Abstract:
Described is an illumination arrangement for an imager. A device comprises a scanning engine, a housing with the scanning engine residing inside the housing and an illumination arrangement coupled to the housing providing illumination for the scanning engine. The illumination has a direct line of sight to an object at which the scanning engine is directed.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to illumination arrangements for imagers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Optical devices such as scanners and imagers are relied on for business and personal use in a wide variety of applications. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, it is recommended that the imagers use adequate illumination to generate an image. The quality of the image generated by an imager is affected by the amount of illumination. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to an illumination arrangement for an imager. A device comprises a scanning engine, a housing with the scanning engine residing inside the housing and an illumination arrangement coupled to the housing providing illumination for the scanning engine. The illumination has a direct line of sight to an object at which the scanning engine is directed. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an optical device including an illumination arrangement placed in the molding of the optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  shows a view of a front side of the optical device of  FIG. 1  with the illumination arrangement in the molding of the optical device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of the front side of the optical device of  FIG. 1  with the illumination arrangement in the molding of the optical device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0007]    The present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiment of the present invention describes a system for an illumination arrangement for hand-held optical devices. The illumination feature is embedded in a mold of the scanner near the image scanning engine and outside a protective window according to the present invention. The use of the illumination arrangement along with its advantages will be discussed in detail below. The illumination feature will be described in regard to a hand-held arrangement for an image based scanning device. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this device is exemplary only and that the exemplary illumination arrangement may be applied to any device that requires illumination. It should be noted that the hand-held device may be mobile or stationary. 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows an optical device  10  including an illumination arrangement  26  placed in the molding  20  of the optical device  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The optical device  10 , which in this embodiment is an imager, includes a window  12  mounted in a housing  14  which includes, for example, a pistol grip  16 , a scanning actuator  18 , and a molding  20 . A protective window  12  is held in the molding  20 , which is a part of the housing  14 . The protective window  12  is placed to provide a primary guard to a scanning engine  22 . The scanning engine  22  for an imager may be, for example, a camera. The scanning engine  22  is often costly relative to the components of the mobile device. Furthermore, if the scanning engine  22  is damaged, the mobile device becomes useless. Scanning engines  22  for laser based scanners and image based scanners both operate by scanning an object. Therefore, a clear line of sight is necessary. In order to allow the scanning engine  22  to operate, the protective window  12  is composed of a transparent material. The protective window  12  is often made of a scratch-resistant glass or a durable plastic. 
         [0009]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the scanning engine  22  is mounted on the housing  14  along with supporting electronics, a battery, etc. It should again be noted that the scanning engine  22  for an imager may be, for example, a camera. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the position of the scanning engine  22  relative to the window  12  is determined based on the properties of the scanning engine  22 , the window  12  and the desired functionality of the device  10 . Specifically, the optical properties of the window  12  and the scanning engine  22  dictating an optimal distance between a forward end of the scanning engine  22  (i.e., side that faces the window  12 ) and an inner face of the window  12  and, consequently, determining the size of a space within the housing forward of the forward end of the scanning engine  22 . 
         [0010]      FIG. 2  shows a view of a front side of the optical device  10  with the illumination arrangement  26  in the molding  20  of the optical device  10  according to the embodiment of the present invention. According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the illumination arrangement  26  is embedded in the molding  20  of the optical device  10 . The illumination arrangement  26  may include one or more light emitting components (LECs). For example, the LECs may be light bulbs, LEDs, etc. Specifically, the molding  20  is manufactured to include the illumination arrangement  26 . While the term embedded has been used to describe the illumination arrangement  26 , this does not mean that the illumination arrangement  26  is necessarily inside or within the molding  20 . The illumination arrangement  20  may be within the molding  20  or it may be external to the molding  20 . The term embedded is used to indicate that the molding  20  may receive the illumination arrangement  26 . 
         [0011]    For example, in one embodiment, the molding  20  may be manufactured to include the necessary components for the illumination arrangement  26  such as connectors or appropriate holders for the LECS, electrical connections (e.g., wires, fuses) to connect the LECs to the power supply of the optical device  10 . The LECs may be held below or flush with the outer surface of the molding  20  or may extend out from the outer surface of the molding  20 . 
