic circuit to illuminate an optical code using the emitter and to read the optical code using the detector.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the non-receipt of the valid response comprises receipt of an invalid response to the first message.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the logic circuit detects non-receipt of the valid response within a time period after the first message is optically transmitted.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the logic circuit is responsive to the detector to detect receipt of a valid response to a second message, the second message encoding a second data sequence and optically transmitted by the emitter in response to a second user action sensed by the sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a data communication circuit responsive to the logic circuit.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the emitter is responsive to the data communication circuit to optically transmit a third message.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising a memory to store data associated with the optical code read using the optical code reader circuit, wherein the third message encodes the optical code.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the data communication circuit is responsive to the detector to receive a fourth message.

21. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the sensor comprises a switch.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein each of the first user action and the second user action comprises a user-initiated depression of the switch.

23. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the first data sequence and the second data sequence are equivalent.

24. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the optical code reader circuit includes a bar code reader circuit.

26. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the optical code reader circuit is inhibited from reading the optical code between sensing the first user action and detecting non-receipt of the valid response to the first message.