Abstract:
A body portion of an optical reader has an elastomeric skirt surrounding the lateral edges thereof. The laterally spaced front edges of the skirt, which are on either side of a window through which the light is emitted and received along an optical axis, are angled rearwardly from a plane normal to said axis. The front edges extend downwardly and forwardly from a front edge of the bottom wall of a body, and also extend forwardly from a front edge of the top wall of the body. These features allow the lower ends of the front edges of the skirt to be placed on a surface near the target to act as a fulcrum in rotating the handle of the scanner to selectively place the reader in close proximity to the target, while at the same time allowing the operator to view the target. An elastomeric collar is applied to the lower end of the handle such that when the scanning device is placed at rest in an unused condition, no matter what the rotational position with respect to the axis of the handle, the device will be supported at one elastomeric covered position on each of the handle and the skirt. Other features of the scanning device provide for a stable parking of the scanner when not in use and a substantial recessing of the front window to thereby protect it from contact with objects that may tend to scratch or damage the window.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is related to the applications enumerated below, all of which are being filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office contemporaneously herewith on Jan. 9, 2003 by Express Mail, and all of which are subject to assignment to the same assignee of this application, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety: Attorney Docket Number 283-361.02, entitled “Optical Reader System Comprising Digital Conversion Circuit;” Attorney Docket Number 283-368, entitled “Analog-to-Digital Converter with Automatic Range and Sensitivity Adjustment;” Attorney Docket Number 283-374.01, entitled “Decoder Board for an Optical Reader Utilizing a Plurality of Imaging Modules;” Attorney Docket Number 283-374.02, entitled “Manufacturing Methods for a Decoder Board for an Optical Reader Utilizing a Plurality of Imaging Formats;” and Attorney Docket Number 283-377, entitled “Optical Reader Having Position Responsive Decode Launch Circuit.” 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to optical readers, and more specifically to a housing therefor.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    In the use of optical reader devices of the type for reading bar codes, the preferred distance in which the reader is placed over and spaced from the bar code varies with the particular code type and also with particular type of reader. It is generally understood that the accuracy and reliability is improved as the reader is brought closer to the code to be scanned. Ideally, it is therefore desirable to be able to position the face of the reader in very close proximity to the code. But in doing so, it is also desirable that the operator be able to see the code. That is, just prior to the read being taken, the operator should be able to see the aiming line of the imager on the target in order to best align the reader with the target.  
           [0004]    With existing optical readers, the operators view is generally obstructed when the reader is brought into close proximity to the code. That is, because the front face of the reader is generally angled forwardly of a plane that is normal to the optical axis, the target is substantially covered up as the reader face is brought into close contact with the target.  
           [0005]    Another problem associated with optical readers is the tendency of the window to become scratched because of its prominent position at the front face of the reader. Damage can occur to the window during the normal course of scanning as the window comes in contact with the product being scanned, or it can occur during periods of non-use when the scanner is simply at rest on the counter, for example. In any case, any such scuffing or scratching damage to the window may cause for less reliable or improper readings and may necessitate the replacement of the window.  
           [0006]    Another thing that maybe affect the reliability and durability of the reader is the shock that may occur from repeatedly setting it down on the counter and/or dropping it from time to time. Although the casings are generally made from a material that is durable enough to withstand the dropping of a unit on a hard surface, the sensitive internal components, and even the outer casing, may be damaged by such treatment.  
           [0007]    It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an improved housing for an optical reader device.  
           [0008]    Another object of the present invention is the provision in an optical reader device for improved reliability in the scanning of targets at close proximity.  
           [0009]    Yet another object of the present invention is the provision in an optical reader device for allowing the operator to see the bar code while it is being scanned at a close distance.  
           [0010]    Still another object to the present invention is the provision in an optical reader device for protecting the front window from damage.  
           [0011]    Yet another object to the present invention is the provision in an optical reader for efficiently and effectively lining up the reader with a target when scanning at close distances.  
           [0012]    Still another object to the present invention is the provision for reducing damage that can occur to an optical reader by physical contact with hard surfaces.  
           [0013]    Still another object to the present invention is the provision for an optical reader device which is economical to manufacture and effective and efficient in use.  
           [0014]    These objects and other features and advantages become more readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0015]    Briefly, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, the front face of an optical reader is angled backwardly from a plane that is normal to the optical axis of the device, thereby improving the visibility of the target to the operator as the scan is being made at close distances.  
           [0016]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the front face of the scanner is constructed to include a pair of downwardly extending legs on the respective ends of the face such that they can be placed in contact with the target surface and act as a fulcrum for rotating the scanner handle upwardly to thereby allow the scanner face to be controllably brought into close proximity to the target.  
           [0017]    By yet another aspect of the invention, a central portion of the front face of an optical scanner is recessed to improve the visibility of the target to the operator as the scanner face is brought into close proximity to the target.  
           [0018]    In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the position of on the front face window of an optical reading device is substantially offset inwardly to protect the window from damage that might otherwise occur.  
           [0019]    By still another aspect of the invention, the housing of an optical reader is provided with an elastomeric material surrounding each of its ends such that when it is placed or dropped on a hard surface, it will be cushioned at both ends thereof.  
           [0020]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment as illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]    [0021]FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the various components of the optical scanner in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the underside of the housing cover in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3 is a side view of the optical scanner showing the front face orientation in relation to the optical axis.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIGS. 4 a - 4   c  are front, side, and sectional views of the end cap portion of the present invention.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIGS. 5 a - 5   c  show the scanner device in various cushioned positions in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIGS. 6 a - 6   c  show various positions of the scanner device in “parked” positions in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0027]    FIGS.  7 - 13  show various ornamental features of the scanner device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0028]    FIGS.  14 - 20  show various ornamental features of the scanner devices in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1, shows the various components of the optical reader device, including a handle assembly  11 , an optics assembly  12  and a housing cover  13 .  
         [0030]    Contained within an internal cavity  14  of the handle assembly  11 , is a trigger assembly  16  with it&#39;s trigger  17  loosely extending through a trigger opening  18  such that the trigger  17  can be selectively depressed by the operator. On the upper side of the trigger assembly  16  is a pair of contact members  19  and  21  which, when the trigger is depressed, engage surfaces on the trigger frame  22  mounted thereabove. Disposed immediately above and attached to the trigger frame  22  is a printed circuit board  23  to which the optical assembly  12  is mounted.  
         [0031]    The optical assembly  12  has mounted therein a plurality of light emitting diodes which project light forwardly through a lens assembly  24  for the illumination of a target such as a bar code. An optics assembly within the lens assembly  24  then projects an image back through an opening  26  to an image processor which “reads” the bar code. Pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/137,484 filed on May 2, 2002 (311.01NP), Ser. No. 10/161,950 filed on Jun. 4, 2002 (283 — 358) and Ser. No. 10/252,484 filed Sep. 23, 2002 (283 — 355NP), as well as two applications being filed concurrently herewith and titled Decoder Board for an Optical Reader Utilizing a Plurality of Imaging Formats and Optical Reader Having Position Responsive Decode Launch Circuit, respectively, all of which are commonly owned by the Assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0032]    The handle assembly  11  includes a downwardly extending handle  27  which terminates with an enlarged portion  28  which extends forwardly in a bulbous fashion as shown. Attached to the enlarged portion  28  is an end cap  29 , which is secured thereto by a fastener  30 . An electrical flex device  31  is secured between a pair of flexible fingers  33  and  34  in the end cap  29  for purposes of providing electrical power to the various elements within the optical assembly  12  by way of an electrical lead (not shown) extending upwardly through the handle  27 .  
         [0033]    Insertably installed in the other end  34  of the end cap  29  is an electric plug  36  which acts to bring power to the optics assembly  12  and to transmit signals from the optics assembly  12  to a display device (not shown). The plug is held in place by way of a cord lock  37  which is secured in place by a fastener  38 . As will be seen in FIG. 1, the cord lock  37  also includes an opening  30  through which a hook or a lanyard or the like may be inserted for hanging up the unit when not in use.  
         [0034]    Referring now to the top portion or body  35 , of the handle assembly  11  which together with the housing cover  13 , functions to contain the various internal components as described hereinabove, it will be seen that the optical assembly  12  is secured to the printed circuit board  23  by fasteners  25  and the printed circuit board  23 , in turn, in secured to the body  35  by fastener  30 . Before attaching the housing cover  13  to the body  35 , there are various components that are attached to the housing cover  13 . Before discussing any of the attachments however, it is best to first describe the housing cover  13  in greater detail.  
         [0035]    The housing cover  13  is made by a two shot molding process wherein in the first shot, a hard plastic core is formed of a material such as—. In a second shot, a softer thermoplastic elastomer layer is then molded over the plastic core in a rather conventional matter. A suitable material for the outer layer is commercially available under the name of Santoprene, which is sold by Monsanto Chemicals Ltd. One of the primary purposes of the elastomer layer is to provide protection to the hard plastic material, but also to the internal components of the optical reader device by reducing the shock effect when the optical reader device comes in contact with a hard surface. The distribution of the Santoprene material on the various surfaces of the optical reader device is optimized for that purpose as will be more fully described hereinafter.  
