Portable instrument for electro-optically reading indicia and for projecting a bit-mapped color image

• US 20040074971A1
• Filed: 10/09/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microvision, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Chinh Tan, Duanfeng He, Eugene Joseph, Jerome Swartz, Joseph Katz
• Inventors: He, Duanfeng, Joseph, Eugene, Tan, Chinh, Katz, Joseph, Swartz, Jerome
• Granted Patent: US 6,910,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/472.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10574 Multiple sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10673 Parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10772 Moved readers, e.g. pen, wand
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks

Abstract

A portable instrument incorporates an electro-optical assembly for reading indicia during a reading mode, and for projecting a bit-mapped color image during a display mode. A manually operable switch on the instrument is disposed for selecting one of the modes. The color image is formed by pulsing a plurality of differently colored lasers at selected times on selected scan lines.

Claims

1. A portable instrument for projecting a bit-mapped color image in a display mode of operation, and for selectively electro-optically reading indicia in a reading mode of operation, comprising:

a) a housing;

b) an electro-optical assembly supported by the housing, for reading the indicia during the reading mode, and for projecting the bit-mapped color image on a viewing surface during the display mode; and

c) a mode selector for selecting one of the modes.

2. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the housing has a size and a shape configured to be held in a user'"'"'s hand during both the display and reading modes.

3. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the assembly includes a reader having a light source for generating a light beam, a light sensor having a field of view and operative for detecting light from the indicia, and a scanner for scanning at least one of the light beam and the field of view.

4. The instrument of claim 3, wherein the indicia is a coded, machine-readable symbol over which said at least one of the light beam and the field of view is scanned, and wherein the sensor is operative for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the symbol, and wherein the reader includes a signal processor for processing the signal to data indicative of the symbol.

5. The instrument of claim 3, wherein the indicia is a human-readable, two-dimensional representation over which said at least one of the light beam and the field of view is scanned, and wherein the sensor is operative for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the representation, and wherein the reader includes a signal processor for processing the signal to data indicative of the representation.

6. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the assembly includes a reader having a plurality of capture devices having fields of view over which the indicia is captured, each capture device having a different colored filter.

7. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the assembly includes a plurality of light sources for generating a plurality of light beams, and a scanner for sweeping the light beams in a raster pattern of scanning lines that cover an area of the viewing surface, and wherein the assembly includes a controller for pulsing the light sources on and off while the light beams are swept over each of the scanning lines.

8. The instrument of claim 7, wherein the scanner includes a first scan mirror for sweeping the light beams along a first direction, and a second scan mirror for sweeping the light beams along a second direction generally orthogonal to the first direction.

9. The instrument of claim 7, wherein the housing includes a window through which the light beams and the bit-mapped image pass.

10. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the mode selector is a switch on the housing, and actuatable between reading and display states that respectively correspond to the reading and display modes.

11. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the housing is elongated and extends along an axis between opposite end regions, and wherein a window is located at one of the end regions, and wherein the bit-mapped color image is projected through the window.

12. The instrument of claim 7, wherein the light sources are lasers for generating the light beams as visible laser beams of different colors.

13. The instrument of claim 7, wherein the controller projects the image as alphanumeric characters.

14. A method of projecting a bit-mapped color image in a display mode of operation, and of selectively electro-optically reading indicia in a reading mode of operation, comprising the steps of:

a) manually selecting the reading mode on a portable instrument for reading the indicia; and

b) manually selecting the display mode on the portable instrument for projecting the bit-mapped color image on a viewing surface.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the selecting steps are performed by manually actuating a mode selector on the instrument.

16. An electro-optical assembly for projecting a bit-mapped color image in a display mode of operation, comprising:

a) a plurality of light sources for generating a plurality of light beams of different colors;

b) a scanner for sweeping the light beams in a raster pattern of scanning lines that cover an area of a viewing surface, and

c) a controller for pulsing the light sources on and off while the light beams are swept over each of the scanning lines.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the scanner includes a first scan mirror for sweeping the light beams along a first direction, and a second scan mirror for sweeping the light beams along a second direction generally orthogonal to the first direction.