Scanner with shock-absorbing canopy overmolded with linear of housing

• US 6,321,990 B1
• Filed: 08/05/1998
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Sanders, Robert, Doran, Robert, Harder, David, Severino, Paul, Chen, Chang-Hong, Stratienco, Daniela, Grabowski, Robert, Chew, Steven, Barkan, Edward, Kehoe, Timothy, Giordano, Joseph, Shepard, Howard, Kahn, Joel, Tu, Jean, Gofman, Yuri, Barile, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US09/129,550
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 235/472.01, 235/462.43, 235/462.44, 235/462.45
• US Class Current: 235/472.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10633 by oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners

Abstract

Various optical components of an electro-optical system for reading coded indicia are mounted on a chassis snap-mounted in a housing. The optical components are supported by the chassis at an elevation relative to a printed circuit board snap-mounted to the chassis. The optical components are automatically adjusted in a test fixture.

Claims

1. In an improved system for electro-optically reading indicia, including

a) a housing,

b) a light emitter in the housing for emitting a light beam,

c) a light sensor in the housing for detecting light from the indicia over a field of view, and

d) a scanner in the housing for scanning at least one of said light beam and said field of view,

wherein the improvement comprises:

said housing including an integrated cover assembly having an inner liner constituted of synthetic plastic material, and an exterior canopy constituted of a shock-absorbing material, said liner being overmolded with, and permanently fixed to, said canopy, the canopy only covering imperforate regions of the liner.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the liner is an opaque material.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the liner is colored to absorb light reflections within the housing.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein the liner is colored black.

5. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the canopy is constituted of a shock-absorbing material.

6. The improvement of claim 5, wherein the canopy is constituted of rubber.

7. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the liner is made of a moldable material that is molded in situ with the canopy to form a unitary, permanent bond therewith.

8. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a handle and a body, wherein the body includes a shell on which the integrated cover assembly is mounted.

9. The improvement of claim 8, wherein the shell is integral with the handle.

10. The improvement of claim 8, wherein the body extends along a longitudinal direction between opposite end regions, and wherein the housing includes a window at one of the end regions and through which the light beam and the light detected by the sensor pass, and wherein the canopy extends all along the longitudinal direction between said end regions of the body.

11. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the liner has a top wall, a pair of spaced-apart side walls extending in mutual parallelism away from the top wall, and an end wall extending between the side walls away from the top wall;

and wherein the canopy is integrally molded with, and exteriorly covers, the top, side and end walls.

12. A method of electro-optically reading indicia, comprising:

a) mounting a light emitter in a housing for emitting a light beam,

b) mounting a light sensor in the housing for detecting light from the indicia over a field of view,

c) mounting a scanner in the housing for scanning at least one said light beam and said field of view,

d) forming the housing with an inner liner constituted of synthetic plastic material, and an exterior canopy constituted of a shock-absorbing material, and

e) overmolding the liner with, and permanently fixing the liner to, the canopy by only covering imperforate regions of the liner.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the liner is formed of an opaque material.

14. The method of claim 12, and coloring the liner to absorb light reflections within the housing.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the coloring step is performed by coloring the liner black.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the canopy is formed of rubber.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the liner is made of a moldable material, and wherein the overmolding step is performed in situ with the canopy to form a unitary, permanent bond therewith.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the housing is formed with a handle and a body, wherein the body includes a shell on which the liner and the canopy are mounted.

19. The method of claim 18, Wherein the body extends along a longitudinal direction between opposite end regions, and wherein the housing includes a window at one of the end regions and through which the light beam and the light detected by the sensor pass, and wherein the canopy is formed to extend all along the longitudinal direction between said end regions of the body.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the liner has a top wall, a pair of spaced-apart side walls extending in mutual parallelism away from the top wall, and an end wall extending between the side walls away from the top wall;

and wherein the overmolding step is performed by integrally molding the canopy with, and exteriorly covering, the top, side and end walls.

21. In an improved system for electro-optically reading indicia, including:

a) a light emitter for emitting a light beam;

b) a light sensor for detecting light reflected from the indicia over a field of view; and

c) a scanner for scanning at least one of said light beam and said field of view;

wherein the improvement comprises;

a housing for supporting the emitter, the sensor and the scanner, including a handle to be held in a user'"'"'s hand, a body having an upper body portion and a lower body portion integral with the handle and separable from the upper body portion, and an exterior overmold constituted of a shock-absorbing material, at least a part of the housing being overmolded with, and permanently fixed to, the overmold, the overmold only covering imperforate regions of the housing part.

22. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the housing is generally gun-shaped, and wherein the handle is situated below the body.

23. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the body portions are separable along a parting line that is elevated relative to the handle.

24. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the handle is elongated and extends away from the body along a handle axis to a handle end region;

and wherein the handle end region has a shock-absorbing material.

25. The improvement of claim 24, and further comprising a ridge on the handle and extending transversely of the handle axis, for separating the user'"'"'s fingers.

26. The improvement of claim 25, and further comprising a trigger mounted on the handle, for movement between non-triggered and triggered positions, and wherein the ridge is located on the trigger.

27. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the body has a front region aimable at the indicia to be read, and a rear region spaced along a body axis away from the front region;

and a light-transmissive recessed window through which at least one of said light beam and said reflected light passes, the window being located between the front and rear regions of the body.

28. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the housing is constituted of a synthetic plastic material, and wherein the overmold is constituted of a rubber material.

29. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the body extends along a longitudinal direction between opposite body end regions, and wherein the overmold extends all along the longitudinal direction between said end regions of the body.

30. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the body has a top wall, a pair of spaced-apart side walls extending away from the top wall, and an end wall extending between the side walls away from the top wall;

and wherein the overmold is integrally molded with, and exteriorly covers, the top, side and end walls.

31. The improvement of claim 21, wherein the scanner includes a scan mirror for reflecting the light beam incident on the scan mirror, and a collection mirror for collecting the reflected light and directing the collected light to the sensor;

and wherein the scan mirror is mounted at a central region of the collection mirror.

32. The improvement of claim 31, and further comprising a chassis and a printed circuit board mounted within the body, for supporting at least one of the emitter and the sensor;

and wherein the collection mirror and the scan mirror are supported for scanning movement by at least one of the chassis and the printed circuit board.

33. The improvement of claim 31, wherein the scan mirror and the collection mirror are mounted for joint oscillating movement on a generally V-shaped spring;

and a drive including a permanent magnet and an energizable electromagnetic coil operative, when energized, to attract the magnet and, in turn, to move the scan mirror and the collection mirror.