         [0012]    In another embodiment, the illumination arrangement  26  may be a self contained component that is, for example, manufactured in the shape of the molding  20 , but includes all the necessary components to provide illumination. The molding  20  may then include a connector to connect the illumination arrangement  26  to the molding  20 . The connector may be both an electrical connector to provide power to the LECS and a mechanical connector to securely fasten the illumination arrangement  26  to the molding  20 . In this embodiment, the illumination arrangement  26  may be releasably connected to the molding  20 . 
         [0013]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate an exemplary embodiment where a predetermined number (e.g., 4-16) of LECs are embedded in the molding  20 . It should be noted that the use of, for example, six LECs is exemplary only and that other illumination arrangements  26  exist. For example, the number of LECs may depend on the strength (e.g., wattage, lumens, etc.) per LEC. In another example, the number of LECs may depend on the purpose of the optical device  10 , such as using the optical device  10  to cover a wide area for a scan that may require more LECs compared to covering a small area that may only require a few LECs. It should be noted that the above described use of LECs in the illumination arrangement  26  is exemplary only and that the configuration may depend on various other criteria that is subjective to a user. 
         [0014]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of the front side of the optical device  10  with the illumination arrangement  26  in the molding  20  of the optical device  10  according to the embodiment of the present invention. According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the illumination arrangement  26  is embedded in the molding  20  of the optical device  10 . It should again be noted that the term embedded is used to indicate that the molding  20  may receive the illumination arrangement.  FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary embodiment where the light produced by the LECs do not pass through the window  12 . As discussed above, the scanning engine  22  is located behind the window  12  in an optimal distance. That is, the scanning engine  22  is located internal to the window  12  and the illumination arrangement  26  is located external to the window  12 . 
         [0015]    A user may activate the illumination arrangement  26  through several ways. For example, the user may depress the scanning actuator  18 . Using the scanning actuator  18  affords further options in terms of how the illumination arrangement  26  functions. For example, the scanning actuator  18  may be designed so that a processor (not shown) determines the amount that a user depresses the scanning actuator  18 . The amount of depression determines the amount of illumination that a user desires. The amount of illumination (or illumination level) may be controlled by, for example, the amount of power provided to the LECs, turning on selected ones of the LECs, etc. Another example of activating the illumination arrangement  26  is the user may turn on a switch (not shown) that activates the illumination arrangement  26 . The switch may simply be an on/off switch or it may be a dial. The dial may function similarly to the scanning actuator  18  in that the amount of illumination may be set by the user. In addition to a user personally activating the illumination arrangement  26 , the optical device  10  may also activate the illumination arrangement automatically, for example, upon turning on the device or anticipating when the scanning engine  22  will be utilized. 
         [0016]    The illumination arrangement  26  embedded in the molding  20  affords many advantages to the user. Specifically, there is no light attenuation nor internal reflection of the light associated with components of the optical device (e.g., the protective window  12 ). That is, the light from the LECs mounted in the molding  20  has a direct line of sight to the object to be scanned when the scanning window  12  is pointed at the object. In addition, the molding  20  offers a significant amount of space to mount the LECs, thereby allowing a large number of LECs if needed. 
         [0017]    Furthermore, the replacement of the LECs may be done efficiently because the LECs are essentially external to the optical device  10 . The seals of the optical device  10  (e.g., created by the protective window  12  and the molding  20 /housing  14 ) need not be opened for LEC replacement. Thus, LECs may be replaced at the user location without any damage or breaking of factory seals for the optical device  10 . In addition, because the user can replace or remove LECs as needed, the illumination pattern created by the illumination arrangement  26  is controllable by the user based on the removal or addition of LECs. For example, the producer of an optical device  10  may have different models with different scanning engines  22  (e.g., camera, laser scanner, etc.). However, the housing  14  may be similar for each of the models, e.g., the molding  20  may include the same number and locations for embeddable LECS. Depending on the type of scanning engine  22 , the producer may insert LECs into the illumination arrangement  26  in a pattern that is optimal for the individual scanning engine  22 . Furthermore, the user may have the ability to alter this pattern by removal or addition of LECs based on the environment in which the optical device  10  is being used. 
         [0018]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.