Optical reader applicable to plurality of uses

• US 6,860,426 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2003
• Issued: 03/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Frontech Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ishii, Mitsuhara, Katoh, Hiroaki, Takashima, Yuichirou, Aoki, Toshitaka, Kumagai, Toshimitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US10/438,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20030201329A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.01, 235/462.14, 235/462.43, 235/462.44, 235/462.45, 235/472.01, 235/462.07, 235/462.08
• US Class Current: 235/462.07
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10594 Beam path
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10831 Arrangement of optical elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors, prisms optical elements per se G02B
• 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 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1096 the scanner having more than one scanning window, e.g. two substantially orthogonally placed scanning windows for integration into a check-out counter of a super-market

Abstract

An optical reader capable of reading a bar code in a mounted state when an article carrying the bar code passes and of reading bar/codes set in array on a menu sheet in a hand-held state has been disclosed. The optical reader comprises a light source, a scanner that is driven by a drive and scans light emanating from the light source, a plurality of reflection mirrors that reflect scanning light scanned by the scanner and create a scanning pattern composed of a plurality of scan trajectories, a read window through which scanning light reflected from the reflection mirrors is emitted, and a light receiver for receiving light reflected from a mark. The optical reader further comprises a mode changer for changing a plurality of operation modes among which one or ones of the plurality of scan trajectories to be validated for reading are different. The operation modes include a specific scanning ray mode in which reading the mark by tracing only a given scan trajectory constituting the scanning pattern is validated but reading the mark by tracing the other scan trajectories is invalidated. For reading any of bar codes set in array on a menu sheet, the given scan trajectory constituting the scanning pattern will be drawn on a bar code to be read. Since reading by tracing the other scan trajectories is invalid, only the bar code to be read is read.

Claims

1. An optical scanning device for reading and decoding a barcode, comprising:

a housing;

a scanner, disposed in the housing, selectively producing a first scanning mode, and a second scanning mode different from the first scanning mode; and

a controller controlling the scanner to switch from the first scanning mode to the second scanning mode when the scanner scans an optical mark which is for instructing a scanning mode change

wherein said optical mark is separate from the barcode to be read and decoded.