Bioptical laser scanner for six-sided 360° Pos-based scanning
First Claim
1. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
- a horizontal section integrally connected to a vertical section;
a horizontal-scanning window formed in said horizontal section;
a vertical-scanning window formed in said vertical section, and being substantially orthogonal to said horizontal-scanning window;
a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said horizontal section;
a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said vertical section;
a first laser beam production module for producing first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam;
a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said horizontal section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said horizontal-scanning window; and
a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said vertical section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical-scanning window,whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said horizontal-scanning and vertical-scanning windows, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume, andwherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bioptical laser scanning system employing a plurality of laser scanning stations about a two independently controlled rotating polygonal mirrors. The system has an ultra-compact construction, ideally suited for space-constrained retail scanning environments, and generates a 3-D omnidirectional laser scanning pattern between the bottom and side-scanning windows during system operation. The laser scanning pattern of the present invention comprises a complex of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes, including a plurality of substantially-vertical laser scanning planes for reading bar code symbols having bar code elements (i.e. ladder type bar code symbols) that are oriented substantially horizontal with respect to the bottom-scanning window, and a plurality of substantially-horizontal laser scanning planes for reading bar code symbols having bar code elements (i.e. picket-fence type bar code symbols) that are oriented substantially vertical with respect to the bottom-scanning window.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
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a horizontal section integrally connected to a vertical section; a horizontal-scanning window formed in said horizontal section;
a vertical-scanning window formed in said vertical section, and being substantially orthogonal to said horizontal-scanning window;a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said horizontal section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said vertical section; a first laser beam production module for producing first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said horizontal section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said horizontal-scanning window; and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said vertical section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said horizontal-scanning and vertical-scanning windows, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume, and wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11)
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10. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising;
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a horizontal section integrally connected to a vertical section; a horizontal-scanning window formed in said horizontal section; a vertical-scanning window formed in said vertical section, and being substantially orthogonal to said horizontal-scanning window; a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said horizontal section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said vertical section; a first laser beam production module for producing a first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said horizontal section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said horizontal-scanning window; and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said vertical section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said horizontal-scanning and vertical-scanning windows, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume; wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station; wherein said first polyaonal scanning element comprises a first polygonal scanning mirror having a first plurality of rotating mirror facets, and wherein said polygonal scanning element comprises a second polygonal scanning mirror having a second plurality of rotating mirror facets; and wherein said second plurality of rotating mirror facets on said second polygonal scanning mirror are classifiable into a first class of facets having High Elevation (HE) angle characteristics, and a second class of facets having Low Elevation (LE) angle characteristics; wherein said high and low elevation angle characteristics are referenced by a plane P1 that contains the incoming laser beam and is normal to the rotational axis of said second polygonal scanning mirror; wherein each facet in said first class of facets, having high beam elevation angle characteristics, produces an outgoing laser beam that is directed above the plane P1 as the facet sweeps across the point of incidence of a laser scanning station; and wherein each facet in said second class of facets, having low beam elevation angle characteristics, produces an outgoing laser beam that is directed below the plane P1 as the facet sweeps across the point of incidence of said laser scanning station.
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12. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
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a horizontal section integrally connected to a vertical section; a horizontal-scanning window formed in said horizontal section;
a vertical-scanning window formed in said vertical section, and being substantially orthogonal to said horizontal-scanning window;a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said horizontal section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said vertical section; a first laser beam production module for producing first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said horizontal section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said horizontal-scanning window; and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said vertical section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said horizontal-scanning and vertical-scanning windows, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume, and wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station; wherein said first polygonal scanning element comprises a first polygonal scanning mirror having a first plurality of rotating mirror facets, and wherein said polygonal scanning element comprises a second polygonal scanning mirror having a second plurality of rotating mirror facets; wherein during each revolution of said first polygonal scanning mirror, a first group of laser scanning planes are produced by first and second laser scanning stations, and concurrently therewith, during each revolution of said second polygonal scanning mirror, second and third groups of laser scanning planes are produced by a third laser scanning station.
