Scan module for optical scanning devices for reading optical information

Abstract: To reduce the size and weight of an optical scanner, the present invention provides a mirrorless beam scanning unit. In some embodiments, the light emitter itself moves back and forth, and in other embodiments the objective lens reciprocates laterally in front of the light emitter. For example, a flexible support structure, such as one or more strips of mylar (315,317), movably mounts the objective lens (311) in front of the light emitter (332). The objective lens is laterally reciprocated in response to a motive force, for example as might be applied by a combination of a permanent magnet (325) coupled to the objective lens and a fixedly mounted electromagnet (321,323) driven by an alternating current signal. Reciprocation of the objective lens during emission of light by the light emitter causes the light to scan a surface, such as a surface bearing a bar code label.

Description: Technical Field The present invention relates to optical scanners for optically reading information, such as bar codes. In particular, this invention relates to small light weight scanner structures which do not require a moving mirror to scan a light beam across the information. Background Art Optical readers, such as bar code readers, are now quite common. Typically, a bar code comprises a series of encoded symbols, and each symbol consists of a series of light and dark regions, typically in the form of rectangles. The widths of the dark regions, the bars, and/or the widths of the light spaces between the bars indicate the encoded information. A bar code reader illuminates the code and senses light reflected from the code to detect the widths and spacings of the code symbols and derive the encoded data. Bar code reading type data input systems improve the efficiency and accuracy of data input for a wide variety of applications. The ease of data input in such systems facilitates more frequent and detailed data input, for example to provide efficient inventories, tracking of work in progress, etc. To achieve these advantages, however, users or employees must be willing to consistently use the bar code readers. The readers therefore must be easy and convenient to operate. A variety of scanning devices are known. One particularly advantageous type of reader is an optical scanner which scans a beam of light, such as a laser beam, across the symbols. In a typical optical scanner system, a light source such as a laser generates a light bean which is optically modified to form a beam spot of a certain size at the working distance and is directed by optical components along a light path toward a bar code symbol located in the vicinity of the working distance for reflection from the symbol. A photodetector having a field of view extending across and slightly past the symbol detects light of variable intensity reflected off the symbol and generates electrical signals indicative of the detected light. A scanning component is situated in the light path. The scanning component may either sweep the beam spot across the symbol and trace a scan line across and past the symbol, or scan the field of view of the photodetector, or do both. A digitizer, associated with or included in the scanner, processes the analog signal to produce a pulse signal where the widths and spacings between the pulses correspond to the widths of the bars and the spacings between the bars. The digitizer serves as an edge detector or wave shaper circuit, and the threshold value set by the digitizer determines what points of the analog signal represent bar edges. The pulse signal from the digitizer is applied to a decoder. The decoder first determines the pulse widths and spacings of the signal from the digitizer. The decoder then analyzes the widths and spacings to find and decode a legitimate bar code message. This includes analysis to recognize legitimate characters and sequences, as defined by the appropriate code standard. This may also include an initial recognition of the particular standard the scanned symbol conforms to. This recognition of the standard is typically referred to as autodiscrimination. Often the particular application for the bar code reader requires that the optical scanner be constructed in the form of a handheld unit, typically in the form of a pistol. The user points the scanner at the object and operates a trigger to activate the scanning of the bar code. In these handheld units, a light source, such as a visible laser diode (hereinafter VLD) emits a beam of light. To scan the beam across an image, the beam is reflected from a mirror and the mirror is moved in an oscillatory fashion. The oscillation of the mirror causes the reflected beam to scan back and forth in a desired pattern. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,251,798 discloses a rotating polygon having a planar mirror at each side, each mirror tracing a scan line across the symbol. