Patent Publication Number: US-2023161985-A1

Title: Barcode reader with transflective mirror

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The current application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/463,181, filed on Aug. 31, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Typical barcode readers, such as handheld barcode readers, direct part marking scanners, and bioptic barcode readers, that have multiple image sensors or cameras that are directed out of a common window require that the image sensors are aligned with different lines of sight, which creates parallax, or a displacement or difference in an apparent position of an object along the two different lines of sight. It would be beneficial if barcode readers having multiple image sensors or cameras could direct the fields-of-view of the image sensors out of a common window coaxially along a common central axis to avoid parallax. This could allow the images captured from the multiple image sensors to be overlaid and/or compared directly. 
     SUMMARY 
     In an embodiment, the present invention is a barcode reader comprising a housing and a window positioned in the housing, a first imaging sensor and second imaging sensor positioned within the housing, and a transflective mirror positioned within the housing and in a path of a first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor. The first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor passes through the transflective mirror and out the window with the transflective mirror in a transmissive state and a second field-of-view of the second imaging sensor is reflected off of the transflective mirror and out the window with the transflective mirror in a reflective state. 
     In a variation of this embodiment, the first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor passes through the transflective mirror and out the window along a first central axis of the first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor with the transflective mirror in a transmissive state and the second field-of-view of the second imaging sensor is reflected off of the transflective mirror and out the window along a second central axis of the second field-of-view of the second imaging sensor that is coaxial with the first central axis of the first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor with the transflective mirror in a reflective state. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention is a bioptic barcode reader comprising a housing having horizontal and upright windows, a first imaging sensor and second imaging sensor positioned within the housing, a transflective mirror positioned within the housing and in a path of a first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor, and first and second mirrors positioned within the housing. A first field-of-view of the first imaging sensor is reflected off of the transflective mirror and off of the second mirror and out the upright window along a second central axis with the transflective mirror in a reflective state and a second field-of-view of the second imaging sensor passes through the transflective mirror and reflects off of the second mirror and out the upright window along the second central axis with the transflective mirror in a transmissive state. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a first example barcode reader having a transflective mirror and two imaging sensors with parallel imaging axes; 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a second example barcode reader having a transflective mirror and two imaging sensors with perpendicular imaging axes; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a an alternate configuration of the second example barcode reader of  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a first example bioptic barcode reader having a transflective mirror and two imaging sensors with parallel imaging axes; 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a second example bioptic barcode reader having a transflective mirror and two imaging sensors with perpendicular imaging axes; 
         FIG.  6   . illustrates a perspective view of an example barcode reader; and 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a perspective view of an example bioptic barcode reader. 
     
    
    
     Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. 
     The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 - 2   , example barcode readers  100 A,  100 B are shown that use a transflective mirror to direct the entire fields-of-view from two different image sensors out a window along the same central axis so that there is no parallax. In the examples shown, barcode readers  100 A,  100 B include a housing  105  with a window  110  positioned within housing  105 , first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  positioned within housing  105 , and a transflective mirror  155 , such as the e-TransFlector™ from Kent Optronics, positioned within housing  105  and in a path of the first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . First imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  can include a cylinder and/or a lens system to assist in directing first field-of-view  120  and second field-of-view  140 , if desired. Transflective mirror  155  can be switched between a transmissive state, in which a majority of light is allowed to pass through transflective mirror  155 , and a reflective state, in which a majority of light is reflected off of transflective mirror  155 . With transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state, transflective mirror  155  allows first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  to pass through transflective mirror  155  and out window  110  along a first central axis  125  of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . In addition, a second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  will pass through transflective mirror  155  and is not directed out of window  110 . With transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state, transflective mirror  155  reflects second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  out of window  110  along a second central axis  145  of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  that is coaxial with first central axis  125  of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . In addition, first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  is reflected by transflective mirror  155  and is not directed out of window  110 . Optionally, transflective mirror  155  could also be switched to a transflective state, in which transflective mirror  155  is partially reflective and partially transmissive, and transflective mirror  155  would both allow first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  to pass through transflective mirror  155  and out of window  110  and reflect second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  out of window  110 . 