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13. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
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a housing having a bottom housing section integrally connected to a side housing section; a bottom-scanning window provided in said bottom housing section; a side-scanning window provided in said side housing section, and being substantially orthogonal to said bottom-scanning window; a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said bottom housing section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said side housing section; a first laser beam production module for producing a first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said bottom housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said bottom-scanning window, and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said side housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said side-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said bottom-scanning window and said side-scanning window, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume, and wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23)
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22. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
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a housing having a bottom housing section integrally connected to a side housing section; a bottom-scanning window provided in said bottom housing section; a side-scanning window provided in said side housing section, and being substantially orthogonal to said bottom-scanning window; a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said bottom housing section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said side housing section; a first laser beam production module for producing a first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said bottom housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said bottom-scanning window, and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said side housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said side-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said bottom-scanning window and said side-scanning window, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume; wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station; wherein said second plurality of rotating mirror facets on said second polygonal scanning mirror are classifiable into a first class of facets having High Elevation (HE) angle characteristics, and a second class of facets having Low Elevation (LE) angle characteristics; wherein said high and low elevation angle characteristics are referenced by a plane P1 that contains the incoming laser beam and is normal to the rotational axis of said second polygonal scanning mirror; wherein each facet in said first class of facets, having high beam elevation angle characteristics, produces an outgoing laser beam that is directed above the plane P1 as the facet sweeps across the point of incidence of a laser scanning station; and wherein each facet in said second class of facets, having low beam elevation angle characteristics, produces an outgoing laser beam that is directed below the plane P1 as the facet sweeps across the point of incidence of said laser scanning station.
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24. A bioptical laser scanning system capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within a 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at a point of sale (POS) station, said bioptical laser scanning system comprising:
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a housing having a bottom housing section integrally connected to a side housing a bottom-scanning window provided in said bottom housing section; a side-scanning window provided in said side housing section, and being substantially orthogonal to said bottom-scanning window; a first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said bottom housing section; a second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors disposed within said side housing section; a first laser beam production module for producing a first laser beam, and a second laser beam production module for producing a second laser beam; a first polygonal scanning element disposed within said bottom housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a first axis of rotation, for scanning said first laser beam and producing a first laser scanning beam that reflects off said first plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a first plurality of laser scanning planes through said bottom-scanning window, and a second polygonal scanning element disposed within said side housing section and having multiple reflective surfaces rotating about a second axis of rotation, for scanning said second laser beam and producing a second laser scanning beam that reflects off said second plurality of laser beam folding mirrors to generate and project a second plurality of laser scanning planes through said side-scanning window, whereby said first and second pluralities of laser scanning planes (i) intersect within predetermined scan regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between said bottom-scanning window and said side-scanning window, and (ii) generate a plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes within said 3-D scanning volume; wherein said plurality of groups of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes form a complex omni-directional 3-D laser scanning pattern within said 3-D scanning volume capable of scanning a bar code symbol located on the surface of an object presented within said 3-D scanning volume at any orientation and from any direction at said POS station; wherein said first polygonal scanning element comprises a first polygonal scanning mirror having a first plurality of rotating mirror facets, and wherein said second polygonal scanning element comprises a second polygonal scanning mirror having a second plurality of rotating mirror facets; and wherein during each revolution of said first polygonal scanning mirror, a first group of laser scanning planes are produced by first and second laser scanning stations, and concurrently therewith, during each revolution of said second polygonal scanning mirror, second and third groups of laser scanning planes are produced by a third laser scanning station.
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25. A bioptical laser scanning system which generates a plurality of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes that project through a bottom-scanning window and a side-scanning window to provide 360 degrees of scan coverage at a POS station.
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26. A bioptical laser scanning system providing 360 degrees of scan coverage at a POS station comprising a means for producing a plurality of pairs of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes that are projected within predetermined scanning regions contained within a 3-D scanning volume defined between bottom and side scanning windows of the system.
Specification