Terminal with radio transceiver having power output

• US 8,240,572 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2010
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Bianconi, Thomas, Field, Bill, Fiutak, Melissa, Huang, Changnian, Livingston, Joseph, Pankow, Matthew W., Rosetti, James B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US12/731,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20110233280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.46, 235/472.02, 235/375, 235/462.45, 235/472.01
• US Class Current: 235/462.46
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/367 Power values between minimum and maximum limits, e.g. dynamic range

Abstract

There is provided for herein a terminal having a radio transceiver, the radio transceiver having a maximum output power and an operating power. The operating power is limitable to a power limit that less than or equal to the maximum output power and is operator selectable from a set of power limit values so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in the 2.4 GHz spectrum of the ISM band. In one embodiment, the set of power limit values includes the maximum output power and a plurality of additional values. In another embodiment, the set of power limit values includes a plurality of values, the plurality of values including at least first and second values less than 16 dB apart in magnitude.

Claims

1. A bar code reading terminal comprising:

a bar code reader unit;

a manual trigger;

a hand held housing encapsulating at least one component of said bar code reading terminal, said housing being configured so that a user can actuate said manual trigger when grasping said housing, said bar code reading terminal being configured so that when said manual trigger is actuated said bar code reader unit produces a decoded bar code data message;

a radio transceiver encapsulated by said hand held housing and having a maximum output power and an operating power;

wherein said radio transceiver is operative in a 2.4 GHz spectrum of an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band;

wherein said radio transceiver is further operative to hop across a plurality of frequency channels in said 2.4 GHz spectrum when said bar code reading terminal is in a connected state so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in said 2.4 GHz spectrum; and

wherein said operating power of said radio transceiver is limitable to a power limit that is less than or equal to said maximum output power of said radio transceiver and is operator selectable from a set of power limit values including said maximum output power and a plurality of additional values, so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in said 2.4 GHz spectrum.

2. The bar code reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said radio transceiver is operative so that said operating power is limited according to said power limit.

3. The bar code reading terminal of claim 1, further comprising a memory storing a power table, said power table indicating a plurality of power levels, and wherein said bar code reading terminal utilizes said power table for configuring said operating power to any of said plurality of power levels that are less than or equal to said maximum output power.

4. The bar code reading terminal of claim 3, wherein said bar code reading terminal utilizes said power table for restricting said operating power from being configurable to any of said plurality of power levels that is in excess of said power limit.

5. The bar code reading terminal of claim 3, wherein said maximum output power is a highest power level of said plurality of power levels.

6. The bar code reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said bar code reading terminal further comprises a serial port emulation and is configured to transmit said decoded bar code data message to an external host utilizing said serial port emulation.

7. The bar code reading terminal of claim 1, wherein said radio transceiver further comprises a default transmission power key, a maximum output power no receive strength signal indication key, and a maximum transmission power key.

8. The bar code reading terminal of claim 7, wherein said default transmission power key, said maximum output power no receive strength signal indication key, and said maximum transmission power key are set according to said power limit.

9. The bar code reading terminal of claim 8, wherein said radio transceiver utilizes said default transmission power key, said maximum output power no receive strength signal indication key, and said maximum transmission power key for limiting said operating power according to said power limit.

10. A bar code reading terminal comprising:

a bar code reader unit;

a manual trigger;

a hand held housing encapsulating at least one component of said bar code reading terminal, said housing being configured so that a user can actuate said manual trigger when grasping said housing, said bar code reading terminal being configured so that when said manual trigger is actuated said bar code reader unit produces a decoded bar code data message;

a radio transceiver encapsulated by said hand held housing and having a maximum output power and an operating power;

wherein said radio transceiver is operative in a 2.4 GHz spectrum of an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band;

wherein said radio transceiver is further operative to hop across a plurality of frequency channels in said 2.4 GHz spectrum when said bar code reading terminal is in a connected state so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in said 2.4 GHz spectrum; and

wherein said operating power of said radio transceiver is limitable to a power limit that is less than or equal to said maximum output power of said radio transceiver and is operator selectable from a set of power limit values including a plurality of values, the plurality of values including at least first and second values less than 16 dB apart in magnitude, so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in said 2.4 GHz spectrum.

