US 5,627,366 AGranted

Optical scanner with extended depth of focus

AssigneeSymbol Technologies, Inc.

InventorJoseph Katz

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Abstract

A scanner with an extended depth of focus for electro-optically reading indicia having parts of different light reflectivity, comprises a collection optical system for collecting radiation reflected from objects in the field of view along plural different optical axes and an optical detector for detecting radiation collected by the collection optical system along each of the plural different optical axes and for generating electrical output signals indicative thereof. The scanner further includes processing circuitry for processing the output signals of the optical detector by comparing the output signals of the optical detector with one another, a memory for storing the detector output signals and further processing circuitry receiving the stored output signals of the optical detector from the memory and selectively outputting one of the received signals to a decoder.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A bar code reading device with an extended depth of focus for reading complete lines of bar code information by optically scanning light reflected from a bar code symbol having bars and spaces of different light reflectivity, said bar code reading device comprising:

a) a single integrated circuit comprising a plurality of independently addressable charge-coupled device detectors, each of said detectors comprising an array of individual photosensors arranged so as to receive light reflected from the entirety of said bar code symbol without requiring any movement of the bar code reading device as a whole relative to the bar code symbol;
b) a plurality of lenses, each of said lenses having a focal length different from each other, each of said lenses associated with and focused on a corresponding one of said detectors so as to provide a plurality of lens/detector pairs, wherein each of said lens/detector pairs provides an optical axis different from and substantially parallel with each other;
c) processing means for selecting the lens/detector pair that provides a desired optical property when said bar code symbol is placed in a field of view of at least one of said lens/detector pairs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.