Registers – Coded record sensors – Particular sensor structure
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-05
2002-12-31
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Particular sensor structure
C235S462220, C235S462450
Reexamination Certificate
active
06499664
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laser scanning systems, and more particularly to an automatic bar code symbol reading system in which an automatic handsupportable laser scanner can be interchangeably utilized as either a portable hand-held laser scanner in an automatic “hands-on” mods of operation, or as a stationary laser projection scanner in an automatic “hands-free” mode of operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Bar code symbols have become widely used in many commercial environments such as, for example, point-of-sale (POS) stations in retail stores and supermarkets, inventory and document tracking, and diverse data control applications. To meet the growing demands of this recent innovation, bar code symbol readers of various types have been developed for scanning and decoding bar code symbol patterns and producing symbol character data for use as input in automated data processing systems.
In general, prior art bar code symbol readers using laser scanning mechanisms can be classified into two categories.
The first category of bar code symbol readers includes systems having lightweight, portable hand-held laser scanners which can be supported in the hand of the user. The user positions the hand-held laser scanner at a specified distance from the object bearing the bar code symbol, manually activates the scanner to initiate reading, and then moves the scanner over other objects bearing bar code symbols to be read. Prior art bar code symbol readers illustrative of this first category are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,387,297 to Swartz; 4,575,625 to Knowles; 4,845,349 to Cherry; 4,825,057 to Swartz, et al.; 4,903,848 to Knowles; 5,107,100 to Shepard, et al.; 5,080,456 to Katz, et al.; and 5,047,617 to Shepard at al.
The second category of bar code symbol readers includes systems having stationary laser scanners supported on or built into an immovable structure such as a supermarket counter. These laser scanners are referred to as countertop scanners and typically utilize a moving laser beam to create a laser scan pattern. Each object bearing a bar code symbol to be read is oriented by the user and then moved through the laser scan pattern in order to read the bar code symbol. Prior art bar code symbol scanners illustrative of this second category are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,086,476 to King; 4,960,985 to Knowles; and 4,713,532 to Knowles.
While prior art hand-held and stationary laser scanners have played an important role in the development of the bar code symbol industry, these devices have, however, suffered from a number of shortcomings and drawbacks. For example, hand-held laser scanners, although portable and lightweight, are not always convenient to use in assembly-line applications where the user processes bar coded objects over an extended period of time, or where the user requires the use of both hands in order to manipulate the objects. In some applications, hand-held laser scanners are difficult to manipulate while simultaneously moving objects or performing other tasks at a point-of-sale terminal. Stationary laser scanners, on the other hand, provide a desired degree of flexibility in many applications by allowing the user to manipulate bar coded objects with both hands. However, by their nature, stationary laser scanners render scanning large, heavy objects a difficult task as such objects must be manually moved into or through the laser scan field.
Attempting to eliminate the problems associated with the use of hand-held and stationary laser scanners, U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,297 to McMillan discloses a bar code symbol scanning system which combines the advantages of hand-held and stationary fixed laser scanners into a single scanning systems which can be used in either a hands-on or hands-free mode of operation.
The bar code symbol scanning systems system in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,297 includes a portable hand-held laser scanning device for generating electrical signals descriptive of a scanned bar code symbol. In the hands-on mode operation, a trigger on the hand-held laser scanning device is manually actuated each time a bar code symbol on an object is to be read. The system further includes a fixture having a head portion for receiving and supporting the hand-held laser scanning device, and a base portion above which the head portion is supported at a predetermined distance. In the hands-free mode of operation, the hand-held laser scanning device is supported by the fixture head portion above the fixture base portion in order to allow objects bearing bar code symbols to pass between the head and base portions of the fixture. In order to detect the presence of an object between the head and base portions of the fixture, the fixture also includes an object sensor operably connected to the hand-held laser scanning device. When the object sensor senses an object between the head portion and the base portion, the object sensor automatically initiates the hand-held laser scanning device supported in the fixture to read the bar code symbol on the detected object.
While the bar code symbol scanning system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,297 permits reading of printed bar code information using either a portable “hands-on” or stationary “hands-free” mode of operation, this system suffers from several significant shortcomings and drawbacks as well.
In particular, in the hands-on mode of operation, scanning bar code symbols requires manually actuating a trigger each time a bar code symbol is to be read. In the hands-free mode of operation, scanning bar code symbols requires passing the object bearing the bar code between the head and base portions of the fixture. However, in many instances where both hands are required to manipulate a bar coded object, the object is too large to be passed between the head and base portions of the fixture thus scanning of the bar code symbol is not possible.
Thus, there is a great need in the bar code symbol reading art for a bar code symbol reading system which overcomes the above described shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art devices and techniques, while providing greater versatility in its use.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a fully automatic bar code symbol reading system having a automatic hand-supportable laser scanning device which can be used as either a portable hand-supported laser scanner in an automatic hands-on mode of operation, or as a stationary laser projection scanner in an automatic hands-free mode of operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an automatic bar code symbol reading system, in which on or more bar code symbols on an object can be automatically read in a consecutive manner.
A further object is to provide such an automatic bar code symbol reading device, in which the automatic hand-supportable bar code (symbol) reading device has an infrared light object detection field which spatially encompasses at least a portion of its visible laser light scan field along the operative scanning range of the device, thereby improving the laser beam pointing efficiency of the device during the automatic bar code reading process of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an automatic bar code reading system in which a support frame is provided for supporting the hand-supportable housing of the device in a selected mounting position, and permitting complete gripping of the handle portion of the hand-supportable housing prior to removing it from the support frame.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an automatic bar code symbol reading system in which the hand-supportable bar code reading device has long and short-range modes of object detection within its object detection field. In one illustrative embodiment, the long and short-range modes of object detection are manually selectable by the user by manual activation of a switch on the hand-supportable housing of the device. In another illust
Knowles Carl H.
Naylor Charles A.
Rockstein George B.
Wilz, Sr. David M.
Frech Karl D.
Metrologic Instruments Inc.
Morgan & Lewis & Bockius, LLP
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