BAR CODE SYMBOL READING DEVICE HAVING INTELLIGENT DATA COMMUNICATION INTERFACE TO A HOST SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A bar code symbol reading device comprising:
- a bar code symbol reading engine that reads bar code symbols affixed to objects proximate thereto and produces symbol character data representative of such bar code symbols; and
a data transmission subsystem, operably coupled to the bar code reading engine, that communicates such symbol character data to a communication interface of a host system over a communication link therebetween;
wherein said data transmission subsystem implements a plurality of different communication interfaces and wherein, during an interface configuration mode of operation, the data transmission subsystem automatically cycles though at least one of said plurality of different communication interfaces whereby, for a given communication interface, the data transmission subsystem selectively activates the given communication interface while disabling the other communication interfaces and tests the communication link between the given communication interface and the host system to ascertain if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved bar code symbol reading device includes a data transmission subsystem, operably coupled to a bar code reading engine, that communicates symbol character data to the communication interface of a host system over a communication link therebetween. During an interface configuration mode, the data transmission subsystem automatically cycles though at least one of a plurality of different communication interfaces (implemented by the subsystem) to test if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system. If this test is successful, subsequent data communication between the bar code symbol reading device and the host system is enabled over the active communication interface. In this manner, the data transmission subsystem is able to automatically configure itself for communication to the host system, and is capable of interfacing to a variety of different host devices in an automatic and error free manner with minimal human involvement.
7 Citations
75 Claims
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1. A bar code symbol reading device comprising:
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a bar code symbol reading engine that reads bar code symbols affixed to objects proximate thereto and produces symbol character data representative of such bar code symbols; and
a data transmission subsystem, operably coupled to the bar code reading engine, that communicates such symbol character data to a communication interface of a host system over a communication link therebetween;
wherein said data transmission subsystem implements a plurality of different communication interfaces and wherein, during an interface configuration mode of operation, the data transmission subsystem automatically cycles though at least one of said plurality of different communication interfaces whereby, for a given communication interface, the data transmission subsystem selectively activates the given communication interface while disabling the other communication interfaces and tests the communication link between the given communication interface and the host system to ascertain if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26)
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21. A device, operably coupled between a bar code symbol reading engine that reads bar code symbols affixed to objects proximate thereto and produces symbol character data representative of such bar code symbols and a host system, the device comprising:
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a data transmission subsystem that communicates said symbol character data to a communication interface of the host system over a communication link therebetween;
wherein said data transmission subsystem implements a plurality of different communication interfaces and wherein, during an interface configuration mode of operation, the data transmission subsystem automatically cycles though at least one of said plurality of different communication interfaces whereby, for a given communication interface, the data transmission subsystem selectively activates the given communication interface while disabling the other communication interfaces and tests the communication link between the given communication interface and the host system to ascertain if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of automatically configuring data communication between a bar code symbol reading engine and a host system comprising:
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providing a data transmission subsystem, operably coupled to the bar code reading engine, that implements a plurality of different communication interfaces;
during an interface configuration mode of operation, controlling the data transmission subsystem to automatically cycle though at least one of said plurality of different communication interfaces whereby, for a given communication interface, the data transmission subsystem selectively activates the given communication interface while disabling the other communication interfaces and tests the communication link between the given communication interface and the host system to ascertain if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A bar code symbol reading system comprising:
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a host system;
a bar code symbol reading device including a bar code symbol reading engine that reads bar code symbols affixed to objects proximate thereto and produces symbol character data representative of such bar code symbols;
a data transmission subsystem, operably coupled between the bar code reading engine and the host system, that communicates such symbol character data to a communication interface of a host system over a communication link therebetween, wherein said data transmission subsystem implements a plurality of different communication interfaces and wherein, during an interface configuration mode of operation, the data transmission subsystem automatically cycles though at least one of said plurality of different communication interfaces whereby, for a given communication interface, the data transmission subsystem selectively activates the given communication interface while disabling the other communication interfaces and tests the communication link between the given communication interface and the host system to ascertain if the given communication interface corresponds to the communication interface of the host system. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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Specification