Body-wearable automatic laser scanner

• US 6,223,987 B1
• Filed: 11/22/1999
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Rockstein, George B., Wilz, David M., Knowles, Carl H., Bubnoski, David P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US09/444,694
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.44, 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 235/472.01, 235/472.02
• US Class Current: 235/462.44
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2007/10534 Scanner to be worn on a finger or on a wrist
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1012 Special detection of object
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1016 Motor control or optical moving unit control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1018 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10564 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10584 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10594 Beam path
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10603 Basic scanning using moving elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10663 using hologram
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10673 Parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10693 for omnidirectional scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10702 Particularities of propagating elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors G06K7/10831 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10792 Special measures in relation to the object to be scanned
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10801 Multidistance reading
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10811 Focalisation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10871 : randomly oriented data-fields, code-marks therefore, e.g. concentric circles-code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 : constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10891 : the scanner to be worn on a finger or on a wrist
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/109 : adaptations to make the hand-held scanner useable as a fixed scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 : using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1443 : locating of the code in an image

Abstract

A portable automatic code symbol reading system having a laser scanning engine mounted upon the hand of its operator to provide hands-free automatic laser scanning capabilities. The automatic code symbol reading system includes a battery power supply aboard its hand-mounted housing, and a power-conserving control subsystem for conserving the consumption of electrical power during automatic portable laser scanning operations. The control subsystem of the present invention has a plurality of control centers which control the operation of the system components in accordance with preselected system control operations. Each of the control centers is responsive to control activation signals generated by certain of the system components upon the occurrence of predefined conditions. Certain of the control centers are capable of overriding other control centers to provide diverse control capabilities. These control capabilities facilitate execution of intelligent functions and power consumption measures required during automatic, hands-free code symbol reading operations.

Claims

1. A portable automatic bar code symbol reading system, comprising:

a housing support wearable on the body of an operator;

a housing having a transmission aperture through which optical energy can exit and enter said housing, and being connected or coupled to said housing support so that said transmission aperture is orientable in a scanning direction;

an object detector in said housing, for detection of an object located within at least a portion of a scan field defined external to said housing and extending along said scanning direction, and automatically generating a first activation signal indicative of the detection of said object in at least a portion of said scan field;

a scan data acquisition mechanism in said housing, for producing scan data from said detected object located in said scan field, said scan data acquisition mechanism including

a laser beam generator for producing and projecting a laser beam through said transmission aperture, and repeatedly scanning said laser beam across said scan field and a bar code symbol on said detected object, and

an optical detector for detecting the intensity of laser light reflected off said bar code symbol and passing through said transmission aperture, and for automatically producing scan data indicative of said detected intensity;

a bar code symbol detection circuit for processing produced scan data so as to detect said bar code symbol on said detected object, and automatically generating a second activation signal in response to the detection of said bar code symbol;

a programmed microprocessor coupled to said bar code symbol detection circuit, for processing produced scan data, when activated, so as to decode said detected bar code symbol and automatically produce symbol character data representative of said decoded bar code symbol; and

system control circuitry for automatically activating said programmed microprocessor in response to the generation of said second activation signal, and automatically deactivating said programmed microprocessor in response to said programmed microprocessor failing to produce symbol character data within a predetermined time period.

2. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1,

wherein said bar code symbol has first and second borders, and said bar code symbol detection circuit detects said bar code symbol by detecting said first and second borders.

3. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said object detector comprises

a signal transmitter for transmitting a signal into said scan field, and

a signal receiver for receiving said transmitted signal reflected off said object in at least a portion of said scan field, and automatically generating said first activation signal in response to receiving said transmitted signal.

4. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said signal transmitter comprises an infra-red light source for transmitting a pulsed infra-red light signal, and wherein said signal receiver comprises an infra-red light detector and an optical element for focusing reflected infra-red light pulses onto said infra-red light detector.

5. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, which further comprises a radio frequency transmitter, supportable on the body of said operator, for transmitting said symbol character data to a peripheral device.

6. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said housing support comprises a glove wearable about the hand of said operator.

7. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 6, wherein said glove allows one or more fingers of said operator to be exposed when worn about the hand thereof.

8. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said laser beam generator comprises a laser diode for producing a laser beam.

9. The portable automatic bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said scanning direction is oriented along a pointing direction of one or more fingers of said operator.

10. An automatic code symbol reading system, comprising:

a housing support wearable on the body of an operator;

a housing having a transmission aperture through which optical energy can exit and enter said housing, and being connected or coupled to said housing support so that said transmission aperture is orientable in a scanning direction;

an object detector in said supportable housing, for detection of an object located within at least a portion of a scan field defined external to said housing and extending along said scanning direction, and automatically generating a first activation signal indicative of the detection of said object in at least a portion of said scan field;

a scan data acquisition mechanism in said housing, for producing scan data from said detected object located in said scan field, said scan data acquisition mechanism including

a laser beam generator for producing and projecting a laser beam through said transmission aperture,

a laser beam scanner for repeatedly scanning said laser beam across said scan field and a code symbol on said detected object, and

a laser light detector for detecting the intensity of the laser beam as reflected off said code symbol and passing through said transmission aperture, and for producing scan data indicative of said detected intensity;

a code symbol detection circuit for processing produced scan data so as to detect said code symbol on said detected object, and to automatically generate a second activation signal in response to the detection of said code symbol;

a programmed microprocessor coupled to said code symbol detection circuit, for processing produced scan data, when activated, so as to decode said detected code symbol and produce symbol character data representative of said decoded code symbol; and

system control circuitry for automatically activating said programmed microprocessor in response to the generation of said second activation signal, and automatically deactivating said programmed microprocessor in response to said programmed microprocessor failing to produce symbol character data within a predetermined time period.

11. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 10,

wherein said code symbol has first and second borders, and said code symbol detection circuit detects said code symbol by detecting said first and second borders.

12. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 10, wherein said object detector comprises

a signal transmitter for transmitting a signal into said scan field, and

a signal receiver for receiving said transmitted signal reflected off said object in at least a portion of said scan field, and automatically generating said first activation signal in response to receiving said transmitted signal.

13. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 12, wherein said signal transmitter comprises an infra-red light source for transmitting a pulsed infra-red light signal, and wherein said signal receiver comprises an infra-red light detector and an optical element for focusing reflected infra-red light pulses onto said infra-red light detector.

14. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 10, which further comprises a radio frequency transmitter, supportable on the body of said operator, for transmitting said symbol character data to a peripheral device.

15. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 10, wherein said housing support comprises a glove wearable about the hand of said operator.

16. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 15, wherein said glove allows at least one finger of said operator to be exposed when worn about the hand thereof.

17. The automatic code symbol reading system of claim 10, wherein said laser beam generator comprises a laser diode for producing a laser beam.