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

• US 7,077,325 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2005
• Issued: 07/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microvision, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Tan, Chinh, MacGregor, Shane, Mulla, Altaf, Stern, Miklos, Wood, Frederick F., Katz, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kimberly D.
• Application Number:
  US11/061,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20050139677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 235/472.01, 235/462.45, 235/462.43, 235/462.36, 235/473.03, 235/462.37, 235/462.35, 235/462.38, 235/462.48, 235/462.49, 235/462.42, 340 67- 68, 340/108, 340/203, 359/443, 349/5, 349/86, 349/193
• US Class Current: 235/462.36
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/453 self-scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1639 the display being based on projection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1696 the I/O peripheral being a printing or scanning device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/181 Enclosures for portable computers G06F1/1613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/434 using image data, e.g. images, photos, pictures taken by a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10772 Moved readers, e.g. pen, wand
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45

Abstract

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

Claims

1. A handheld, electronic device for displaying a bit-mapped two-dimensional image, comprising:

a) a housing having an opaque display panel connected to the housing;

b) an energizable laser in the housing for projecting a laser beam toward the display panel when energized;

c) a scanner in the housing for sweeping the laser beam along a plurality of light paths over the display panel; and

d) a controller in the housing operatively connected to, and operative for energizing, the laser at selected positions of the laser beam in at least one of the light paths to generate individual light pixels at the selected positions on the display panel, and at a refresh rate at which the pixels persist to enable a human eye to steadily view the image comprised of a light pattern of the pixels on the display panel, the display panel being electrically unenergized during display of the image.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a telephone, and wherein the display panel is a cover hinged to the telephone.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the telephone has a keypad, and wherein the cover is movable between a stored position in which the cover overlies the keypad, and a display position in which the image is projected on the display panel.