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US 4,064,390 AGranted
Method and apparatus for reading coded labels
AssigneeSpectra-Physics, Inc.
InventorsAlfred P. Hildebrand, Howard E. Morrow, Henry W. Jones
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AssigneeSpectra-Physics, Inc.
InventorsAlfred P. Hildebrand, Howard E. Morrow, Henry W. Jones
Estimating the term…
Method and apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station. A window is associated with the check-out station, together with means for supporting merchandise for movement past the window. A laser source having an output beam focused at a plane slightly beyond the window produces multiple vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3 having predetermined angular divergence and a horizontal beam H. Scanning optics, including a mirror wheel having a plurality of mirrors thereon, provides a raster location and a sub-raster location. Relay optics accept and inject the horizontal beam into the raster location movement of the wheel causing the horizontal movement of the H scan line at the window. The vertical beams impinge upon the sub-raster location from which the relay optics accept and inject the beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3 over to the raster location. The relay optics serve to transform the motion of the wheel at the sub-raster location into a vector cancelling the horizontal scanning component at the raster location while adding a resultant of the sub-raster scan into a point image with a purely angular scan component at the raster location. Gating means is provided for permitting only one of the beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3, or H to pass through the system at a time. Retrodirective viewing means receives reflective light from the area of impingement of the beam on the label, the reflected light being converted into electric signals indicative of the strength of reflection.
A method of reading coded labels on merchandise passing a window defining a short vertical dimension in the direction of movement of said merchandise and a longer horizontal dimension across the direction of movement thereof, creating a laser beam moving said beam sequentially in a pattern consisting of a plurality of substantially vertical scans interspersed with substantially horizontal scan, said horizontal scan being stable with respect to said window, said vertical scans being moved across said window by predetermined increments until said window area has been covered by said scans, retrodirectively scanning the horizontal path of travel of said beam to receive reflection variations from said label, developing an electrical signal indicative of said reflection variations.
Apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station comprising window means associated with said check-out station, means for supporting said merchandise for movement past said window means, a laser source having an output beam, means for focusing said beam at a plane slightly beyond said window, means for splitting said beam into multiple vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3 having a predetermined angular divergence and a horizontal beam H, scanning optics including a mirror wheel having a plurality of mirrors thereon, a raster location, a sub-raster location, relay optics including means for having an input for accepting and for injecting said horizontal beam onto said raster location, movement of said wheel causing said horizontal beam to scan a horizontal angle translatable into a horizontal movement of said H scan line, means for delivering said vertical beams to said sub-raster location, said relay optics means having another input for accepting and for injecting said vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, and V.sub.3 into said raster location, said relay optics means serving to transform motion of said wheel at said sub-raster location into a vector cancelling the horizontal scanning vector component at said raster location while adding a resultant vertical component thereto, and further serving to convert the resultant of the sub-raster scan into a point image with a purely angular scan component at the raster location, gating means for permitting only one of said beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3, H to pass through the system, and retrodirective viewing means for receiving reflected light from the area of impingement of said beam on a label, means for converting reflected light into electric signals indicative of the strength thereof.
In apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station including window means associated with said check-out station, means for supporting said merchandise for movement past said window means, a laser source having an output beam, scanning optics including means for moving said beam to generate a scan pattern of multiple vertical scans oriented in the direction of movement of said merchandise, said vertical scans being progressively shifted across to said window, and means for moving said beam to generate a horizontal scan for crossing said vertical scans at predetermined intervals, retrodirective viewing means for receiving reflected light from the area of impingement of said beam on said label, means for converting reflected light into electric signals indicative of the strength thereof.
A method of reading coded labels on merchandise passing a window defining a short vertical dimension in the direction of movement of said merchandise and a longer horizontal dimension across the direction of movement thereof, creating a laser beam, moving said beam sequentially in a pattern consisting of a plurality of substantially vertical scans interspersed with substantially horizontal scans, said vertical scans being moved across said window by predetermined increments until said window area has been covered by said scans, retrodirectively scanning the path of travel of said beam to receive reflection variations from said label, developing an electrical signal indicative of said reflection variations.
Apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station, means for supporting said merchandise for movement past said window means, a laser source having an output beam, means for focusing said beam at a plane slightly beyond said window, means for splitting said beam into multiple vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, . . . V.sub.n having a predetermined angular divergence and at least one horizontal beam H, scanning optics including a mirror wheel having a plurality of mirrors thereon, a raster location, movement of said wheel causing said horizontal beam to scan a horizontal angle translatable into a horizontal movement of said H scan line, means for delivering said vertical beams to said sub-raster location, said relay optics means having another input for accepting and for injecting said vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, . . . V.sub.n into said raster location, said relay optics means serving to transform motion of said wheel at said sub-raster location into a vector cancelling the horizontal scanning vector component at said raster location while adding a resultant vertical component thereto, and further serving to convert the resultant of the sub-raster scan into a point image with a purely angular scan component at the raster location, gating means for permitting only one of said beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, . . . V.sub.n, H to pass through the system, and retrodirective viewing means for receiving reflected light from the area of impingement of said beam on a label, means for converting reflected light into electric signals indicative of the strength thereof.
Apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station comprising means forming an elongate window opening positioned transversely of the path of travel of said merchandise with its major length perpendicular to said path, means for introducing a pencil beam of electromagnetic radiation along a movable path passing through said window and intersecting the region through which said merchandise will travel, means for moving said beam along a scan pattern intersecting said region said scan pattern comprising a plurality of short strokes dispersed over said window and generally aligned with the minor axis thereof and a plurality of horizontal strokes aligned along the major axis thereof, means for causing said vertical strokes to be progressively shifted by predetermined increments so as to evenly cover said window and for causing said horizontal strokes to be interspersed repetitively among said vertical strokes, means for retrodirectionally detecting the refelctivity of said beam as reflected from said merchandise.
A method for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station including an elongate window opening positioned transversely of the path of travel of merchandise at said station and having a major and minor axis associated therewith, said major axis being aligned transversely of the path of travel of said merchandise with respect to said path the steps of introducing a pencil beam of electromagnetic radiation along a movable path passing through said window and intersecting the region through which said merchandise will travel, moving said beam along a scan pattern intersecting said region said scan pattern including a plurality of short strokes dispersed over said window and generally aligned with the minor axis thereof and a plurality of horizontal strokes aligned along the major axis thereof, causing said vertical strokes to be progressively shifted by predetermined increments so as to progressively cover said window, causing said horizontal strokes to be interspersed repetitively among said vertical strokes, retrodirectionally detecting the reflectivity of said beam reflected from said merchandise.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.