Accuracy-enhanced scanner
First Claim
1. A multi-mode ring scan-target imaging device comprising:
- a ring unit comprisingat least two switches each concurrently independently settable in a plurality of respective states at least in part via respective digits of a hand,aiming circuitry, andscan-target imaging circuitry;
wherein the ring unit, at least partially in response to the settings of the states, is operable in a selected one of at least an aiming mode and an imaging mode;
wherein the ring unit further is compatible with wearing on at least one digit of the hand and is enabled to initiate the aiming mode separately from and prior to initiating the imaging mode; and
wherein the aiming circuitry is enabled to illuminate a scan target with a pattern comprising at least one line while operating in accordance with the aiming mode and the scan-target imaging circuitry is enabled to image the scan target while operating in accordance with the imaging mode.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An accuracy-enhanced scanner provides (in response to a first user input) illumination of potential scan targets and scans (in response to a second user input) a selected scan target. The user uses the illumination to aim the scanner at the selected scan target in between providing the first and the second user inputs. The scanner has switches to communicate the user inputs, to specify an operating mode for the scanner, and/or to communicate information codes to a computing device. The scanner has one or more scan engines (such as a barcode reader or an RFID tag reader), and optionally communicates wirelessly with the computing device. A scanning system including the scanner optionally provides feedback to the user based on feedback from a host processor. The scanner is any of a Multi-Mode Ring Scanner (MMRS), a cordless hand scanner, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with an add-on scanner.
-
Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A multi-mode ring scan-target imaging device comprising:
-
a ring unit comprising at least two switches each concurrently independently settable in a plurality of respective states at least in part via respective digits of a hand, aiming circuitry, and scan-target imaging circuitry; wherein the ring unit, at least partially in response to the settings of the states, is operable in a selected one of at least an aiming mode and an imaging mode; wherein the ring unit further is compatible with wearing on at least one digit of the hand and is enabled to initiate the aiming mode separately from and prior to initiating the imaging mode; and wherein the aiming circuitry is enabled to illuminate a scan target with a pattern comprising at least one line while operating in accordance with the aiming mode and the scan-target imaging circuitry is enabled to image the scan target while operating in accordance with the imaging mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method comprising:
-
determining a plurality of respective states of respective switches that are concurrently independently settable at least in part via respective digits of a hand; determining, based at least in part on the respective states of the switches, a selected one of a plurality of modes to operate a multi-mode ring scanner in, a first one of the modes being an aiming mode and a second one of the modes being a scan-target imaging mode; providing, while operating in the aiming mode, a visible indicator in a direction corresponding to a potential direction for imaging, the visible indicator having a pattern comprising at least one line; performing the imaging while operating in the scan-target imaging mode; and wherein the multi-mode ring scanner comprises circuitry that is enabled to perform the determining of the selected mode and a ring unit comprising the switches, and the multi-mode ring scanner is compatible with wearing on at least one digit of the hand and is enabled to initiate the aiming mode separately from and prior to initiating the scan-target imaging mode. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A scan-target imaging system comprising:
-
a scan engine enabled to perform scan-target imaging in a particular direction and to perform target illuminating in the particular direction, wherein the illuminating is shaped comprising at least one line; a wireless interface to couple the scan engine to a wireless enabled host; a scan status indicator; a housing at least partially containing the scan engine, the wireless interface, and the scan status indicator, the housing being compatible with handheld operation; wherein state of the scan status indicator is alterable in response to scan confirmation status embedded in a command stream sent by the host and received via the wireless interface; and wherein the scan engine is enabled to perform the scan-target imaging and the illuminating independently of each other and is enabled to initiate the illuminating prior to initiating the scan-target imaging. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A multi-mode ring scan-target imaging device comprising:
-
a ring unit comprising at least two switches each concurrently independently settable in a plurality of respective states at least in part via respective digits of a hand, aiming circuitry, and scan-target imaging circuitry; wherein the ring unit is enabled to operate in a selected one of at least an aiming mode and a scan-target imaging mode, and enabled to be worn on at least one digit of the hand; and wherein the aiming circuitry is enabled to illuminate a scan-target with a pattern comprising at least one line and the scan-target imaging circuitry is enabled to image the scan-target, and the aiming circuitry is enabled to illuminate the scan-target separately from and prior to the scan-target imaging circuitry initiating the imaging of the scan-target. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A method comprising:
-
determining a plurality of respective states of respective switches that are concurrently independently settable at least in part via respective digits of a hand; determining, based at least in part on the respective states of the switches, a selected one of a plurality of modes to operate a multi-mode ring scanner in; wherein a first one of the modes is an aiming mode and a second one of the modes is a scan-target imaging mode, the aiming mode comprising generating a visible pattern comprising at least one line; wherein the multi-mode ring scanner comprises a ring unit comprising the switches and adapted to be worn on at least one digit of the hand; and wherein the ring unit further comprises processing circuitry that is enabled to perform the determining of the selected mode, and the ring unit is enabled to initiate the aiming mode separately from and prior to initiating the scan-target imaging mode. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
-
Specification