Patent ID: 6830189
Filing Date: 2004-12-14
Classification: B82Y,G02B,G06K,G07G,H01L,H01S

Abstract:
An automated package identification and measuring system comprising:a housing; a planar laser illumination and imaging (PLIIM) based bar code reading subsystem disposed in said housing, for reading bar codes on packages passing below or near said system so as to identify said packages, wherein said PLIIM based bar code reading subsystem includes (i) an image formation and detection module having imaging optics with a field of view (FOV) focused at an image detecting array, (ii) a planar laser illumination array having a plurality of planar laser illumination modules for producing a plurality of substantially planar laser beam components which are combined to produce a composite substantially planar laser illumination beam having substantially planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through said field of view so that laser light, reflected off said packages illuminated by said composite substantially planar laser illumination beam, is focused along said field of view and onto said image detecting array to form images of said illuminated packages as said packages move past said PLIIM based bar code reading subsystem, and (iii) an image processor for processing said images of said illuminated packages and reading one or more bar code symbols represented in each said image, so as to enable the identification of each illuminated package; and a package dimensioning subsystem disposed in said housing, for capturing information about the dimensions of said packages prior to being identified by said PLIIM-based bar code reading subsystem.