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,387,297 and 4,409,470 both employ a planar mirror which is repetitively and reciprocally driven in alternate circumferential directions about a drive shaft on which the mirror is mounted. U.S. Patent No. 4,816,660 discloses a multi-mirror construction composed of a generally concave mirror portion and a generally planar mirror portion. The multi-mirror construction is repetitively reciprocally driven in alternate circumferential directions about a drive shaft on which the multi-mirror construction is mounted. In optical scanners of the type discussed above, the mirror and means to oscillate the mirror add size and weight to the handheld scanner. EP-A-0 341 717 discloses a mirrorless optical scanner, and EP-A-0 513 530 discloses incorporation of such a scanner in a modular scanner component system. The system comprises movable laser, optical and sensor components, one of these components is mounted by the mirrorless scanner arrangement on a drive for repetetively reciprocating movement either about an axis or in a plane to effect scanning The system facilitates use of the scanner in a variety of different housing configurations. With respect to the prior art further attention is drawn to EP-A-0 541 065 which discloses a known bar code scanning arrangement as described with respect to Fig. 1-3. This document was also used to draft the preamble of claim 1. Disclosure of the Invention Objectives The objective of this invention is to facilitate the electrical connection of the movable light emitter and to improve the drive means for oscillating the light emitter in a scan module. A further objective is to produce a durable robust scanning system at a relatively low cost. Summary The invention provides a scan module as set forth in claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are claimed in the dependent claims. The invention provides a flexible flat wire cable to connect to a movably mounted light emitter. The light emitter can be one mounted for reciprocal movement, alternately, the moveable light emitter could be a laser diode or the like mounted on the output shaft of a motor. The scanning module is incorporated into a scanning unit. The scanning unit includes one of the above discussed modules, to produce a moving beam for optically scanning a surface on which encoded indicia of varying reflectivity are formed. The scanning unit also includes a photodetector for sensing light reflected from the scanned surface and producing a proportional electrical signal. Brief Description of Drawings Figure 1 is an isometric view of a known mirrorless scanner, wherein the light emitter reciprocates. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the rotational arc of the emitter oscillation and the direction in which light is emitted by the emitter of Fig 1. Figure 3 is an isometric view of a second known mirrorless scanner, wherein the light detector also reciprocates. Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the invention, wherein a flexible flat wire cable is used to provide the lead wire connection to the laser diode. Figure 5 shows a similar embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 shows a moving spot optical scanner for reading bar codes. Figure 1 depicts a known mirrorless scanning unit 1, to which the present invention is applicable. A light emitter, such as a visible laser diode or VLD 11, emits a beam of light to generate a scan line. The VLD 11 may be mounted on the pivotable shaft of a motor or on any material means capable of producing oscillating motion. The VLD 11 is attached to the top end of a rotatable or pivotable shaft 13. The shaft 13 is pivotably mounted in a scanner base 50. The shaft can be installed either on any known type of bearing or just to rotate in the plastic body of base 50. The VLD 11 and shaft 13 together form a moving assembly 10 for scanning the beam of light from the VLD type light emitter. The moving assembly 10 also includes a collar 12 and a lever arm 14 attached to the shaft 13. A force applied to the end of lever arm 14 produces the oscillatory movement of assembly 10, as will be discussed later. The collar 12 secures the VLD 11 to the moving assembly 10. The VLD 11 is secured at a point atop of the shaft 13, such that the VLD 11 is effectively located on the pivot axis of the shaft 13 and aligned to emit light in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. Other arrangements of the VLD and shaft are possible. For example, the VLD could be located at a position offset from the axis. Also, the collar could support the VLD at an angle with respect to the shaft. Figure 2 illustrates the relationship of the motion and light emission of the VLD 11 to the axis of the shaft 13. The short rotational arc o about the shaft axis represents the back and forth pivotal oscillation of the VLD 11. The VLD 11 emits light in direction ℓ toward a targeted object, such as a bar code (not shown). As the VLD 11 of assembly 10 oscillates back and forth through the small rotational arc o, the emitted light ℓ will scan back and forth across the targeted image. Typically, the targeted image will be an indicia having varying reflective characteristics which represent information. For example, the image code comprises a series of bars, with spaces therebetween, which together form a bar code symbol. As shown in Figure 1, three thin wires 15 connect the leads of the VLD 11 on one side to a stationary holder 17 on the other. The wires 15 are attached to an intermediate fixing point 16 atop the collar 12. The point 16 is located on the axis of the oscillation of moving assembly 10 and shaft 13 to minimize tension on the lead wires due to the zero linear speed at that point. Alternatively, the wires could be slack and hang loose or be coiled, so long as the wires provide a flexible