Patent ID: 6328215
Filing Date: 2001-12-11
Classification: B82Y,G02B,G06K,G07F,G07G

Abstract:
A method of automatically identifying packages during manual package sortation operations, comprising the steps of:(a) supporting a laser scanning system above a workspace environment of 3-D spatial extent occupied by a human operator involved in the manual sortation of packages bearing bar code symbols, said laser scanning system including a housing having a light transmission aperture, and a laser scanning pattern generator disposed within said housing;(b) projecting from said laser scanning pattern generator, and through said light transmission aperture, an omnidirectional laser scanning pattern substantially confined within the spatial extent of a predefined 3-D scanning volume and spatially encompassing a substantial portion of said workspace environment occupied by said human operator; and(c) transporting a package bearing a bar code symbol through said workspace environment occupied by said human operator so that said omnidirectional laser scanning pattern automatically reads the bar code symbol on said package, and said laser scanning system automatically produces symbol character data representative of said read bar code symbol and the identity of said package; and(d) manually sorting said package identified during step (c) within said workspace environment of 3-D spatial extent occupied by said human operator.