Automatically-activated wireless laser scanning 2D bar code symbol reading system capable of automatically transmitting stored symbol character data when the hand-supportable unit is operated within its RF data communication range and automatically collecting and storing symbol character data when the hand-supportable unit is operated outside of its RF data communication range

• US 7,278,578 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2003
• Issued: 10/09/2007
• 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): Stcyr; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Labaze; Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US10/630,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20060169782A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 23546245- 47, 235/462.01, 23547201-47202, 235/462.15, 235/462.25, 235/462.1, 235/462.42
• US Class Current: 235/462.45
• 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 laser scanning 2D bar code symbol reading system for use in a work environment, said automatically-activated wireless laser scanning 2D bar code symbol reading system comprising:

(A) a wireless hand-supportable 2D 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 2D bar code symbol reader having a bar code reading mode of operation and a data transmission mode of operation, and including

(1) a hand-supportable housing;

(2) an automatically-activated laser scanning 2D bar code symbol reading mechanism, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for automatically (a) producing, during said bar code reading mode of operation, a visible linear-type laser scanning pattern for scanning a 2D bar code symbol structure on an object as said hand-supportable housing is manually transported past said 2D bar code symbol structure along a height-wise direction by an operator, (b) capturing lines of scan data from said scanned 2D bar code symbol structure, (c) decode processing said scan data to read said 2D bar code symbol structure, and (d) generating a symbol character data string representative of said read 2-D bar code symbol structure;

wherein said automatically-activated laser scanning 2D bar code symbol reading mechanism includes

(i) a bar code symbol data detector for automatically detecting each line of said 2-D bar code symbol structure during said bar code reading mode of operation, and automatically producing a line of scan data for buffering in a buffer memory, and

(ii) an audible data capture buffering indicator for automatically generating audible sounds as each line of scan data is captured and buffered in said buffer memory, and

(iii) a decode processor for automatically decode processing an entire set of scan data collected in said buffer memory and corresponding to a scanned 2D bar code symbol structure, and generating the symbol character data string representative of said read 2D bar code symbol structure;

(3) a data packet group buffer, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for buffering one or more groups of data packets associated with symbol character data strings produced by said automatically-activated laser-scanning 2D bar code symbol reading mechanism;

(4) a first RF-based transceiver chipset, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for transmitting to said base station, groups of data packets associated with one or more of said produced symbol character data strings; and

(5) a device controller, disposed within said hand-supportable housing, for controlling said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader; and

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

(1) a base station housing, and

(2) a second RF-based transceiver chipset, disposed within said base station housing, for receiving groups of data packets associated with symbol character data strings transmitted from said first RF-based transceiver chipset;

wherein said first and second RF-based transceiver chipsets cooperate to enable the communication of data packets between said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader and said base station, over said RF-based wireless data communication link;

wherein said second RF-based transceiver chipset comprises means for automatically generating and transmitting a reference signal to said first RF-based transceiver chipset over said RF-based wireless data communication link, said reference signal having a strength that varies with respect to distance traveled by said reference signal;

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

wherein said device controller is programmed to automatically detect when said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is located inside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal, and thereupon to automatically transmit groups of data packets associated with one or more symbol character data strings, to said second RF-based transceiver chipset when said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located inside of said predetermined RF communication range; and

wherein said device controller is programmed to automatically detect when said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is located outside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal, and thereupon to automatically collect and store in said data packet group buffer, groups of data packets associated with one or more symbol character data strings, when said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is located outside of said predetermined RF communication range.

2. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader further comprises an out-of-communication range indicator, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for generating an audible and/or visual signal indicative that said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is located outside said predetermined RF communication range.

3. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 2, wherein said device controller is further programmed to cause said out-of-communication range indicator to automatically generate audible and/or visual signal when said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is detected as being located outside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal.

4. The wireless automatically-activated 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.

5. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 4, wherein said cradle portion includes a radio antenna.

6. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said data packet group buffer is realized as a memory chip installed aboard said hand-supportable housing.

7. The wireless automatically-activated 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.

8. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, which further comprises a good read indicator, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for indicating each instance of when a bar code symbol structure is read by said automatically-activated laser-scanning 2D bar code symbol reading mechanism and a symbol character data string representative thereof is produced.

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

10. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, which further comprises an objection detection subsystem disposed within said hand-supportable housing, and including 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.

11. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said device controller is further programmed so that said device controller automatically tests said RF-based wireless data communication link prior to transmitting symbol character data, stored in said data packet group buffer, to said first RF-based transceiver chipset when a data transmission control activation signal is generated while said wireless hand-supportable 2D bar code symbol reader is once again located inside of said predetermined RF communication range.

12. The wireless automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of claim 1, wherein said device controller is programmed so that symbol character data stored within said data packet group buffer is automatically cleared from said data packet group buffer when holding down a manually-operated data transmission activation switch for a second predetermined time duration.