Bar code reader with an integrated scanning component module mountable on printed circuit board
First Claim
1. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:
- a housing having electronic components; and
an abuse-detector for determining and permanently visually indicating when said electronic components have been exposed to mechanical shock above a predetermined design limit.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A bar code reader has an integrated scanning component module which is mountable on a printed circuit board. In one embodiment, the module may include the digitizer/decoder electronics, enabling the module to be used with a generic PCB. In some embodiments, the module includes a high speed optical scanning arrangement having an optical element which extends longitudinally of a flexible member, secured at one end. In other embodiments, the invention extends to a hand-held optical scanner having a scanning assembly, detector and data transmission coupling all mounted to a common printed circuit board, preferably located within a manually-graspable handle. In yet a further embodiment, an abuse-detector or accelerometer is provided for determining when the device is exposed to deceleration above a predetermined limit, and optionally for automatically shutting down applications programs and for providing a black-box-record of a short time frame before the device was exposed to an unexpected shock. Preferably, the reader is shock protected by a thermo-plastic elastomer housing section. An outgoing light beam is directed at a non-orthogonal angle relative to the PCB.
293 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:
- a housing having electronic components; and
an abuse-detector for determining and permanently visually indicating when said electronic components have been exposed to mechanical shock above a predetermined design limit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 30, 31, 32)
- a housing having electronic components; and
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7. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:
- a housing having electronic components including a central processing unit (CPU) for running an applications program;
an accelerometer for sensing acceleration and determining when said components are exposed to acceleration above a predetermined limit and for producing a shock signal representative thereof; and
a control circuit for alerting the CPU during acceleration to store data relating to the program being run, and for suspending running of the program when said shock signal is received from said accelerometer. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 33)
- a housing having electronic components including a central processing unit (CPU) for running an applications program;
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11. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:
- an accelerometer for sensing acceleration to generate an accelerometer output signal, a detector for determining from said accelerometer output signal when said device has been exposed to acceleration above a given value, and a store for storing for later analysis data representative of the accelerometer output signal for a time period prior to the detector determining that the device has been so exposed.
- View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of operating a hand-held electronic device, said device including an accelerometer for sensing acceleration to generate an accelerometer output signal, and a store, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) monitoring said accelerometer output signal, and determining when said device has been exposed to acceleration greater than a given value; and
b) storing in the store, for later analysis, data representative of the accelerometer output signal for a time period prior to said determination.
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22. A hand-held scanning device comprising:
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a) a housing having walls bounding an interior, and a window;
b) a generally planar printed circuit board mounted in said interior; and
c) an optical scanning assembly mounted on said board and including a scanner for directing a light beam through the window at an acute angle relative to said board exteriorly of the housing to an indicium to be scanned, and a detector for detecting light reflected from the indicium being scanned and for providing data signals representative of the indicium. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A hand-held device for containing components to be protected from mechanical shock, comprising:
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a) a pair of housing sections constituted of a relatively rigid material; and
b) an energy-absorbent housing region located between the housing sections and entirely constituted of a relatively semi-rigid, thermoplastic elastomer material capable of sustaining mechanical shock without permanent deformation.
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27. A hand-held electro-optical scanner for reading indicia, comprising:
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a) a housing;
b) a scan assembly within the housing for scanning an indicium to be read;
c) a detector within the housing for detecting light reflected from the indicium being scanned, and for producing an electrical signal representative of the indicium;
d) a data transmission coupling for transmitting data indicative of the electrical signal away from the housing; and
e) an electrically conductive, grounded coating on the coupling for shielding the coupling from radio frequency emissions out of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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34. A hand-held scanning device, comprising:
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a) a housing having a hollow body portion, and a hollow handle portion connected to, and extending away from, the body portion;
b) a generally planar, single, printed circuit board mounted in an upright stance within the housing and extending between the body and handle portions; and
c) a scan module mounted on the board, and operative for scanning a light beam exteriorly of the housing between a pair of opposite scan end-limiting positions across an indicium having parts of different light reflectivity to be scanned;
d) wherein the board lies in a generally vertical plane that is perpendicular to an intermediate scan position of the light beam, said intermediate scan position lying between the scan end-limiting positions. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification