US 5,710,728 A · Portable work station-type data collection system

Abstract

A portable data collection terminal system has a housing having a display screen with coincident graphic data input and a keyboard on the frontal side thereof. An accessory pod, having a width less than the width of the display screen and a handgrip extension adapted to hold a selected accessory device, such as a laser scanner, is disposed on the housing, opposite said frontal side. The accessory pod has one or two activation, diaphragm-type switches disposed in a pod wall disposed transversely to the handgrip extension and extending outwardly from, opposite the frontal side, the housing. The switch or switches are connected in parallel, if more than one, and are disposed near an end of the pod wall such that they are operable by either a user's thumb or finger.

Claims45

Dependent claims

Data terminal apparatus comprising:

(a) power means for operating said apparatus;
(b) a housing including, in the face thereof, a first portion having a display screen and a second portion having a keyboard having a plurality of keys, said housing further including an accessory panel having a handgrip portion, which has a width less than that of said first portion and which has a remote scanner adapted to read indicia disposed on a surface external and separate from said apparatus such that the apparatus does not contact the surface external and separate from said apparatus during scanning thereof;
(c) pen activated digitizing data input structure means, including an underlay disposed adjacent to said display screen;
and
(d) circuit means including:
(1) means for shutting down said apparatus during periods of inactivity, said circuit means including non-volatile memory means and further including means for trapping input-output instructions of said apparatus and for storing said input-output instructions in said non-volatile memory means, and
(2) means for recognizing, after said shutting down, a first attempted input through any one of said plurality of keys as a command to resume operation instead of recognizing said first attempted input as an input of the function normally executed by the respective one of said plurality of keys.

4 more elements

A portable data collection terminal comprising:

(a) a housing including a display screen having a screen area and a keyboard disposed in a frontal side of said housing;
said housing further including a non-volatile memory and at least two microprocessor devices, at least one of remains inactive;
which is a management microprocessor device and at least another one of which is an applications microprocessor device;
said display screen including graphic data input means disposed coincident with said screen area;
said housing further including an accessory pod including a handgrip extension pod for holding a selected one of a plurality of accessory devices, said handgrip extension pod having a width that is less than a width of said data collection terminal and being disposed on an underside of said data collection terminal and beneath said frontal side of said data collection terminal, whereby said display screen is protected from accidental contact by a user holding said data collection terminal by said handgrip extension pod;
(b) a power management circuit including means for saving electrical states wherein input and output device states are saved to said non-volatile memory of said housing;
said power management circuit further including means for efficiently distributing and controlling of operations between said at least two microprocessor devices;
(c) a communications interface circuit configured to operably provide shared bus communications and access between at least two of said at least two microprocessor devices;
(d) operation control means for controlling said data collection terminal by said management microprocessor device as said applications microprocessor device remains inactive;
(e) means for operably activating said applications microprocessor device;
and
(f) means for operably deactivating said applications microprocessor device such that control of said data collection terminal is operably returned to said management microprocessor device.

9 more elements

A portable data collection system, comprising:

(a) a data terminal having:
(1) a housing including a display screen having a screen area and a keyboard disposed in a frontal side of said housing;
said housing further including a non-volatile memory, at least two microprocessor devices including a lower-power-consuming management microprocessor device and a higher-power applications microprocessor device, and an internal power source;
said display screen including graphic data input means disposed coincident with said screen area;
said housing further including an accessory pod including a handgrip extension pod for holding a selected one of a plurality of accessory devices, said handgrip extension pod having a width that is less than a width of said data collection terminal and being disposed on an underside of said data collection terminal and beneath said frontal side of said data collection terminal, whereby said display screen is protected from accidental contact by a user holding said data collection terminal by said handgrip extension pod;
(2) a power management circuit including means for saving electrical states whereby input and output device states are saved to said nonvolatile memory of said housing;
said power management circuit further including means for efficiently distributing and controlling operations between said at two microprocessor devices;
(3) a communications interface circuit configured to operably provide shared bus communications and access between at least two of said at least two microprocessor devices;
(4) operation control means configured such that said data terminally controlled by said lower-power-consuming management microprocessor device as said higher-power applications microprocessor device remains inactive;
(5) means for operably deactivating said applications microprocessor device;
and
(6) means for operably deactivating said applications microprocessor device such that control of said data collection terminal is operably returned to said management microprocessor device;
and
(b) a docking device with at least one docking cavity for receiving and removably retaining said data terminal during storage, data transfer and battery charging operations of said data terminal.

