Laser scanner with improved decoding
First Claim
1. A scanning apparatus for decoding an encoded symbol character of a symbology, comprising:
- a laser source operable to emit a beam along an axis and illuminate a target, the target comprising the encoded symbol character;
a scanning mirror disposed intermediate the laser source and the target, the scanning mirror operable to deflect the beam emitted from the laser source so that the beam scans across the target according to a scan pattern;
a focusing apparatus in optical communication with the laser source for focusing the beam on the target at an object distance;
a detector operable to receive light of varying intensities scattered from the encoded symbol character and convert the light into a first signal;
a digitizer operable to convert the first signal to a digital bit stream;
pre-stored information correlating a non-standard symbol pattern to a valid symbol character according to a standard definition of the symbology, the non-standard symbol pattern comprising a first number of elements that deviates from a second number of elements associated with the valid symbol character; and
a decoder operable to receive the digital bit stream and utilize the pre-stored information for attempting decoding of the signal, wherein the scanning apparatus is further operable to one or more of (a) change a focus distance setting of the focusing apparatus responsively to a result of the attempting decoding and (b) generate the first signal with the focusing apparatus configured at a first focus distance setting, generate a second signal with the focusing apparatus configured at a second focus distance setting, and attempt decoding of the first signal and the second signal utilizing the pre-stored information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scanning apparatus for decoding an encoded symbol character of a symbology includes a laser source operable to emit a beam along an axis and illuminate a target. The target includes an encoded symbol character. A focusing apparatus in optical communication with the laser source focuses the beam on the target at an object distance, and a detector receives light of varying intensities scattered from the encoded symbol character and converts the light into a first signal. A digitizer converts the first signal to a digital bit stream. The scanning apparatus further includes pre-stored information correlating a non-standard symbol pattern to a valid symbol character according to a standard definition of the symbology. The non-standard symbol pattern comprises a first number of elements that deviates from a second number of elements associated with the valid symbol character. A decoder receives the digital bit stream and utilizes the pre-stored information for decoding the signal.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A scanning apparatus for decoding an encoded symbol character of a symbology, comprising:
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a laser source operable to emit a beam along an axis and illuminate a target, the target comprising the encoded symbol character; a scanning mirror disposed intermediate the laser source and the target, the scanning mirror operable to deflect the beam emitted from the laser source so that the beam scans across the target according to a scan pattern; a focusing apparatus in optical communication with the laser source for focusing the beam on the target at an object distance; a detector operable to receive light of varying intensities scattered from the encoded symbol character and convert the light into a first signal; a digitizer operable to convert the first signal to a digital bit stream;
pre-stored information correlating a non-standard symbol pattern to a valid symbol character according to a standard definition of the symbology, the non-standard symbol pattern comprising a first number of elements that deviates from a second number of elements associated with the valid symbol character; anda decoder operable to receive the digital bit stream and utilize the pre-stored information for attempting decoding of the signal, wherein the scanning apparatus is further operable to one or more of (a) change a focus distance setting of the focusing apparatus responsively to a result of the attempting decoding and (b) generate the first signal with the focusing apparatus configured at a first focus distance setting, generate a second signal with the focusing apparatus configured at a second focus distance setting, and attempt decoding of the first signal and the second signal utilizing the pre-stored information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for operating a scanning apparatus comprising the steps of:
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providing a laser light source, a focusing apparatus, a detector, a digitizer, and a decoder; providing pre-stored information correlating a non-standard symbol pattern to a valid symbol character according to a standard definition of a symbology, the non-standard symbol pattern comprising a first number of elements that deviates from a second number of elements associated with the valid symbol character; activating the laser light source; passing a laser beam through the focusing apparatus along an axis to illuminate a target, the target comprising an encoded symbol character; scanning the encoded symbol character; receiving scattered light from the target and converting it to a first signal; converting the first signal to a second signal comprising a digital bit stream; and attempting decoding of the digital bit stream without utilizing the pre-stored information and; attempting decoding of the digital bit stream utilizing the pre-stored information. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification