Using a user'S application to configure user scanner

• US 8,517,269 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2010
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Meier, Timothy, Field, Willis
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US12/942,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20120111943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 235/454, 235/375, 235/462.07, 235/462.11, 235/462.24
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2207/1017 Programmable
• 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 7/10821 further details of bar or optical code scanning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1404 Methods for optical code recognition

Abstract

A method of operating an indicia reader adapted to read information bearing indicia (IBI) is accomplished by putting the indicia reader in a set up mode to enable the indicia reader to read N types of user usage IBIs; reading at least one user usage IBI with the indicia reader that is one of the N types of IBI the indicia reader is enabled to read; configuring the indicia reader in accordance with the at least one IBI read while the indicia reader is in the set up mode; putting the indicia reader into a use mode and reading user usage IBIs of the type read while the indicia was in the set up mode.

Claims

1. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader adapted to read information bearing indicia (IBI) comprising:

putting the indicia reader in a set up mode to enable the indicia reader to read N types of user usage IBIs;

reading at least one user usage IBI with the indicia reader that is one of the N types of IBI the indicia reader is enabled to read, wherein the at least one user usage IBI is absent a codeword or characteristic that identifies the at least one user usage IBI as an IBI to be used for configuration;

configuring the indicia reader in accordance with the at least one user usage IBI read while the indicia reader is in the set up mode;

putting the indicia reader into a use mode and,

reading user usage IBIs of the type read while the indicia reader was in the set up mode.

2. A method for operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, wherein putting the indicia reader in a set up mode comprises reading a menuing IBI.

3. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, wherein putting the indicia reader in a set up mode comprises communicating with the indicia reader via an interface.

4. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, wherein putting the indicia reader in a set up mode comprises usage of a timeout.

5. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, wherein configuring the indicia reader in accordance with the at least one IBI read comprises extracting at least one of the following:

IBI type;

IBI length and IBI size.

6. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, wherein configuring the indicia reader in accordance with the at least one IBI read comprises at least one of the following:

restricting the length of IBIs;

restricting the types of IBIs to be read and setting decoding configurations.

7. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the user inputting additional configuration settings not derived from reading the at least one user usage IBI.

8. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 7, wherein additional configuration settings comprise instructions to effectuate at least one of the following:

check characters and append modes.

9. A hand-held indicia reader adapted for scanning and decoding data encoded in one of

a plurality of types of information bearing indicia comprising:

a scanning engine for scanning and storing IBI data;

a memory for storing;

a decoding program to produce decoded IBI data;

a parameter table for storing configuration settings which specify operating modes of the indicia reader; and

,

a processor for;

executing a set up program in response to a set up command to allow a user to set configuration settings by presenting at least one user usage IBI to the indicia reader, wherein the at least one user usage IBI is absent a codeword or characteristic that identifies the at least one user usage IBI as an IBI to be used for configuration, and

executing a usage program for controlling the scanning engine and executing the decoding program.

10. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9, wherein the set up command is derived from the indicia reader scanning a menuing IBI.

11. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9, wherein the set up command is derived from communicating with the indicia reader via an interface.

12. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9 wherein the set up command is derived from using a timeout.

13. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9, wherein setting configuration settings by presenting at least one user usage IBI to the indicia reader comprises extracting at least one of the following:

IBI type;

IBI length; and

IBI size.

14. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9, wherein setting configuration settings comprises at least one of the following:

restricting the length of IBIs;

restricting the types of IBIs to be read; and

setting decoding configurations.

15. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 9, further comprising the user inputting additional configuration settings not derived from presenting at least one user usage IBI to the indicia reader.

16. A hand-held indicia reader in accordance with claim 15, wherein additional configuration settings comprise instructions to effectuate at least one of the following:

check characters and append modes.

17. A hand-held indicia reader comprising:

a scanning engine for scanning and decoding data encoded in one of a plurality of types of information bearing indicia (IBI), including user usage IBIs and menuing IBIs; and

a software program which configures settings related to operation of the indicia reader through the scanning and reading of at least one user usage IBI which is not a menuing IBI, wherein the at least one user usage IBI is absent a codeword or characteristic that identifies the at least one user usage IBI as an IBI to be used for configuration.

18. A method of operating a hand-held indicia reader adapted to read information bearing indicia (IBI) comprising:

putting the indicia reader in a set up mode to enable the indicia reader to read N types of user usage IBIs;

reading at least one user usage IBI with the indicia reader that is one of the N types of IBI the indicia reader is enabled to read;

configuring the indicia reader in accordance with the at least one user usage IBI read while the indicia reader is in the set up mode;

putting the indicia reader into a use mode and,

reading user usage IBIs of the type read while the indicia reader was in the set up mode, wherein data collected during the set up mode is used to at least one of the following;

(a) restrict the lengths of bar codes decoded; and

(b) tune the aggressiveness of decoding based on the size/resolution of the bar codes.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the hand-held indicia reader automatically goes into the setup mode when an amount of time elapses with no bar code being read.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein data collected during the set up mode is used to (a) restrict the lengths of bar codes decoded.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein data collected during the set up mode is used to (b) tune the aggressiveness of decoding based on the size/resolution of the bar codes.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the putting the indicia reader into a use mode comprises usage of a timeout.