Compact dual aperture scanner

Abstract

A compact dual aperture scanner is disclosed. The scanner includes a horizontal cabinet including a horizontal aperture and a vertical cabinet including a vertical aperture. The vertical cabinet contains a laser source and deflecting mirror in a lower portion of the vertical cabinet and a polygonal spinner in an upper portion of the vertical cabinet. The laser source directs a laser beam at the deflecting mirror, which deflects the laser beam to the spinner. The spinner rotates, deflecting the laser beam into a plurality of rays. The rays strike a series of primary and secondary mirrors within the vertical and horizontal cabinets, which deflect the rays to produce a scan pattern at each of the horizontal and vertical apertures. When scattered light, such as may be reflected from a bar code, enters the vertical or horizontal aperture, the light is deflected by the secondary and primary mirrors to the spinner, where it is deflected to a collection lens and directed to the deflecting mirror. The deflecting mirror deflects the light onto a photodetector, which produces a photosignal which can be processed to extract bar code information. The location of the spinner inside the vertical cabinet allows the horizontal cabinet to be designed more shallow and compact than would be necessary if the spinner were located within the horizontal cabinet, allowing greater versatility in positioning and use of the scanner.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.