Automatically-activated hand-supportable omni-directional laser scanning bar code symbol reader having a user-selectable linear scanning menu-reading mode supported by a omni-directional laser scanning pattern having temporally varying intensity characteristics for improved bar code symbol navigation and alignment during menu-reading operations

• US 7,431,215 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Issued: 10/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Giordano, Patrick, Martin, William, Wilz, David M. Sr., Amundsen, Thomas, Russell, Garrett, Colavito, Stephen, Veksland, Mikhail, Hudrick, Donald, Schmidt, Mark C., Edmonds, Shane, Defoney, Shawn, Osborn, James, Hejl, Benjamin, DiPlacido, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): FUREMAN, JARED
• Application Number:
  US11/505,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20070114287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 784 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.45, 235/462.48, 235/462.32, 235/462.36, 235/463.37, 235/462.38, 235/462.39, 235/462.4, 235/472.01, 235/462.33
• 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 7/10554 Moving beam scanning
• 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 7/10613 by rotation, e.g. polygon
• 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 7/109 : adaptations to make the hand-held scanner useable as a fixed scanner
• 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

An automatically-activated bar code reading system including: a visible laser light source, scanning element and a plurality of stationary mirrors. When arranged in a first configuration, the visible laser light source, scanning element and plurality of stationary mirrors cooperate to produce a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern with multiple laser scanning lines having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics at a given scanning plane parallel to a scanning window within a working distance of the system. When the visible laser light source, the scanning element and the plurality of stationary mirrors are arranged in a second configuration, these components cooperate to produce a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern having temporally varying intensity characteristics, against a single visible laser scanning line having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics, at a given scanning plane parallel to the scanning window within the working distance of the system.

Claims

1. An automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device comprising:

a bar code symbol reading mechanism contained within a hand-supportable housing and capable of operating in two different bar code reading modes, namely;

in a first bar code reading mode, the bar code symbol reading mechanism automatically generates a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern of substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity 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;

in a second bar code reading mode, the bar code symbol reading mechanism automatically generates a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern having temporally varying intensity characteristics, against a single visible laser scanning line having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics 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;

wherein said hand-supportable housing further comprises a manually-actuatable data transmission control activation switch that is capable of serving dual purposes, namely;

(i) producing a control activation signal that enables communication of symbol character data produced by said bar code symbol reading mechanism to a host system in an automatic manner, as well as (ii) enabling the manual selection of the bar code mode reading modes supported by said device, in response to preprogrammed conditions determined by an automatic IR-enabled object detection subsystem embodied within said hand-supportable housing.

2. The automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device of claim 1, wherein said control activation signal enables communication of symbol character data produced by said bar code symbol reading system, to said host system in an automatic manner.

3. The automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading device of claim 1, which further comprises a control subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing for enabling the transmission of produced symbol character data to said host system or data storage device, only when said manually-actuatable data transmission control activation switch is manually actuated by the user during a bar code symbol reading cycle.

4. The automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading device of claim 3, wherein the bar code symbol reading cycle is visually signaled to the user by a bar code symbol reading state indicator provided on said hand-supportable housing.

5. An automatically-activated bar code reading system comprising:

a visible laser light source, scanning element and a plurality of stationary mirrors arranged in a first configuration and cooperating to produce a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern with multiple laser scanning lines having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics at a given scanning plane parallel to a scanning window within a working distance of said system; and

wherein said visible laser light source, said scanning element and said plurality of stationary mirrors are arranged in a second configuration and cooperate to produce a visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern having temporally varying intensity characteristics, against a single visible laser scanning line having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics, at a given scanning plane parallel to said scanning window within the working distance of said system.

6. The automatically-activated bar code reading system of claim 5, wherein a pulse frequency and width of a visible laser light source is dynamically-controlled to selectively enable the visible laser light source to produce said visible omni-directional laser scanning pattern having temporally varying intensity characteristics, against said single visible laser scanning line having substantially uniform spatial and temporal intensity characteristics at a given scanning plane parallel to the scanning window within the working distance of said system, only when the light produced therefrom is directed by said scanning element onto a predetermined subset of said plurality of stationary mirrors, to thereby support a uni-directional bar code reading mode of operation.

7. The automatically-activated bar code reading system of claim 5, wherein said scanning element is realized as a rotating light directing element, and wherein timing signals are derived and synchronized to a particular interval in a rotation cycle of said rotating light directing element, when the rotating light directing element directs light produced from the visible laser light source onto the predetermined subset of said plurality of stationary mirrors.

8. The automatically-activated bar code reading system of claim 7, wherein said timing signals are derived from a position sensor integrated into a rotating portion of said rotating light directing element.

9. The automatically-activated bar code reading system of claim 8, wherein said timing signals are derived using a position indicating optical element mounted adjacent or near the perimeter of one of said stationary mirrors, such that said position indicating optical element is illuminated by light produced from said visible laser light source when said rotating light directing element reaches a predetermined point in its rotation.