Wireless automatic laser scanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein the RF-based transceiver chipsets within the wireless hand-supportable unit and base station thereof are automatically deactivated and said RF data communication link therebetween terminated when said system enters its power-saving sleep mode, and reactivated and re-established when re-entering its operational mode

• US 7,172,126 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2003
• Issued: 02/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Xiaoxun, Knowles, C. Harry, Au, Ka Man, Giordano, Patrick, Schmidt, Mark, Wilz, David M. Sr., Colavito, Stephen J., Xu, Congwei, Wang, Lin, Jiang, Min, Hudrick, Donald T., Russell, Garrett, Shi, Shamei, Jin, Hongjian, Hu, Meng, Byun, Sung, Blake, Robert, Bonanno, John, Rockstein, George, Ji, MingQing
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US10/630,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20050199728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.46, 235/462.45, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/462.43
• US Class Current: 235/462.46
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1012 Special detection of object
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10564 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10584 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10594 Beam path
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10603 Basic scanning using moving elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10663 using hologram
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10673 Parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10693 for omnidirectional scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10702 Particularities of propagating elements, e.g. lenses, mirrors G06K7/10831 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10792 Special measures in relation to the object to be scanned
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10801 Multidistance reading
• 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 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• 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 7/14 : using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence

Abstract

Disclosed is an automatically-activated wireless code symbol reading system comprising a bar code symbol reading mechanism contained within a hand-supportable housing having a manually-activatable data transmission switch. During symbol reading operations, the bar code symbol reading mechanism automatically generates a visible laser scanning pattern for repeatedly reading one or more bar code symbols on an object during a bar code symbol reading cycle, and automatically generating a new symbol character data string in response to each bar code symbol read thereby. During system operation, the user visually aligns the visible laser scanning pattern with a particular bar code symbol on an object (e.g. product, bar code menu, etc.) so that the bar code symbol is scanned, detected and decoded in a cyclical manner. Each time the scanned bar code symbol is successfully read during a bar code symbol reading cycle, a new bar code symbol character string is produced, while an indicator light on the hand-supportable housing is actively driven. During the bar code symbol reading cycle, the user actuates the data transmission switch producing a data transmission control activation signal and enabling a currently or subsequently produced symbol character data string to be automatically selected and transmitted to the host system. By virtue of the present invention, automatically-activated hand-supportable bar code symbol readers are now able to accurately read, in an unprecedented manner, bar code symbols on bar code menus, consumer products positioned in crowded point-of-sale environments, and other objects requiring automatic identification and/or information access.

Claims

1. An automatically-activated wireless bar code symbol reading system for use in a work environment and having an operational mode and a sleep mode, said automatically-activated wireless bar code symbol reading system comprising:

(A) a wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader in two-way RF communication with a base station operably connected to a host system, by way of an RF-based wireless data communication link having a predetermined RF communication range over which two-way communication of data packets can occur, said wireless hand-supportable bar code reader including

(1) a hand-supportable housing, having a light transmission window,

(2) a battery disposed within said hand-supportable housing, for supplying electrical power to electrical-energy consuming components employed therewithin;

(3) an objection detection subsystem disposed within said hand-supportable housing, for automatically detecting an object within the vicinity of said light transmission window and generating a control activation signal in response thereto;

(4) an automatic bar code symbol reading mechanism, disposed in said hand-supportable housing and responsive to the generation of said control activation signal, for automatically reading a bar code symbol on an object and producing a symbol character data string representative of said read bar code symbol,

(5) a first RF-based transceiver chipset, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for transmitting data packets corresponding to said produced symbol character data string, to said base station and for subsequent transmission to said host system,

(6) a battery power level detection circuit for automatically detecting the available electrical power remaining within said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader, and when said power level is detected as falling below a predetermined threshold, automatically generating a control signal which causes said automatically-activated wireless bar code symbol reading system to enter said sleep mode,

(7) a manually-actuatable switch disposed on said hand-supportable housing for causing said system to exit said sleep mode and re-enter said operational mode, and

(8) a first microcontroller, operably associated with said first RF-based transceiver chipset, for controlling the operation of said first RF-based transceiver chipset; and

(B) said base station installable within a work environment and including

(1) a base station housing,

(2) a second RF-based transceiver chipset, disposed within said base station housing, for receiving data packets corresponding to said symbol character data strings transmitted from said first RF-based transceiver chipset, and

(3) a second microcontroller, operably associated with said second RF-based transceiver chipset, for controlling the operation of the second RF-based transceiver chipset;

wherein said first and second RF-based transceiver chipsets enable said RF-based wireless data communication link between said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader and said base station;

wherein said first and second RF-based transceiver chipsets cooperate to enable the communication of data packets over said RF-based wireless data communication link, during said operational mode;

wherein said second RF-based transceiver includes means for automatically generating and transmitting a reference signal to said first RF-based transceiver circuit over said RF-based wireless data communication link;

wherein said first RF-based transceiver circuit includes means for automatically receiving said reference signal and detecting the strength of said reference signal; and

wherein when said system enters said sleep mode, then said first and second RF-based chipsets and said first and second microcontrollers associated therewith are automatically deactivated and said RF-based wireless data communication link is terminated to conserve said electrical power within said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader, and

wherein, when said system re-enters its operational mode, then said first and second RF-based chipsets and said first and second microcontrollers associated therewith are automatically reactivated and said RF-based wireless data communication link is re-established to resume communication between said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader and said base station.

2. The automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said base station further comprises:

a cradle portion adapted for receiving said hand-supportable housing.

3. The automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said reference signal is a heartbeat-type signal generated from said second RF-based transceiver circuit.

4. The automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, which further comprises an indicator, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for indicating each instance of when a bar code symbol is read by said automatic bar code symbol reading mechanism and a symbol character data string representative of said read bar code symbol is produced.

5. The automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said objection detection subsystem comprises infrared (IR) signal transmission/receiving circuitry for automatically detecting said object within an object detection field definable relative to said hand-supportable housing.

6. The automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said objection detection subsystem comprises a low-power non-visible laser beam signaling mechanism for automatically detecting said object within an object detection field definable relative to said hand-supportable housing.