connection to the oscillating VLD. A variety of devices can be used to provide the force to oscillate the moving assembly 10 about the axis of shaft 13. In the illustrated case the oscillation of the assembly is provided by a so-called induced magnetization motor (hereinafter IMM). The IMM type motor has been disclosed on Dec. 1, 1992 in US-A-5 168 149. In that document the IMM oscillated a scanning mirror. In the IMM type motor, a restoring force is provided by the combination of a fixed position core and coil with a moveable permanent magnet. If the permanent magnet is mounted on the end of a lever arm attached to a rotatable shaft, the force takes the form of a torque about the axis of the shaft. In the present case of the IMM, a core 21 comprises a bobbin around which the coil 23 is wound such that the core and coil are entirely concentric to minimize size and weight. The permanent magnet 25 is rigidly mounted at the end of the lever arm 14 of the moving assembly 10. Location of the permanent magnet 25 at a distance from the axis of the shaft 13 causes the magnetic force applied to the lever arm 14 through the permanent magnet 25 to produce a torque about the axis of the shaft 13. The core 21 is made of a soft steel to prevent residual magnetization and is magnetically neutral in this case. When there is no current through the coil 23, axially magnetized permanent magnet 25, which is attached to the moving assembly through the lever arm, positions itself above the central axis of the core 21 by the attraction of the magnet 25 to the steel of the core 21. Thus, with no current flowing through coil 23, the moving assembly returns to its rest position at the center of its rotational arc, i.e. facing straight forward. When a current is introduced through the coil 23, interaction between magnetic fields of the coil and the permanent magnet 25 causes the magnet (with the attached moving assembly) to move from an equilibrium position. As a result of such motion, however, the core becomes increasingly magnetized, thus creating a force (two unlike magnetic poles phenomena) which is trying to bring the permanent magnet 25 and the assembly 10 back to the rest position. The magnitude of this force depends on the amount of current through the coil 23, the airgap size between the permanent magnet 25 and a core surface, the size and the material of the core 21, etc. Reversing the polarity of the applied current will reverse the directions of the magnetic forces at work within the IMM. Therefore, if the current applied to the coil takes the form of a cyclical AC signal, such as a sin wave, a pulse signal, a triangular wave, etc., the induced magnetic forces will produce an oscillatory movement of the permanent magnet 25 and the attached moving assembly 10. Although the IMM is preferred for the device of Figure 1, other arrangements could produce the necessary oscillatory motion. For example, the VLD 11 could be installed on the rotating shaft of a motor (see, e.g., Figure 5). Also, if the IMM is used, other arrangements for mounting the VLD and connecting the moving assembly to the IMM are possible. For example, in place of the shaft and lever arm arrangement shown in the drawings, the permanent magnet and VLD could both be mounted on a moveable or flexible bridge support directly over the bobbin coil so that the permanent magnet and VLD oscillate laterally together in response to the cyclical AC signal applied to the bobbin coil. When used as a scanner for reading optically encoded information, such as a bar code, the scanner also includes a light detector, such as photodiode 31. As shown in Figure 1, the front of the scanner base 50 supports photodiode 31 in a position and orientation whereby light from the VLD 11 reflected by a scanned image impinges on the light sensitive area of photodiode 31. The photodiode 31 receives an amount of light reflected back from the target, e.g. a bar code label, and converts that reflected light into an electrical current. A filter, pre-amplification and amplification stages may be provided on a printed circuit board 60 shown attached to the bottom of the scanner base 50. The pre-amplification and amplification stages convert a current from photodiode 31 into an electrical signal to be sent to digitizer and the rest of a processing circuitry contained in a separate unit. A trigger button 33 is mounted on one side of the unit. A user operates button 33 to activate the unit. In a device actually built, the mirrorless scanning unit was only 1" long, by 1.25" high, by 0.625" wide. The exterior dimensions of a housing containing the mirrorless scanner are 1.1" long, by 1.4" high, by 0.7" wide. It takes only 13.5 mA and 3.5V to operate the mirrorless scanner. Scan angle is ±20°. Unit weight is less than one ounce (27.5 grams). Such a small scanner unit could easily be worn on a finger like an ordinary ring, leaving the operator's hands (including that finger) absolutely free. The working range or decode zone can be changed by refocusing the VLD (for the beginning of the working range) and by the installation of a Fresnel lens in front of the photodiode or by using a photodiode with a larger sensitivity and active area. Figure 3 shows a second known mirrorless scanner. The scanner 1' of Figure 3 is generally similar to the scanner 1 shown in Figure 1, and like reference numerals indicate corresponding elements of the scanner in each drawing. As shown in Figure 3, two thin wires 15' connect the leads of the photodiode 31' to the stationary holder 17'. The wires 15' are attached to the intermediate fixing point 16 atop the collar 12 in the same manner as the wires 15 from VLD 11. In Figure 3, the photodiode 31' oscillates with the VLD 11. The photodiode 31' is located on the front of the moving assembly 10 directly below the VLD 11. The photodiode 31', like VLD 11, oscillates back and forth through a short rotational arc about the axis of shaft 13. The receptor photodiode 31' therefore closely tracks the motion of the oscillating emitter, VLD 11. As described so far, the laser diode VLD 11 by itself or the VLD 11 and photodetector 31' turn about an axis to effect a scanning or sweeping action. Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the invention. In Figure 4, the wire leads of Fig. 1 are replaced with a flat flexible multi-wire cable 15', often referred to as a "flex-cable," to provide the lead wire connection to the visible laser diode VLD 11. Typically the "flex-cable" might comprise a flat strip of Kaptan material with wires embedded therein. The flexible multi-wire cable 15' provides a durable connection which is not susceptible to breakage due to repeated flexure during oscillation of the laser diode. Also, the multi-wire cable provides part or all of the restoring force necessary to operate the device. The multi-wire cable can take any of a number of forms and will typically comprise a flexible flat wire cable. Any other flexible flat wire cable could be used so long as the structure provides sufficient flexibility. Figure 5 also shows an embodiment of the beam scanner module using a flexible flat wire cable and Figure 6 illustrates a handheld bar code reader incorporating that beam scanner module. The handheld arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 comprises a hand-held housing 1250 containing a lightweight, high-speed, miniature scanning motor 1220 similar to that described in U.S. Patent No. 4,496,831. In this bar code reader, the housing 1250 is cylindrical, like the housing of a flashlight or a ball point pen. Because of the small size of the scanning module and associated electronics, the housing 1250 may have a diameter of one inch or less. A base 1214 supports the scanning motor 1220. A printed circuit board 1248 supports a switch 1262 actuated by depression of trigger 1260, and control circuitry 1224 for providing the drive signals necessary to operate the laser and to control operation of the motor. The output shaft 1222 of the motor 1220 extends through an opening in circuit board 1248. The motor 1220 repetitively drives output shaft 1222 in alternate circumferential directions over arc lengths less than 360° in each direction about an axis along which the shaft extends. U.S. Patent No. 4,496,831 provides structural, functional and operational details of the motor 1220 and of the associated motor control circuitry 1224. A U-shaped or circular support structure 1226 is mounted at the end of the shaft 1222 of motor 1220. Figure 5, for example, shows a circular support 1226' surrounding the laser emitter and optics assembly 1228. A flexible flat wire cable 1215 electrically connects the laser emitter and optics assembly 1228 to circuit board 1248. In the optical reader of Figure 6, the U-shaped structure 1226 supports the laser emitter and optics assembly 1228. As the motor 1220 repetitively drives output shaft 1222 in alternate circumferential directions, the subassembly 1228 and the support structure 1226 jointly oscillate and turn with the shaft 1222. The subassembly 1228 includes an elongated hollow tube 1230, a laser diode 1232 fixedly mounted at one axial end region of the tube 1230, and a lens barrel 1234 mounted at the opposite axial end region of the tube 1230. The lens barrel contains a focusing lens (not shown); and the lens barrel may provide an aperture stop, if necessary, to define the beam diameter and thereby the effective sensing spot of the scanner. The focusing lens is preferably a plano-convex lens, but may be spherical, convex or cylindrical. U.S. Patent No. 4,816,660 describes the subassembly 1228 in detail. The solid state laser diode 1232, of the subassembly 1228, generates an incident laser beam, either in the invisible or visible light range. The lens focuses the laser beam such that the beam cross-section or beam spot will have a certain waist size at distances within a working range relative to the housing 1250. The focused beam passes along path A through the window 1252; and during the alternate, repetitive oscillations of the shaft 1222, as the support 1226 and the subassembly 1228 concurrently oscillate, the beam spot sweeps in an arc across the encoded information or bar code symbol. A portion of the light reflected off the symbol passes along a return path B back through the window 1250 to a photodetector 1244. Photodetector 1244 senses the variable intensity of the returning portion of the reflected laser light and generates an electrical analog signal indicative of the detected variable light intensity. In the illustrated embodiment, the photodetector 1244 is stationarily mounted on the circuit board 1246, but could be mounted on the support structure 1226 for oscillation with the laser and optics subassembly 1228, in a similar manner as shown in Fig. 3. Printed circuit boards 1248 and 1250, on