Patent ID: 8286877

Claim:
A method of reading optical codes, comprising the steps of moving an item containing an optical code along an item direction past a slot, the slot being disposed in a first surface of a scanner housing or platter and the slot being elongated in one direction and oriented generally transverse to the item direction, the slot having a narrow width parallel to the item direction; via a first scan mechanism, repeatedly scanning through the slot along a single line to form a first scan plane at a rearward first slant angle to the first surface in a rearward direction to acquire, in combination with movement of the item, a first set of scanned data of a two-dimensional image of at least a leading side of the item; via a second scan mechanism, repeatedly scanning through the slot along a single line to form a second scan plane at a forward second slant angle to the first surface in a forward direction to acquire, in combination with movement of the item, a second set of scanned data of a two-dimensional image of at least a trailing side of the item; processing the first and second sets of scanned data acquired.