Arrangement for, and method of, processing products associated with rfid tags and bar code symbols at the same workstation
AssigneeSymbol Technologies, Inc.
InventorsREHAN K. JAFFRI, SEAN A. CONNOLLY, SEAN D. MARVEL
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A workstation has a metallic housing for supporting an electro-optical reader for reading bar code symbols. A radio frequency (RF) antenna of an RF identification (RFID) reader for reading RFID tags is mounted in a metallic container that is connected to the housing. The RF antenna radiates RF energy at a frequency greater than 900 MHz through RF excitation slots formed between the container and the housing.
Claims20
An arrangement for processing products associated with targets to be read, the arrangement comprising:
- a window constituted of a material transmissive to light;
- a housing for supporting the window, the housing having housing walls constituted of an electrically conductive material;
- an electro-optical reader supported by the housing and operative for reading the targets configured as bar code symbols by detecting return light returning from the symbols and passing through the window;
- a container mounted exteriorly of the housing in a mounted position, the container having container walls constituted of an electrically conductive material, the electrically conductive container walls bounding at least one radio frequency (RF) excitation slot with the electrically conductive housing walls in the mounted position;
- and
- an RF identification (RFID) reader including an RF antenna mounted in the container and operative for radiating and receiving RF electromagnetic energy at a frequency greater than 900 MHz, the RFID reader being operative for reading the targets configured as RFID tags by transmitting the RF energy radiated by the RF antenna and reflected by the electrically conductive container walls through the at least one RF excitation slot away from the container to the tags, and by detecting return RF energy returning from the tags through the at least one RF excitation slot and received by the RF antenna in the container.
A method of processing products associated with targets to be read, the method comprising:
- supporting a window constituted of a material transmissive to light on a housing having housing walls constituted of an electrically conductive material;
- electro-optically reading the targets configured as bar code symbols by detecting return light returning from the symbols and passing through the window;
- mounting a container having container walls constituted of an electrically conductive material exteriorly of the housing in a mounted position;
- spacing the electrically conductive container walls away from the electrically conductive housing walls in the mounted position to bound at least one radio frequency (RF) excitation slot;
- and
- mounting in the container an RF antenna for radiating and receiving RF electromagnetic energy at a frequency greater than 900 MHz;
- reading the targets configured as RF identification (RFID) tags by transmitting the RF energy radiated by the RF antenna and reflected by the electrically conductive container walls through the at least one RF excitation slot away from the container to the tags, and by detecting return RF energy returning from the tags through the at least one RF excitation slot and received by the RF antenna in the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.