Palm scanner

• US 6,412,697 B1
• Filed: 10/07/1998
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Bridgelall, Raj, Goren, David P., Katz, Joseph, Dvorkis, Paul, Li, Yajun
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US09/167,880
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.01, 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 235/462.42, 235/472.01, 364/708.1, 364/709.11
• US Class Current: 235/462.45
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2007/10534 Scanner to be worn on a finger or on a wrist
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1011 Aiming
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1013 Multi-focal
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1016 Motor control or optical moving unit control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1018 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10564 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10584 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10633 by oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10643 Activating means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10653 using flexible or piezoelectric means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10673 Parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10693 for omnidirectional scanning
• 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 7/10871 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 7/1098 the scanning arrangement having a modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1478 adapting the threshold for pixels in a CMOS or CCD pixel sensor for black and white recognition

Abstract

A hand-held optical reader for reading printed indicia on a remote target includes a light source for generating a scanning light beam and a detector for detecting the light reflected from the printed indicia. The light source and detector are housed within a housing having a window through which the light beam passes from the source to the target for reflection from the target to the detector. The housing includes parallel front and rear faces, each being generally rectangular in shape and having a lower portion and upper portion. The front and rear faces are joined by a substantially planar base face at their lower edges. The window is disposed in the front face with the reader being ergonomically configured so as be comfortably held in the hand of a user, with the user'"'"'s palm adjacent the rear face to enable the user to direct the scanning light beam at a remote target.

Claims

1. A reader for reading printed indicia, the reader including:

a reading beam source comprising a laser beam source that generates a reading beam while the reader is held by a user,

a reading beam detector, and

a window through which the reading beam passes, the reading beam source causing an omnidirectional multiline pattern to come from the window,

the reader having broad front and rear faces and narrow side faces, the window being provided in and recessed within the front face, the front face having an upper end and a lower end, the window having a midpoint that is disposed closer to the front face'"'"'s upper end than to the front face'"'"'s lower end; and

the reader is configured to be held in the hand of the user with the rear face abutting a palm of the user and opposing side faces being gripped by the user'"'"'s thumb and fingers respectively, such that the window faces forwardly to enable the user to direct a scanning light beam at the indicia

wherein, when the reader is oriented in a position that causes the reading beam to pass through the window in a substantially horizontal direction, the reader arrangement has a height, a depth, and a width such that each of the distances defined by the depth and the width, respectively, is less than the distance defined by the height.

2. The reader as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reader is arranged such that the reading beam issues substantially perpendicular to the front face.

3. The reader as claimed in claim 1, wherein the side faces taper from the front face to the rear face.

4. The reader arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reading beam source includes a flying spot scanner.

5. The reader as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reader has a housing including at least one rubber grip portion on an external surface of the housing.

6. The reader as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front and rear faces have rounded upper portions with a radius of curvature, and wherein the reader has a base face that has a radius of curvature substantially larger than the radius of curvature of the rounded upper portions of the front and rear faces.