US 5,708,418 AGranted

Optical reading system

AssigneeAlps Electric Co., Ltd.

InventorsSatoshi Ushida, Junichi Ouchi, Tsutomu Kanno, Hisashi Murata, Kazuo Hasegawa

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Abstract

An optical reading system including a warning sound for preventing theft of a portable optical reading apparatus (scanner). A timer is activated when movement of the scanner is detected by a movement detection device mounted on the scanner, indicating that the scanner has been lifted (moved) from a stationary condition. A user determination unit determines whether the movement of the scanner is caused by an authorized user. When the user is an authorized person, a timer is reset. When the timer is not reset during a predetermined time period, a warning sound is generated at a sound level which changes from a low sound level to a loud sound level over a period of time unless a predetermined operation is performed. In one embodiment, a second warning sound is generated at a stationary receiving station when the scanner does not respond to a polling signal.

Claims7

Dependent claims

An optical reading system comprising:

detecting means for detecting movement of a portable optical reading apparatus from a stationary condition;
and
warning means for generating a warning sound when, after it has been detected by said detecting means that the portable optical reading apparatus has been moved, a predetermined operation is not performed within a predetermined time period;
wherein said predetermined operation involves a plurality of operations which have different degrees of difficulty in relation to time after the lifting movement of the portable optical reading apparatus, said warning means generates a warning sound at a low sound level when, after it has been detected by said detecting means that the portable optical reading apparatus has been moved, none of said plurality of operations has been performed within said predetermined time period, and after the passage of said predetermined time period, said warning means generates a warning sound at a relatively louder sound level when an operation having a relatively high degree of difficulty from among said plurality of operations is not performed.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.