either side of the board 1246, contain signal processing circuitry 1252 and microprocessor circuitry 1253 for converting the analog electrical signal to a digital pulse signal and for deriving data representative of scanned bar code symbols from the digital pulse signal. A multi-wire cable 1254 electrically connects the signal processing circuitry and the microprocessor. Alternatively, in addition to the control circuitry 1224 for controlling operation of motor 1220 and the laser diode 1232, the printed circuit board 1248 may contain the signal processing circuitry and the microprocessor control circuitry. A battery pack 1258, mounted at the rear of housing 1250, supplies power for the scanning motor and all circuitry of the handheld bar code scanner arrangement. To scan encoded information using the cylindrical handheld scanner, the user points the tip of the scanner at the information and activates the trigger button 1260. The laser diode 1232 emits a beam which scans the encoded information, and the photodetector 1244 outputs an analog electrical signal representative of any scanned symbols. A digitizer provided within signal processing circuitry 1252 processes the analog signal to produce a pulse signal where the widths and spacings between the pulses correspond to the widths of the bars and the spacings between the bars. The pulse signal from the digitizer is applied to the microprocessor 1253 for decoding. The microprocessor decoder first determines the pulse widths and spacings of the signal from the digitizer and then analyzes the widths and spacings to find and decode a legitimate bar code message. Typically, a cable carries the digital data representing the decoded characters to an associated computer or terminal (not shown).

Claims: A scan module comprising: a light emitter (11); a flexible cable (15', 1215) electrically connected to the light emitter (11) for supplying electrical power thereto and means for producing oscillating movement of the light emitter (11) for scanning a beam of light from the emitter (11) back and forth across a surface on which indicia of varying light reflectivity are formed, characterised in that: the flexible cable is a flat wire cable (15', 1215), the flat wire cable forming part of said means for producing oscillating movement and is arranged to provide a restoring force necessary for moving the light emitter (11) in one scanning direction. A scan module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light emitter (11) is a laser diode for emitting light as a laser beam toward the surface on which a bar code symbol is present. A scan module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flat flexible wire cable (15', 1215) includes a generally planar strip of resilient material. A scan module according to claim 3, wherein the strip of resilient material has electrical wires embedded therein. A scan module according to any of the preceding claims wherein the flat flexible wire cable (15', 1215) is a generally planar, multi-wire cable having electrical conductors connected to the light emitter. A scan module as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a generally planar base (1248), wherein the flexible flat wire cable (15, 1215) has one end secured to the base (1248), the light emitter (11) has a rear wall, and the flexible flat wire cable (15, 1215) has an opposite end secured to the rear wall of the light emitter. A scan module as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for producing oscillating movement includes a drive shaft (1222) operatively connected to the light emitter (11) and a drive (1220) for oscillating the drive shaft in opposite circumferential directions. A scan module as claimed in claims 6 or 7, wherein the base (1248) is a printed circuit board having an opening, and wherein the drive shaft extends through the opening. A scan module as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for producing an oscillating movement of the light emitter (11) further comprise: a rotatable shalt (13) with the light emitter (11) mounted on the shaft; a lever arm (14) attached to the shaft; and means to move the lever arm back and forth at a desired scanning frequency for producing an oscillating movement of the light emitter (11) for scanning a beam of light from the emitter back and forth across an image at the desired scanning frequency. A scan module as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for producing oscillating movement of the light emitter (11) comprises a scanning motor (1220) having a rotatable shaft (1222) which rotates back and forth through an arc during scanning operations, wherein the light emitter (11) is mounted on the shaft (1222). A scan module as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising a photodetector (31) which is mounted on said means for producing oscillating movement with said light emitter (11). A hand held bar code reader, comprising: a housing (1250); and a scan module as set forth in any of the preceding claims within the housing.

Inventors: BARD SIMON, CHARYCH HAL, KATZ JOSEPH, LI YAJUN, METLITSKY BORIS, STRATIENCO ASKLOD, SWARTZ JEROME, BARD, SIMON, CHARYCH, HAL, KATZ, JOSEPH, LI, YAJUN, METLITSKY, BORIS, STRATIENCO, ASKLOD, SWARTZ, JEROME
Applicants: SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES INC, SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G06K7
IPC codes: G06K7, G02B26