Data acquisition using telephone connection

• US 6,212,401 B1
• Filed: 12/24/1996
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intermec Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Ackley, H. Sprague
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): VUONG, QUOCHIEN B
• Application Number:
  US08/774,103
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90, 455/403, 455/422, 455/550, 455/557, 455/556, 455/426, 455/564, 455/11.1, 455/69, 455/38.3, 455/517, 455/575, 379/355, 235/462, 235/472
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/24 with receiving set

Abstract

A hand-held scanner incorporates a cellular telephone module. The scanner communicates with a host which serves as a reading or data distribution device. This permits the use of a cableless scanner for low powered and secure wireless transmission. The scanner is able to take advantage of the existing design features of a local cellular network. One mode of operation allows the connection to be limited to an amount of time corresponding to that required for transferring of the data.

Claims

1. A device for scanning symbology and transmitting information contained therein to a remote host connected to a telephone system, said device comprising:

a) a housing having a handle portion configured to be gripped by an operator;

b) an optical scanner carried by said housing and capable of reading symbology when an operator gripping said handle portion moves said device into proximity of said symbology;

c) a cellular telephone module mounted in said housing and connectable to a cellular telephone network; and

d) a modem mounted in said housing and interconnecting said scanner and said module to enable transmission of information contained in said symbology through said network;

e) a battery mounted in said housing to power said scanner, said module, and said modem; and

f) a detection circuit for detecting an initial operation of the scanner to read symbology and obtain information contained in said symbology, and responding by opening a cellular connection to a pre-established telephone number.

2. The device of claim 1, comprising:

a controller within the housing and connected to the cellular telephone module and responding to the scanner to provide control signals to the cellular telephone module.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising a voice transducer connected to the cellular telephone module.

4. The device of claim 1, in combination with a cellular telephone connection from the cellular telephone module to a host, whereby data from the scanner can be transmitted through the modem to the cellular telephone module and from the cellular telephone module to the host via the cellular telephone connection.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the cellular telephone connection is maintained only long enough for the data to be transmitted to the host and for the host to acknowledge transmission.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein:

the optical scanner functioning to reduce scanned data to a bit stream and transmit the data in the bit stream to the modem so that the bit stream comprises decoded data from the symbology, thereby reducing a quantity of information to be transmitted through said cellular telephone network.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein

the optical scanner functioning to reduce scanned data to a bit stream and transmit the data in the bit stream to the modem so that the bit stream comprises decoded data from the symbology, thereby reducing a quantity of information to be transmitted through said cellular telephone network.

8. The device of claim 1, comprising:

the optical scanner providing a signal corresponding to a scan of the symbology to the modem, the transmitted signal comprising undecoded data from the symbology.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the optical scanner scans the symbology to generate an encodation of the symbology, and provides the encodation as a bit stream to the modem so that the transmission of information comprises transmission of undecoded data from the symbology.

10. Apparatus for scanning codes comprising:

a) a scanning device for detecting symbology;

b) a modem;

c) a cellular telephone module; and

d) a controller connected to the cellular telephone module and causing the cellular telephone module to initiate a cellular telephone call to a pre-established telephone number in response to performance of a data retrieval operation, the data retrieval operation including positioning the scanning device into a position for obtaining a scan of data from the symbology, obtaining said scan and transmitting a signal corresponding to said scan to the modem.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a cellular telephone connection from the cellular telephone module to a host;

wherein data from the scanning device can be transmitted through the modem to the cellular telephone module and through the cellular telephone connection from the cellular telephone module to the host.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cellular telephone connection is maintained only long enough for the data to be transmitted to the host and for the host to acknowledge transmission.

13. Apparatus of claim 10, wherein the scanning device is a device for scanning bar codes.

14. Apparatus of claim 10, wherein the scanning device is a device for scanning transmission patterns from radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders.

