HYBRID-TYPE BIOPTICAL LASER SCANNING AND DIGITAL IMAGING SYSTEM SUPPORTING AUTOMATIC OBJECT MOTION DETECTION AT THE EDGES OF A 3D SCANNING VOLUME
First Claim
1. A hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system comprising:
- a system housing having a vertical housing section with a vertical scanning window and a horizontal housing section with a horizontal scanning window adjacent said vertical scanning window and having first, second and third edges;
a laser scanning subsystem disposed in said system housing, for generating and projecting a plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, which intersect within a 3D scanning volume defined between said vertical and horizontal scanning windows and provide a laser scanning pattern within said 3D scanning volume, for scanning one or more objects within said 3D scanning volume and producing scan data for decode processing,a scan data processor for processing said scan data produced by said laser scanning subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said 3D scanning volume, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol;
a digital imaging subsystem, disposed within said vertical section of said system housing, for automatically projecting a field of view (FOV) into said 3D scanning volume, and capturing and processing one or more digital images of an object present in said FOV;
a digital image processor for processing said one or more digital images produced by said digital imaging subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said FOV, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol;
an automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem for automatically detecting the entering of objects into the edge of said 3D scanning volume and exiting of objects from the edge of said 3D scanning volume during system operation, and generating control signals indicative of said detected object motions; and
a system controller for automatically controlling the operation of said laser scanning subsystem and said digital imaging subsystem, in response to said control signals and timers set and reset, during said system operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system having a vertical housing section with a vertical scanning window, and a horizontal housing section with a horizontal scanning window, from which laser scanning planes are projected and intersect within a 3D scanning volume defined between the vertical and horizontal scanning windows. An automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem is provided for detecting the entry and exit of objects at the edge of the 3D scanning volume, and generating control signals in response thereto. A digital imaging subsystem is supported within the system housing and automatically projects a field of view (FOV) within the 3D scanning volume in response to control signals generated by the automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem and timer settings managed by a system controller.
24 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system comprising:
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a system housing having a vertical housing section with a vertical scanning window and a horizontal housing section with a horizontal scanning window adjacent said vertical scanning window and having first, second and third edges; a laser scanning subsystem disposed in said system housing, for generating and projecting a plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, which intersect within a 3D scanning volume defined between said vertical and horizontal scanning windows and provide a laser scanning pattern within said 3D scanning volume, for scanning one or more objects within said 3D scanning volume and producing scan data for decode processing, a scan data processor for processing said scan data produced by said laser scanning subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said 3D scanning volume, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol; a digital imaging subsystem, disposed within said vertical section of said system housing, for automatically projecting a field of view (FOV) into said 3D scanning volume, and capturing and processing one or more digital images of an object present in said FOV; a digital image processor for processing said one or more digital images produced by said digital imaging subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said FOV, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol; an automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem for automatically detecting the entering of objects into the edge of said 3D scanning volume and exiting of objects from the edge of said 3D scanning volume during system operation, and generating control signals indicative of said detected object motions; and a system controller for automatically controlling the operation of said laser scanning subsystem and said digital imaging subsystem, in response to said control signals and timers set and reset, during said system operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of operating a hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system at a point of sale (POS) station, wherein said hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading includes; (i) system housing having a vertical housing section with a vertical scanning window, and a horizontal housing section with a horizontal scanning window adjacent said vertical scanning window and having first, second and third edges; (ii) a laser scanning subsystem disposed in said system housing, for generating and projecting a plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, and into a 3D scanning volume defined between said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, so as to produce a laser scanning pattern within said 3D scanning volume; and (iii) a digital imaging subsystem, disposed within said vertical section of said system housing, for automatically projecting a field of view (FOV) into said 3D scanning volume, and capturing and processing one or more digital images of an object present in said FOV; (iv) an automatic operator proximity detector disposed in said system housing for detecting an operator in proximity with said system housing; and (v) an automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem for automatically detecting the entering of objects into the edge of said 3D scanning volume and exiting of objects from the edge of said 3D scanning volume during system operation, and generating control signals indicative of said detected object motions; (b) detecting the presence of an operator in proximity with said system housing said automatic proximity detector; (c) automatically activating said laser scanning subsystem in response to the detection of said operator, and generating and projecting a plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, and into said 3D scanning volume, for scanning one or more objects within said 3D scanning volume and producing scan data for decode processing; (d) processing said scan data produced by said laser scanning subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said 3D scanning volume, and generating symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol; (e) using said automatic object edge-motion detection subsystem to automatically detect objects entering into the edge of said 3D scanning volume and exiting from the edge of said 3D scanning volume during system operation, and generating said control signals indicative of said detected object motions; (f) automatically activating said digital imaging subsystem in response to the generation of said control signals and timing conditions attained in said system, and forming one or more digital images of said one or more objects within the FOV of said digital imaging subsystem, for decode processing; and (g) processing said one or more digital images produced by said digital imaging subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said FOV, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol.
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9. A hybrid-type bi-optical bar code symbol reading system comprising:
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a system housing having a vertical housing section having a vertical scanning window, and a horizontal housing section with a horizontal scanning window adjacent said vertical scanning window and having first, second and third edges; a laser scanning subsystem disposed in said system housing, for generating and projecting a plurality of laser scanning planes through said vertical and horizontal scanning windows, which intersect within a 3D scanning volume defined between said vertical and horizontal scanning windows and provide a laser scanning pattern within said 3D scanning volume, for scanning one or more objects within said 3D scanning volume and producing scan data for decode processing, a scan data processor for processing said scan data produced by said laser scanning subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said 3D scanning volume, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol; a digital imaging subsystem, disposed within said vertical section of said system housing, for automatically projecting a field of view (FOV) into said 3D scanning volume, and capturing and processing one or more digital images of an object present in said FOV; a digital image processor for processing said one or more digital images produced by said digital imaging subsystem in effort to read a bar code symbol on each object passed through said FOV, and generate symbol character data representative of each said read bar code symbol; an automatic edge-motion object detection subsystem for automatically detecting multiple types of object motion through said 3D scanning volume during system operation, and generating control signals indicative of said types of detected object motion; wherein said multiple types of object motion include a presentation-type object motion through said 3D scanning volume, a pass-through-type of object motion through said 3D scanning volume, and a hybrid-type object motion through 3D scanning volume; and a system controller for automatically controlling the operation of said laser scanning subsystem and said digital imaging subsystem, in response to said control signals generated during said system operation, and indicative of said types of detected object motion. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17-19. -19. (canceled)
Specification