PCMCIA interface card for coupling input devices such as barcode scanning engines to personal digital assistants and palmtop computers

• US 6,923,377 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2003
• Issued: 08/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Datalogic Mobile Incorporated (Datalogic S.p.A.), Datalogic Scanning Incorporated (Datalogic S.p.A.), TPS Electronics
• Original Assignee: PTO (Safe Fleet Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Fish, Ronald C., Postman, Joel R., Miller, George B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US10/365,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20040041029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5, 235/487, 235/492, 235/493, 235/486, 235/475
• US Class Current: 235/487
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2213/10 Drivers for gauges
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device

Abstract

A variety of PC card interfaces to interface from many different types of input devices to Personal Digital Assistants or palmtop computers through PCMCIA slots. The disclosed interfaces can receive data in undecoded format from laser based, wand based or CCD based barcode scanning engines, decode the data to alphanumeric characters and pass the decoded data to the PDA via the PCMCIA 68 pin bus. Other PC card based interfaces are also disclosed which can accept input data in the form of ASCII or EBCDIC characters from virtually any type of input device which a standard serial or parallel output or custom output bus and input that data to the PDA through the PCMCIA bus. Some embodiments use programmed general purpose microprocessors to decode undecoded barcode scan data on the PC card. Other embodiments use custom-programmed, commercially available barcode decoding chips to decode incoming undecoded barcode scan data. Some embodiments of PC card interfaces sample undecoded barcode scan signals and pass the samples to the host through the PCMCIA bus for decoding by a suitably programmed host computer.

Claims

1. A computing system with improved data entry capabilities, comprising:

a portable host computer having a connection for an expansion card, the connection selected from the group consisting of a slot or docking bay; and

an expansion card engaged within said connection and having first interface circuit for interfacing said expansion card to a data input device, second interface circuit interfacing said expansion card to said host computer through an electrical connector in said connection, and expansion memory accessible by the host computer.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising expansion nonvolatile memory on said expansion card which is interfaced to said host computer by said second interface circuit and to which said host computer can write data or program instructions and from which said host computer can retrieve data or program instructions.

3. A computing system according to claim 1 wherein the portable host computer is selected from the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a handheld computer or a personal communicator.

4. A system for waking up a barcode scanning circuit on a PCMCIA card upon detection of motion, comprising:

a PCMCIA card having a control circuit and a barcode scanner thereon and having a window out which light to illuminate a barcode is emitted;

a motion sensor having a beam generator and structured to emit a motion sensing beam out said window and structured to transmit a motion sensed signal to said control circuit when motion is sensed;

a power source;

a switch controlled by said control circuit to couple said power source to said barcode scanner when said motion sensed signal is received.

5. A system for starting a barcode scanning process upon detection of motion, comprising:

a handheld host computer having a PCMCIA card slot with a PCMCIA bus therein and programmed with a barcode client application and programmed with PCMCIA card driver software;

a PCMCIA card engaged in said PCMCIA slot and having an on-board barcode scan engine and an input for receiving undecoded barcode signals from an external barcode scanning device and a multiplexer under control of said barcode client application for selecting barcode signals from said on-board barcode scan engine or an external barcode scan engine and a decoder coupled to decode the selected barcode scan signals into one or more alphanumeric characters and storing said characters in a memory, and having interface circuitry to interface said PCMCIA card to said host computer under control of said barcode client application and said PCMCIA card driver software, and having a motion sensor which generates a motion sensed signal which is detected by said host by polling or interrupt through said PCMCIA bus each time motion is sensed;

and wherein said barcode client application, upon detection of said motion sensed signal, sends data to said PCMCIA card to cause a barcode scanning process carried out by the selected barcode scan engine to begin.

6. A system for, upon detection of motion, waking up a data input device that feeds data into an expansion module for engaging into an externally accessible expansion bay of a handheld, portable host computer, comprising:

an expansion module configured to mechanically and electrically engage an expansion bay of a handheld, portable computing device, said expansion module having a control means for controlling said expansion module and having a data input device either mounted on said expansion module or coupled thereto via a port;

a motion sensor having a beam generator and structured to emit a motion sensing beam to detect motion in the vicinity of said expansion module, and structured to transmit a motion sensed signal to said control circuit when motion is sensed;

a power source;

a switch controlled by said control circuit to couple said power source to said data input device when said motion sensed signal is received.

7. A system for, upon detection of motion, starting a data inputting process by an expansion module engaged in an expansion bay of a handheld, portable host computer, comprising:

a handheld, portable host computer having an expansion bay with an expansion bus therein and programmed with a client application suitable for the type of data input device on or coupled to any expansion module engaged by said expansion bay and programmed with expansion module driver software;

an expansion module engaged said expansion bay and coupled to an input device capable of gathering data from objects in the vicinity of said input device and storing said data in a memory, and having interface circuitry to interface said expansion module to said host computer under control of said client application and said expansion module driver software, and having a motion sensor which generates a motion sensed signal which is detected by said host by polling or interrupt through said expansion bus each time motion is sensed;

and wherein said client application, upon detection of said motion sensed signal, controls said host computer to send data to said expansion module to cause a data gathering process carried out by said input device to begin.

8. A process carried out between a host computer and a PCMCIA card inserted therein to detect insertion into said host computer of a PCMCIA card that has functionality said host does not have and further includes expansion memory for the host and processing to interface the PCMCIA card functionality including on-board expansion memory on said PCMCIA card to said host computer such that data can be retreived from the PCMCIA card without block access by said host computer to said expansion memory, comprising the steps of:

launching a barcode client application and registering said client application with a card services registry;

detecting insertion of a PCMCIA card;

assigning to said PCMCIA card an interrupt number and a base address for registers in said PCMCIA card in the I/O space of said host computer and getting this base address and interrupt number information to said barcode client application;

passing the interrupt number of said PCMCIA card and a starting address of an interrupt service routine that processes interrupts to retrieve barcode data from said PCMCIA card to the operating system of said host computer, and storing said base address of said PCMCIA card in a memory location known to said interrupt service routine, and storing said interrupt number and interrupt service routine starting address in an interrupt vector table maintained by said operating system;

retrieving barcode information from said PCMCIA card using said interrupt service routine and I/O cycles and storing and retrieving data from said expansion memory using memory cycles.

9. A scanning system comprising

a handheld host computer comprised of a handheld unit, personal data assistant, or palmtop computer;

a plug-in peripheral having a housing, a card-shaped section, and a data reading system disposed in said housing, said host computer having a slot for accepting the card-shaped section of the plug-in peripheral;

an open system interface for providing communication between the peripheral and the host computer,

wherein the plug-in peripheral includes on-board nonvolatile memory available for use by the host.