     In one possible configuration, the switching of transflective mirror  155  between the reflective and transmissive states can be synchronized with the frame rates of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  such that transflective mirror  155  changes states between the reflective and transmissive states between each image capture of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135 . Therefore, with imaging sensors having a frame rate of 120 frames-per-second, there would still be 60 frames-per-second captured by one imaging sensor when transflective mirror  155  is in the transmissive state and 60 frames-per-second captured by the other imaging sensor when transflective mirror  155  is in the reflective state. Alternatively, transflective mirror  155  can be switched between the transmissive and reflective states at any rate and time desired. For example, in a second possible configuration, the switching of transflective mirror  155  between the reflective and transmissive states can be synchronized with the frame rates of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  such that transflective mirror  155  alternates and changes state between the reflective and transmissive states after two image captures of one imaging sensor and then changes back between the reflective and transmissive states after one image capture of the other imaging sensor. 
     By switching between first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  and directing first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  out of window  110  along coaxial axes, images can be captured by first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  without parallax, which can be useful for various applications. Overlaying images from two imaging sensors can also improve the prediction model accuracy of a CNN-based object identification system, since there would be more data points that a single image sensor could provide. 
     For example, in one configuration, first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  can provide a narrow angle field-of-view and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  can provide a wide angle field-of-view, or vice versa, which would allow barcode readers  100 A,  100 B to read barcodes that are located both close to a far away from window  110  and enable the use of the same aiming and illumination systems for both first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135 . In another configuration, second imaging sensor  135  could be a wake up sensor and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  that passes out of window  110  could be the same size or larger than first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  that passes out of window  110 . When used as a wake up sensor, second imaging sensor  135  would not be used to capture barcodes, but would be used to detect the presence of an object within second field-of-view  140  when the system is not in a decoding state. When second imaging sensor  135  senses and object within second field-of-view  140 , the system transitions from the not decoding state to a decoding state and wakes up or activates first imaging sensor  115  to capture barcodes for decoding. In the configuration with second field-of-view  140  being larger than first field-of-view  120 , the larger second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  (the wake up sensor) would allow second imaging sensor  135  to detect an object and activate the system before the object passes through first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . This gives first imaging sensor  115  more time to capture images and potential barcodes on the object, and more image captures, than if the system were not activated until the object was detected in first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . This also allows the mirrors and the opening at the nose of barcode readers  100 A,  100 B to be kept small. To further assist in making second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  larger than first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 , a lens system  170  could also be positioned in a path of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  between second imaging sensor  135  and transflective mirror  155 . Alternatively, lens system  170  could be a polarizing lens to filter the light received by second imaging sensor  135  into a desired polarization. If lens system  170  is a polarizing lens, the illumination from an illumination source (not shown) in barcode reader  100 A,  100 B would also be polarized, preferably in a direction that is perpendicular to the polarization of lens system  170 , and the light received by second imaging sensor  135  would be polarized and the light received by first imaging sensor  115  would not be polarized. 
     In another example configuration, first imaging sensor  115  could be a monochrome imaging sensor, second imaging sensor  135  could be a color imaging sensor, and first field-of-view  120  and second field-of-view  140  could be the same size. This would allow barcode readers  100 A,  100 B to capture both monochromatic images, which are useful for capturing and decoding barcodes, and color images, which are useful for object/product identification, and can be used to eliminate shot noise and overlay the images on top of each other to identify an object/product and identify, capture, and decode any barcodes on the object/product. As above, in this configuration lens system  170  could also be positioned in a path of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  between second imaging sensor  135  and transflective mirror  155 . 
     In other configurations, second imaging sensor  135  could be various types of sensors, such a thermal sensor, a three-dimensional camera, an ambient light sensor, etc., with first field-of-view  120  and second field-of-view  140  being the same size and the images captured by second imaging sensor  135  could overlaid and/or compared to the images captured by first imaging sensor  115  without any parallax between the images from each sensor. For example, second imaging sensor  135  can be a thermal sensor and first imaging sensor  115  can be a standard image sensor and the image from the thermal camera can be overlaid over the image from the standard image sensor to enhance facial recognition. This can ensure that what the standard image sensor is detecting is a real face (not a picture of a face) and determine if the individual in the image has an elevated temperature. Second imaging sensor  135  can also be a three-dimensional structured light sensor and first imaging sensor  115  a color image sensor and the image from the three-dimensional structured light sensor can be overlaid over the image from the color image sensor, which would make is easier to correlate three-dimensional data with proper color information. 
     In the example shown in  FIG.  1   , an second imaging axis  150  of second imaging sensor  135  is aligned parallel to an first imaging axis  130  of first imaging sensor  115  and a mirror  160  is positioned within housing  105  in the path of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  to reflect second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  off of mirror  160  and towards transflective mirror  155 . With second imaging axis  150  of second imaging sensor  135  aligned parallel to an first imaging axis  130  of first imaging sensor  115 , first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  could both be mounted to a common printed circuit board  165 . 
     Conversely, in the example shown in  FIG.  2   , second imaging sensor  135  is positioned perpendicular to first imaging sensor  115  so that second imaging axis  150  of second imaging sensor  135  is aligned perpendicular to first imaging axis  130  of first imaging sensor  115  and transflective mirror  155  is in a path of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135 , as well as in the path of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . In this example, an additional mirror is not required to direct the second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  towards transflective mirror  155 , however, first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  would most likely be mounted to two separate printed circuit boards within housing  105 . 
     In addition, with barcode readers  100 A,  100 B configured such that first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  is smaller than second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor (e.g., first field-of-view  120  provides a narrow angle field-of-view and second field-of-view  140  provides a wide angle field-of-view), or vice versa, barcode readers  100 A,  100 B can also be configured to determine the distance of a barcode or object from barcode readers  100 A,  100 B. Because first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  have different sizes as they travel from window  110 , features of the barcode or object will be captured at different positions or pixels on first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135 . This shift in or distance between position/pixel for a common feature between the image captures of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  can then be used to determine the distance of the barcode or object from barcode readers  100 A,  100 B. For example, as shown by line  305  in  FIGS.  1 - 2   , with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state a particular feature of a barcode  300  (e.g., the first number in the barcode, a corner of the barcode, the first line in the barcode, etc.) will be detected and captured by first imaging sensor  115  at a particular pixel, or set of pixels. Conversely, as shown by line  310  in  FIGS.  1 - 2   , with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state the same feature of barcode  300  will be detected and captured by second imaging sensor  135  at a different pixel, or set of pixels. Knowing the size of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  out of window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state, a processor (not shown) in communication with first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  can overlay/compare the image captures from first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  and, using well-known trigonometric calculations, use the distance between the location of the pixel(s) for the common feature in the captured images to determine the distance of barcode  300  from barcode readers  100 A,  100 B. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the general configuration of barcode reader  100 B can also be adapted to be able to determine the distance of a barcode or object from the barcode reader without first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  being coaxial. For example, as shown in  FIG.  3   , in barcode reader  100 C second imaging sensor  135  is positioned non-parallel (possibly perpendicular) to first imaging sensor  115  so that second imaging axis  150  of second imaging sensor  135  is aligned non-parallel (possibly perpendicular) to first imaging axis  130  of first imaging sensor  115  and transflective mirror  155  is in a path of second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135 , as well as in the path of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115 . However, in barcode reader  100 C, the position of second imaging sensor  135  and the angle of transflective mirror  155  can be adjusted such that first central axis  125  of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  passing through transflective mirror  155  and out window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state is not coaxial and is angularly offset from second central axis  145  of first field-of-view  120  of second imaging sensor  135  reflected off of transflective mirror  155  and out window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state. Based on the offset of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  out of window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  out of window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state, features of the barcode or object will be captured at different positions or pixels on first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135 . This shift in or distance between position/pixel for a common feature between the image captures of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  can then be used to determine the distance of the barcode or object from barcode reader  100 C. For example, as shown by line  305  in  FIG.  3   , with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state a particular feature of a barcode  300  (e.g., the first number in the barcode, a corner of the barcode, the first line in the barcode, etc.) will be detected and captured by first imaging sensor  115  at a particular pixel, or set of pixels. Conversely, as shown by line  310  in  FIG.  3   , with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state the same feature of barcode  300  will be detected and captured by second imaging sensor  135  at a different pixel, or set of pixels. Knowing the size and direction of the central axis of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  out of window  110  with transflective mirror  155  in the transmissive state and second field-of-view  140  of second imaging sensor  135  with transflective mirror  155  in the reflective state, a processor (not shown) in communication with first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  can overlay/compare the image captures from first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  and, using well-known trigonometric calculations, use the distance between the location of the pixel(s) for the common feature in the captured images to determine the distance of barcode  300  from barcode reader  100 C. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  4 - 5   , example bioptic barcode readers  200 A,  200 B are shown that use a transflective mirror to direct the fields-of-view from two different imaging sensors out a window along the same central axis so there is no parallax. The transflective mirror can also be used to direct the entire field-of-view of each imaging sensor out of both the horizontal and upright window of the bioptic barcode reader. In the examples shown, bioptic barcode readers  200 A,  200 B include a housing  205  with a horizontal window  210  and an upright window  212  positioned within housing  205 , first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  positioned within housing  205 , a transflective mirror  255 , such as the e-TransFlector™ from Kent Optronics, positioned within housing  205  and in a path of the first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215 , and first mirror  275  and second mirror  280  positioned within housing  205 . First imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  can include a cylinder and/or a lens system to assist in directing first field-of-view  220  and second field-of-view  240 , if desired. Transflective mirror  255  can be switched between a transmissive state, in which a majority of light is allowed to pass through transflective mirror  255 , and a reflective state, in which a majority of light is reflected off of transflective mirror  255 . With transflective mirror  255  in the transmissive state, transflective mirror  255  allows second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  to pass through transflective mirror  255  and reflect off of second mirror  280  and out upright window  212  along a second central axis  295 . In addition, although not required, first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  can also pass through transflective mirror  255  and reflect off of first mirror  275  and out horizontal window  210  along a first central axis  290  with transflective mirror  255  in the transmissive state. With transflective mirror  255  in the reflective state, transflective mirror  255  reflects first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  towards second mirror  280  and first field-of-view  220  is reflected off of second mirror  280  and out of upright window  212  along second central axis  295 . In addition, although not required, second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  can also be reflected off of transflective mirror  255  towards first mirror  275  and off of first mirror  275  and out horizontal window  210  along first central axis  290  with transflective mirror  255  in the reflective state. Optionally, transflective mirror  255  could also be switched to a transflective state, in which transflective mirror  255  is partially reflective and partially transmissive, and first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  can pass through transflective mirror  255  and reflect off of first mirror  275  and out horizontal window  210  along first central axis  290  and be reflected off of transflective mirror  255  towards second mirror  280  and off of second mirror  280  and out upright window  212  along second central axis  295  and second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  can pass through transflective mirror  255  and reflect off of second mirror  280  and out upright window  212  along second central axis  295  and be reflected off of transflective mirror  255  towards first mirror  275  and off of first mirror  275  and out horizontal window  210  along first central axis  290 . 
     In one possible configuration, the switching of transflective mirror  255  between the reflective and transmissive states can be synchronized with the frame rates of first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  such that transflective mirror  255  changes states between the reflective and transmissive states between each image capture of first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor. Therefore, with imaging sensors having a frame rate of 120 frames-per-second, there would still be 60 frames-per-second captured through horizontal window  210  and 60 frames-per-second captured through upright window  212 . Alternatively, transflective mirror  255  can be switched between the transmissive and reflective states at any rate and time desired. For example, in a second possible configuration, the switching of transflective mirror  255  between the reflective and transmissive states can be synchronized with the frame rate of first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  such that transflective mirror  255  alternates and changes state between the reflective and transmissive states after two image captures of first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  and then changes back between the reflective and transmissive states after one image capture of first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235 . Alternatively, in a third possible configuration, the switching of transflective mirror  255  between the reflective and transmissive states can be based on information gathered from prior image captures by first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235 . For example, prior image captures by first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  could show that there are more, or a predetermined number of, successful decodes of barcodes with transflective mirror  255  in either the reflective or transmissive state and the switching of transflective mirror  255  between states can be set so that there are more image capture attempts with transflective mirror  255  in the state with the greater or predetermined number of successful image captures. In addition, prior image captures by first imaging sensor  215  could identify that a particular item is being presented to the bioptic barcode reader and the switching of transflective mirror  255  between states can be set so that there are more images capture attempts with transflective mirror  255  in the state where the barcode is expected to be found. 
     By switching the view of first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  between horizontal window  210  and upright window  212  and directing first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  and second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  out of horizontal window  210  and upright window  212  along the same axes, images can be captured by first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  through both windows without parallax between the images, which can be useful for various applications. 
     For example, in one configuration, first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  can provide a narrow angle field-of-view and second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  can provide a wide angle field-of-view, or vice versa, which would allow barcode readers  200 A,  200 B to read barcodes that are located both close to a far away from horizontal window  210  and upright window  212  and enable the use of the same illumination system for both first imaging sensor  115  and second imaging sensor  135  out of each window. In another configuration, second imaging sensor  235  could be a wake up sensor and second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  that passes out of horizontal window  210  and upright window  212  could be the same size or larger than first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215  that passes out of horizontal window  210  and upright window  212 . In the configuration with second field-of-view  240  being larger than first field-of-view  220 , the larger second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  (the wake up sensor) would allow second imaging sensor  235  to detect an object and activate the system before the object passes through first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215 . This gives first imaging sensor  215  more time to capture images and potential barcodes on the object, and more image captures, than if the system were not activated until the object was detected in first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215 . This also allows the mirrors and the windows to be kept small. To further assist in making second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  larger than first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215 , a lens  270  could also be positioned in a path of second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  between second imaging sensor  235  and transflective mirror  255 . Alternatively, lens  270  could be a polarizing lens to filter the light received by second imaging sensor  235  into a desired polarization. If lens  270  is a polarizing lens, the illumination directed out of horizontal window  210  from a horizontal illumination source (not shown) and out of upright window  212  from a vertical illumination source (not shown) would also be polarized, preferably in a direction that is perpendicular to the polarization of lens  270 , and the light received by second imaging sensor  235  would be polarized and the light received by first imaging sensor  215  would not be polarized. 
     In another example configuration, first imaging sensor  215  could be a monochrome imaging sensor and second imaging sensor  235  could be a color imaging sensor and first field-of-view  220  and second field-of-view  240  could be the same size. This would allow barcode readers  200 A,  200 B to capture both monochromatic images, which are useful for capturing and decoding barcodes, and color images, which are useful for object/product identification, and can be used to eliminate shot noise and overlay the images on top of each other to identify an object/product and identify, capture, and decode any barcodes on the object/product. As above, in this configuration lens  270  could also be positioned in a path of second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  between second imaging sensor  235  and transflective mirror  255 . 
     In other configurations, second imaging sensor  235  could be various types of sensors, such a thermal sensor, a three-dimensional camera, an ambient light sensor, etc., first field-of-view  220  and second field-of-view  240  could be the same size, and the images captured by second imaging sensor  235  could overlaid and/or compared to the images captured by first imaging sensor  215  without any parallax between the images from each sensor. For example, second imaging sensor  135  can be a thermal sensor and first imaging sensor  115  can be a standard image sensor and the image from the thermal camera can be overlaid over the image from the standard image sensor to enhance facial recognition. This can ensure that what the standard image sensor is detecting is a real face (not a picture of a face) and determine if the individual in the image has an elevated temperature. Second imaging sensor  135  can also be a three-dimensional structured light sensor and first imaging sensor  115  a color image sensor and the image from the three-dimensional structured light sensor can be overlaid over the image from the color image sensor, which would make is easier to correlate three-dimensional data with proper color information. 
     In the example shown in  FIG.  4   , an second imaging axis  250  of second imaging sensor  235  is aligned parallel to an first imaging axis  230  of first imaging sensor  215  and a third mirror  285  is positioned within housing  205  in the path of second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  to reflect second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  off of third mirror  285  and towards transflective mirror  255 . With second imaging axis  250  of second imaging sensor  235  aligned parallel to first imaging axis  230  of first imaging sensor  215 , first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  could both be mounted to a common printed circuit board  265 . 
     Conversely, in the example shown in  FIG.  5   , second imaging sensor  235  is positioned perpendicular to first imaging sensor  215  so that second imaging axis  250  of second imaging sensor  235  is aligned perpendicular to first imaging axis  230  of first imaging sensor  215  and transflective mirror  255  is in a path of second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235 , as well as in the path of first field-of-view  220  of first imaging sensor  215 . In this example, an additional mirror is not required to direct the second field-of-view  240  of second imaging sensor  235  towards transflective mirror  255 , however, first imaging sensor  215  and second imaging sensor  235  would most likely be mounted to two separate printed circuit boards within housing  205 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  6   , an example barcode reader  400  is shown, which can be used to implement any of the examples shown and described herein, such as barcode readers  100 A,  100 B, and  100 C. It will be understood that although a particular embodiment of barcode reader  400  is disclosed, this disclosure is applicable to a variety of barcode readers, including, but not limited to, gun-type handheld readers, mobile computer-type readers, presentation readers, etc. As illustrated in  FIG.  6   , exemplary barcode reader  400  has housing  105  with a handle portion  405 , also referred to as a handle  405 , and a head portion  410 , also referred to as a scanning head  410 . Head portion  410  includes window  110 , and is configured to be positioned on the top of handle portion  405 . Handle portion  405  is configured to be gripped by a user (not shown) and includes a trigger  415  for activation by the user. Optionally included in an example is also a base (not shown), also referred to as a base portion, that may be attached to handle portion  405  opposite head portion  410 , and is configured to stand on a surface and support housing  105  in a generally upright position. Barcode reader  400  can be used in a hands-free mode as a stationary workstation when it is placed on a countertop or other workstation surface. Barcode reader  400  can also be used in a handheld mode when it is picked up off the countertop or base station, and held in the user&#39;s hand. In the hands-free mode, products can be slid, swiped past, or presented to the window  110  for barcode reader  400  to initiate barcode reading operations. In the handheld mode, barcode reader  400  can be moved towards a barcode on a product, and trigger  415  can be manually depressed to initiate imaging of the barcode. Other implementations may provide only handheld or only hands-free configurations. In the example of  FIG.  6   , barcode reader  400  is ergonomically configured for a user&#39;s hand as a gun-shaped housing, though other configurations may be utilized as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. As shown, handle portion  405  extends below and rearwardly away from head portion  410  along a centroidal axis obliquely angled relative to first central axis  125  of first field-of-view  120  of first imaging sensor  115  within head portion  410 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  7   , an example bioptic barcode reader  500  is shown, which can be used to implement any of the examples shown and described herein, such as bioptic barcode readers  200 A and  200 B. Bioptic barcode reader  500  can be installed in a workstation, a counter, or other workspace to allow products or items to be moved through a scanning region of bioptic barcode reader  500  to read and decode barcodes on the products or items presented in a scanning region of bioptic barcode reader  500 . As illustrated in  FIG.  7   , bioptic barcode reader  500  generally includes housing  205 , which in the example shown includes an upper housing portion  205 A and a lower housing portion  205 B secured directly to upper housing portion  205 A, for example with threaded members. Alternatively, housing  205  can also include one or more intermediate housing portions positioned between upper housing portion  205 A and lower housing portion  205 B. Horizontal window  210  is positioned in housing  205  and, in the example shown, is positioned in a horizontally extending portion of upper housing portion  205 A. Upright window  212  is also positioned in housing  205  and, in the example shown, is positioned in a vertically extending or tower portion of upper housing portion  205 A. 
     In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings. Additionally, the described embodiments/examples/implementations should not be interpreted as mutually exclusive, and should instead be understood as potentially combinable if such combinations are permissive in any way. In other words, any feature disclosed in any of the aforementioned embodiments/examples/implementations may be included in any of the other aforementioned embodiments/examples/implementations. 
     The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The claimed invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued. 
     Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”, “having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”, “approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed. 
     The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.