         [0036]    Referring to the outer layer of the top surface of the housing cover  13  as shown in FIG. 1, the thermoplastic elastomer material is applied to all surfaces except for a recess  39  for applying a label, a rim  41  separating a lower surface  42  from an upper surface  43  of the housing cover  13 , fastener openings  44  and  46 , and a small area at the rear of the housing cover  13  in which a light-pipe is disposed but not seen in FIG. 1.  
         [0037]    Referring to FIG. 2, the inside of the housing cover  13  is shown to include the hard plastic core  47 , with the thermoplastic elastomer layer  48  covering the sides  49  and  51 , as well as the front edge  52 . As will be seen, the elastomer layer  48  is discontinuous near of the rear edge, where a lightpipe  53  is installed and secured by pins  56  and  57  that extend into openings in the bottom side of the hard plastic core  47 . The lightpipe  53  includes an outer rim  58  which is integrally connected to a pair of inwardly and downwardly extending optical guides  59  and  61  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. These guides receive light from respective LEDS on the printed circuit board  23  and transmit light to the respective ends of the rim  57  for display when a “good read” has occurred. This allows the operator to recognize that the bar code has been successfully “read”.  
         [0038]    Referring now to the forward end of the housing cover  13 , the opening  58  is bordered on each side by downwardly and forwardly extending wing structures or forward edges  59  and  61  whose plane is disposed at a particular angle as will be more fully described hereinafter. It will be seen that the sides  49  and  51  taper downwardly as they extend from the back side of the housing cover  13  to the front side thereof. The forward edges  49  and  51  also extend forwardly of the front edge  52  of the lower surface  42  to thereby define an indentation  66  at the front edge  52 . This indentation, along with the forward projection of the forward edges  49  and  51 , along with the downward tapering of the forward edges  49  and  51  assist in obtaining a desired spacing of the reader from the target, while at the same time allowing the operator to simultaneously observe the target as will be more fully described hereinafter.  
         [0039]    The window boot and its included window are shown at  67  and  68 , respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2. The window boot  67  is an elastomeric member having a rectangular front face  69  with an opening  71  for receiving the window  68 . On its top and bottom sides, there are provided curvilinear gaskets  72  and  73 , to be closely received into cavities  74  and  76  of the housing cover  13  and the handle assembly  11 , respectively. The elastomeric sides  77  and  78  of the boot  67  fit tightly into the wedge shaped cavities  79  and  81 , respectively, of the housing cover  13  as shown in FIG. 2. It should be recognized that because of this particular placement of the boot in the cover  13 , the window  68  is recessed substantially rearwardly into the housing cover  13  and well inwardly from the front faces of the wings  59  and  61  to thereby protect it from contact with objects that may tend to scratch or damage the window  68 .  
         [0040]    Referring now to the top surface of the housing cover  13  as shown in FIG. 1, the central portion  82  is slightly rounded and then as it proceeds toward the rear end of the housing cover  13  it is substantially planar from a front edge  83  to a rear edge  84  behind the recess  80  that is provided for receiving the attached components. Attached within the recess  80  is a beeper  86  which is installed in a central opening  87 , and a lanyard plate  88  that is placed over the beeper  11  and secured at the openings  44  and  46  by fasteners  89 . The beeper  86  is electrically connected to the circuit board  23  to provide an audible sound to the operator when a “good read” occurs. The lanyard plate is slightly recessed into the recess  80  such that only the elastomeric material on the planar surface surrounding the lanyard plate comes into contact with a surface when the unit is “parked” as will be described hereinafter. The lanyard plate has an opening  90  for accommodating the fastening of a lanyard thereto.  
         [0041]    The housing cover  13  is secured to the handle assembly  11  by fasteners  91  that extend upwardly through the handle assembly  11  and into the housing cover  13  and a fastener  92  which passes downwardly through the housing cover  13  into the handle assembly  11  as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0042]    Referring now to FIG. 3, the optical scanner is shown in a side profile to indicate the placement of the optical assembly  12  therein, as partially contained within the body portion  35  of the handle assembly  11  and the cover  13 . The light is projected from the optical assembly  12  along an optical axis A. As discussed hereinabove, the particular structure and orientation of the front portion of the cover  13 , as shown in profile by the front edge  61 , facilities the selective close placement of the reader to the target while, at the same time allowing the operator to continue to observe the target.  
         [0043]    It will be seen that the front edge of the wing structure  61  is curvilinear in form (i.e., it is slightly convex outwardly). However, it is generally angled rearwardly from a plane N normal to the optical axis A as shown. For simplicity, a dashed line has been drawn through the tangent of the other surface of that wing structure  61  at the point at which the axis A passes therethrough. It will be recognized that this tangent line is angled rearwardly at an angle θ from the plane normal to the optical axis A. The angle θ should be in the range of 5-10 degrees and is preferably 8 degrees.  