15. Apparatus of claim 10, wherein the scanning device is a device for scanning data on a magnetic strip.

16. Method for reading and storing data comprising:

a) providing data in a format for scanning as a symbology image;

b) obtaining an optical scan of said data;

c) transmitting a signal corresponding to the optical scan to a modem;

d) establishing a cellular telephone connection, whereby a host is addressed and accessed through the cellular telephone connection; and

e) transmitting the signal corresponding to the optical scan from the modem to the cellular telephone connection and thence to the host;

wherein establishing the cellular telephone connection includes opening the cellular telephone connection to a pre-established telephone number in response to an initial operation of a scanning device to obtain said scan and;

wherein the method further comprises detecting termination of use of the scanning device; and

closing the cellular telephone connection upon detection of termination of use of the scanning device.

17. Method for reading and storing data comprising:

a) providing data in a format for scanning;

b) performing a data retrieval operation including positioning a scanner into a position for obtaining a scan of said data, obtaining said scan and transmitting a signal corresponding to the scan to a modem;

d) establishing a cellular telephone connection to a pre-established telephone number in automatic response to said data retrieval operation, whereby a host is addressed and accessed through the cellular telephone connection; and

e) transmitting the signal corresponding to the scan from the modem to the cellular connection and thence to the host.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising:

providing a confirmation signal from the host to the modem through the cellular telephone connection to indicate that a successful scan of the data has taken place.

19. The method of claim 17, comprising:

a) providing the data in a format for scanning as a symbology image;

b) scanning the symbology image;

c) converting the symbology image to a bit stream corresponding to the symbology image; and

d) providing the bit stream to the modem so that the bit stream comprises decoded data from the symbology image, thereby reducing a quantity of information to be transmitted over the cellular telephone connection to the host.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the cellular telephone connection is maintained only long enough for said signal to be transmitted to the host and for the host to acknowledge transmission.

21. The method of claim 17, comprising:

a) detecting termination of use of the scanner; and

b) closing the cellular telephone connection upon detection of termination of use of the scanner device.

22. The method as described in claim 17, comprising providing the data in a transmission pattern from a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder, whereby said data retrieval operation obtains data from the RFID transponder and retransmits the data in a bit stream as the signal corresponding to the scan.

23. A device for scanning data and transmitting information contained therein to a remote host connected to a telephone system, said device comprising:

a) a housing having a handle portion configured to be gripped by an operator;

b) a scanner carried by said housing and capable of reading data in a transmission pattern from a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder when an operator gripping said handle portion moves said device into proximity of said data;

c) a cellular telephone module mounted in said housing and connectable to a cellular telephone network;

d) a modem mounted in said housing and interconnecting said scanner and said module to enable transmission of said data through said network;

e) a battery mounted in said housing to power said scanner, said module, and said modem; and

f) a detection circuit for detecting an initial operation of the scanner to read data in a transmission pattern from an RFID transponder, and responding by opening a cellular connection to a pre-established telephone number.

24. A device for scanning data and transmitting information contained therein to a remote host connected to a telephone system, said device comprising:

a) a housing having a handle portion configured to be gripped by an operator;

b) a scanner carried by said housing and capable of reading data on a magnetic strip when an operator gripping said handle portion moves said device into proximity of said data;

c) a cellular telephone module mounted in said housing and connectable to a cellular telephone network;

d) a modem mounted in said housing and interconnecting said scanner and said module to enable transmission of said data through said network;

e) a battery mounted in said housing to power said scanner, said module, and said modem; and

a detection circuit for detecting an initial operation of the scanner to read data on a magnetic strip, and responding by opening a cellular connection to a pre-established telephone number.

25. Apparatus for scanning comprising:

a) a scanning device for reading data in a transmission pattern from an RFID transponder;

b) a modem;

c) a cellular telephone module; and

d) a controller connected to the cellular telephone module and responding to a signal over a cellular telephone connection from a pre-established telephone number to initiate performance of a data retrieval operation, the data retrieval operation including activating the scanning device to read data in a transmission pattern from at least one RFID transponder and transmitting a signal corresponding to the data from said at least one RFID transponder to the modem and then to the pre-established telephone number.