11. The bar code reading terminal of claim 10, wherein said at least first and second values are less than 8 dB apart in magnitude.

12. The bar code reading terminal of claim 10, wherein said at least first and second values are less than 4 dB apart in magnitude.

13. The bar code reading terminal of claim 10, wherein said at least first and second values are less than 2 dB apart in magnitude.

14. A method for reducing interference contributed by a bar code reading terminal, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing said bar code reading terminal, said bar code reading terminal comprising;

a bar code reader unit;

a manual trigger;

a hand held housing encapsulating at least one component of said bar code reading terminal, said housing being configured so that a user can actuate said manual trigger when grasping said housing, said bar code reading terminal being configured so that when said manual trigger is actuated said bar code reader unit produces a decoded bar code data message;

a serial port emulation, wherein said bar code reading terminal is configured to transmit said decoded bar code data message to an external host utilizing said serial port emulation;

a radio transceiver encapsulated by said hand held housing having a maximum output power and an operating power;

wherein said radio transceiver is operative in a 2.4 GHz spectrum of an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band;

wherein said radio transceiver is further operative to hop across a plurality of frequency channels in said 2.4 GHz spectrum when said bar code reading terminal is in a connected state so as to reduce interference with other devices operating in said 2.4 GHz spectrum;

wherein said operating power of said radio transceiver is limitable to a power limit that is less than or equal to said maximum output power of said radio transceiver and is operator selectable;

(b) providing a set of power limit values;

(c) selecting one in said set of power limit values;

(d) inputting said one of said power limit values of selecting step (c) into said bar code reading terminal;

(e) determining said power limit from said one of said power limit values of inputting step (d); and

(f) limiting said operating power of said radio transceiver according to said power limit.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said set of power limit values is provided in an electronic format.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said set of power limit values is provided as a set of encoded bar code symbols.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said selecting step (c) comprises the step of selecting one in said set of encoded bar code symbols, and wherein said inputting step (d) comprises the step of scanning with said bar code reading terminal said one in said set of encoded bar code symbols selected in selecting step (c).

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said one in said set of encoded bar code symbols selected in said selecting step (c) is a programming bar code symbol, and wherein said determining step (e) comprises the steps of decoding said programming bar code symbol into said power limit, converting said power limit so that said power limit is of a same data type as each of a plurality of power levels of a power table stored in a memory of said bar code reading terminal if said power limit is not of said data type, and equating said power limit to one of said plurality of power levels if said power limit is not among said plurality of power levels.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said programming bar code symbol is an encoded percentage of said maximum output power.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said providing step (b) further includes the step of providing a set of indicators, each in said set of indicators corresponding to one in said set of said of encoded bar code symbols.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein each in said set of indicators is in a format selected from the group consisting of a numeric measurement, a percentage of said maximum output power, and a power ranking.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein said bar code reading terminal further comprises a memory storing a power table, said power table having a plurality of power levels, wherein said bar code reading terminal utilizes said power table for configuring said operating power to any of said plurality of power levels that are less than or equal to said maximum output power, and wherein said limiting step (f) further includes the step of restricting said operating power from being configurable to any of said plurality of power levels that is in excess of said power limit.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said maximum output power is a highest power level of said plurality of power levels.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein said limiting step (f) further includes the step of setting a default transmission power key of said radio transceiver, a maximum output power no receive signal strength indication key of said radio transceiver, and a maximum transmission power key of said radio transceiver according to said power limit.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of restarting said bar code reading terminal after performing said limiting step (f) so that said radio transceiver utilizes said default transmission power key, said maximum output power no receive strength signal indication key, and said maximum transmission power key for limiting said operating power according to said power limit.