Patent ID: 6607133
Filing Date: 2003-08-19
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
An automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system comprising:(1) a hand-supportable housing supportable in or on the hand of a user, and having a light transmission aperture through which visible light can exit and enter said hand-supportable housing; (2) automatic scan data producing means in said hand-supportable housing for producing scan data from a bar code symbol on an object located within at least a portion of a laser scanning field definable relative to said hand-supportable housing, said automatic scan data producing means including (i) a laser beam producing means disposed in said hand-supportable housing for producing and projecting a laser beam through said light transmission aperture, (ii) scanning means for repeatedly scanning said laser beam across said laser scanning field and across said bar code symbol on said object, and (iii) laser light detecting means for detecting the intensity of laser light reflected off said bar code symbol and passed through said light transmission aperture and for automatically producing scan data indicative of said detected light intensity; (3) bar code symbol detection means in said hand-supportable housing for processing produced scan data so as to detect the presence of said bar code symbol on said object and to automatically generate a first control activation signal in response to the detection of said bar code symbol in said laser scanning field; (4) decode processing means in said hand-supportable housing for processing produced scan data so as to decode said bar code symbol on said object and for automatically producing symbol character data representative of said decoded bar code symbol, and each instant said bar code symbol is decoded, automatically generating a second control activation signal indicative of the production of said symbol character data; (5) a manually-actuable data transmission switch integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for producing a third control activation signal in response to the manual-actuation of said manually-actuable data transmission switch; (6) data transmission means in said hand-supportable housing, for transmitting said symbol character data to a host device operably connected to said automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system only in response to the occurrence of at least said second and third control activation signals; and (7) system control circuitry for automatically controlling the operation of said automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system in response to the generation of said first, second and third control activation signals, so that the symbol character data, produced substantially the same time when said third control activation signal is generated, is transmitted to said host device.