Patent ID: 6935566

Claim:
A portable instrument for projecting bit-mapped two-dimensional images in display modes of operation, and for selectively electro-optically reading indicia in reading modes of operation, comprising: a) a housing; b) an electro-optical assembly supported by the housing, for reading an indicium during a reading mode, and for projecting a bit-mapped two-dimensional image related to the indicium on a viewing surface during a display mode, the images being different for different indicia, and c) a mode selector for selecting one of the modes; wherein the assembly includes a light source for generating a light beam, and a scanner for sweeping the light beam in a raster pattern of scanning lines that cover an area of the viewing surface, and wherein the assembly includes a controller for pulsing the light source on and off while the light beam is swept over each of the scanning lines; and wherein the scanner includes a first scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a first direction, and a second scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a second direction generally orthogonal to the first direction.