         [0044]    It will also be seen that the cover side  63  tapers downwardly as it extends from the rear end of the cover  13  to the front end thereof at  61 . The result is that there are a pair of base points  93  (i.e., one on either side), with both formed of the elastomeric material, which extends both downwardly and forwardly from a front edge  94  of the body  35 .  
         [0045]    As the front face as defined by the edges  59  and  61  extends upwardly, it is angled rearwardly as discussed hereinabove, but it remains as the forwardmost part of the structure such that, even at the top ends of the edges  59  and  61 , they project forwardly of a forward edge  52  of the cover/over surface  42  to hereby provide the indentation  66 , between the two edges  59  and  61  and the front edge  52  as discussed hereinabove.  
         [0046]    Referring now to FIG. 5 a,  the above described features of the front face can readily be seen as advantageous to the accomplishment of a controlled and reliable “good read”. In operation, the base points  93  are placed on a surface close to the target to be read. The handle  27  can then be rotated upwardly to more closely position the optical assembly  12  to the target with use of the aiming light. In this regard, generally the higher the handle is tipped upwardly, the closer will be the scanner to the target. As this occurs, however, the operator will still be able to see the target because of the unobstructed visual pathway in the vicinity of the edge  52 .  
         [0047]    Considering now the cushioning aspects of the present invention, the end cap is shown more fully in FIGS. 4 a - 4   c.  The end cap  29  is made up of two portions, the collar portion  97  and the other end or stem portion  34 . For purposes of the present invention, it is important that the collar  97  be entirely surrounded by elastomeric material. In the present case, the collar  97  and the stem portion  34  are integrally connected and an elastomeric material is applied to the entire combination as shown at  98 . Again, the application of the elastomeric material to an inner core may be accomplished by way of the two shot molding process as discussed hereinabove.  
         [0048]    Referring now to  5   a - 5   c,  it will be seen that the combination of the elastomeric skirt around the body of the scanner, and the elastomeric collar provides for a cushioning effect to the scanner when it comes into contact with the hard surface. This can occur when the device is simply laid down when not in use, or when it is occasionally dropped by the operator.  
         [0049]    In FIG. 5 a,  and also in FIG. 6 a,  the device is in a generally “parked” position wherein it is supported at the points  93  of the skirt and at the front edge  98  of the collar  97  as shown. Here, it is in a stable position and is well cushioned from any shock. Of course, on its way to that position, it may first come into contact with the hard surface at one of the two points  93  or at the point  99  of the collar. In any case, the device is cushioned at one or more of those three points on the way to that “parked” position. In FIG. 5 b,  the device is shown laying on its side, such that it is supported at two points  101  and  102  on the skirt and the collar, respectively. Again, on the way to that position, it is likely to first come into contact with the hard surface at only one of those two points, but will be cushioned at that time.  
         [0050]    Because the skirt extends entirely around the cover, except for a small segment at its rear where the lightpipe is installed as discussed hereinabove, and because the collar  97  extends entirely around the end cap  29 , the device can be place in any rotational position between those shown in FIGS. 5 a  and  5   b,  while it is being supported and cushioned at the two ends of the device.  
         [0051]    Referring now to FIG. 5 c,  the scanning device is shown in a position with its backside laying flatly against a hard surface. Here the collar of the end cap will provide a cushioning effect at point  104 , but because of the lightpipe structure there is no cushioning effect at the cover end of the device. Instead, the lightpipe structure itself will be in contact with the hard surface at point  103  as shown. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the lightpipe structure and installation is sufficiently robust to withstand any shocks that may result from a dropping of a device in this position.  
         [0052]    Considering further now the positions in which the device can be “parked”. The forward face down position as shown in FIG. 6 a  has been discussed hereinabove.  
         [0053]    In FIG. 6 b,  the device is shown as parked on its front edges or wings  59  and  61 . Although that front edge is slightly convex outwardly, it is sufficiently close to being planar as to allow for a “parking” in this position so long as the device is appropriately balanced to accommodate this. In the process of such a balancing, it is necessary to consider the weight of the power cord that will tend to weight down the rearward end of the handle  27 . However, this can be accomplished if this feature is considered to be sufficiently advantageous.  
         [0054]    Another possible “parked” position is that shown in FIG. 6 c  wherein the device is placed upside down so as to rest on the planar surface near its rear end as described hereinabove. Again, the weight of the cord tending to pull the rear handle downwardly is a factor but, because the surface is in fact planar, it has been found to be quite stable in this position, even with the weight of the cord.  
         [0055]    The various ornamental features of an industrial version of the device are shown in FIGS.  7 - 13 , and those of a commercial version are shown in FIGS.  14 - 20 .