Patent ID: 7780087

Claim:
A scanner comprising a generally L-shaped housing including a lower housing section connected to an upper housing section, the lower housing section containing an upwardly-facing horizontal window and the upper housing section containing a sidewardly-facing vertical window, the horizontal window and the vertical window forming a scan volume therebetween; a scan mechanism; at least one laser source generating a plurality of laser beams directed onto the scan mechanism; a plurality of pattern mirrors arranged about the scan mechanism, wherein the scan mechanism is operative to scan the plurality of laser beams across the pattern mirrors to generate a first set of scanned beams sidewardly out the vertical window, a second set of scanned beams upwardly out the horizontal window, and a third set of scanned beams upwardly out of the horizontal window, wherein as a six-sided box shaped item is passed though the scan volume with one side facing the vertical window and one side facing the horizontal window, the item thus having a bottom side facing the horizontal window, a first lateral side facing the vertical window, a top side opposite the bottom side, a second lateral side opposite the first lateral side, a leading side, and a trailing side, (a) scanned beams from the first set of scanned beams are directed onto the leading side, the trailing side, and the first lateral side facing the vertical window, (b) scanned beams from the second set of scanned beams are directed onto the bottom side, the leading side, the trailing side, and the second lateral side facing opposite the first lateral side, and (c) scanned beams from the third set of scanned beams are directed onto the bottom side, the leading side and the trailing side, wherein a dense coverage of a plurality of pairs of intersecting scan lines are projected onto the first lateral side facing the vertical window via scanned beams from the first set of scanned beams wherein a dense coverage of a plurality of pairs of intersecting scan lines are projected onto the second lateral side via scanned beams from the second set of scanned beams wherein a dense coverage of a plurality of pairs of intersecting scan lines are projected onto the bottom side via scanned beams from the third set of scanned beams, wherein a dense coverage of scan lines are projected onto the leading side via a combination of scanned beams from the first set of scanned beams, the second set of scanned beams and the third set of scanned beams, wherein a dense coverage of scan lines are projected onto the trailing side via a combination of scanned beams from the first set of scanned beams, the second set of scanned beams and the third set of scanned beams.