Patent ID: 7051922

Claim:
A laser scanning system comprising: a housing having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion having a bottom window, and said second portion having a side window; and a plurality of laser scanning stations disposed within said housing, wherein each said laser scanning station comprises a light beam source and corresponding groups of light bending mirrors disposed within said housing, that cooperate with a plurality of light directing elements to produce laser scanning planes that are projected within a 3-D scanning volume disposed above said bottom window and adjacent said side window; wherein a first set of said plurality of laser scanning stations, are disposed within said first portion of said housing, and produce a first set of laser scanning planes passing through said bottom window; wherein said first portion of said housing has a depth of less than 5 inches; and wherein a given laser scanning station produces scan lines that pass through said side window, said given laser scanning station comprising a collimating lens that cooperates with a plurality of holographic optical elements to increase focal distance of scan lines passing through said side window, thereby allowing said plurality of holographic optical elements to be used in producing scan lines that pass through both first and side windows.