11 more elements

A data collection terminal comprising:

(a) a housing sized to provide hand-held portability during use of the data collection terminal;
said housing including an accessory, pod having a handgrip extension pod for holding a selected one of a plurality of accessory devices, said handgrip extension pod having a width that is less than a width of said data collection terminal and being disposed on an underside of said data collection terminal;
(b) a battery power source, disposed in said housing and configured to provide operating power for the data collection terminal;
(c) a first central processor that is configured to operably execute an application program for collecting data;
(d) a second central processor configured to communicatively interconnect with said first central processor, to monitor operations of said data collection terminal;
and to selectively control said battery power source such that operating power is removed from and delivered to said first central processor;
and
(e) a non-volatile storage device, responsive to said second central processor, that is configured to store data and state information of the data collection terminal while power is being delivered to said first central processor;
and
(f) wherein said second central processor, when reestablishing delivery of operating power to said first central processor, is further configured to utilize said non-volatile storage device to restore the data and state information of the data collection terminal so that execution of the application program is resumable by said first central processor.

7 more elements

A portable data terminal used to execute application programs and having a display screen and a user input device, the portable data terminal comprising:

(a) a battery power supply flint selectively delivers operating power to the portable data terminal;
(b) storage means for providing storage of information regardless of whether said battery power supply is delivering operating power to the portable data terminal;
(c) processor means for executing application programs, and, during such execution, said processor means exhibiting periods of activity and inactivity;
(d) input-output interface circuitry having a present operating condition;
(e) trapping means for detecting input-output instructions generated by said processor means that are being delivered to said input-output interface circuitry, said trapping means causing said detected input-output instructions to be stored in said storage means;
(f) control means for detecting periods of inactivity of said processor means, and, in response to such detection, said control means causing said battery power supply to terminate delivery of power to the portable data terminal;
(g) upon redelivery by said battery power supply of operating power to the portable data terminal, said input-output instructions stored in said storage means being used to restore said input-output interface circuitry to said present operating condition which existed immediately prior to said termination of power to the portable data terminal;
(h) a housing including an accessory pod having a handgrip extension pod for holding a selected one of a plurality of accessory devices configured to interact with said processor means, said handgrip extension pod having a width that is less than a width of said data collection terminal and being disposed on an underside of said data collection terminal.

5 more elements

A data terminal used to execute an application program and having a display screen and a user input device, the data terminal comprising:

(a) processing means for executing an application program, said processing means having registers for storing processing status information;
(b) volatile memory, communicatively interconnected with said processing means and configured to cooperatively assist said processing means in executing the application program by storing application program data;
(c) a power source contained within the data terminal wherein said power source is removable from the data terminal;
(d) storage means for storing information and maintaining information even though operating power to the data terminal may have been terminated;
(e) control means:
(1) for controlling the power source such that operating power to the data terminal may be selectively delivered or terminated:
(2) for monitoring said processing means during execution of the application program;
(3) for using said storage means to store copies of the application program data stored in said volatile memory and to store copies of the processing status information of said processing means while power is being delivered to the data terminal;
and
(4) after causing said power source to redeliver operating power to the data terminal, for causing the copying of the application program data stored in said storage means to said volatile memory and causing the copying of the processing status information contained in said storage means to said processing means;
and
(f) a housing including an accessory pod having a handgrip extension pod for holding a selected one of a plurality of accessory devices configured to interact with said processing means, said handgrip extension pod having a width that is less than a width of said data collection terminal and being disposed on an underside of said data collection terminal.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Portable work station-type data collection system

Life of this patent

Portable work station-type data collection system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims45