Patent ID: 8789757

Claim:
A bi-optical point of sale (POS) based system for reading symbols on objects and weighing produce items in retail store environments, said bi-optical POS-based system comprising: a system housing having a horizontal housing portion and a vertical housing portion, wherein said vertical housing portion is configured substantially orthogonal with respect to said horizontal housing portion; at least one reading window formed in said vertical housing portion of said system housing; a support frame having a plurality of spaced apart support surfaces, for supporting said system housing when said system housing is positioned over said support surfaces; a weigh surface integrated with said vertical housing portion, for supporting the weight of one or more produce items supported thereon during weighing operations; a symbol reading subsystem, disposed in said system housing, for optically reading symbols on objects being transported through a 3D reading volume definable relative to said at least one reading window, and producing symbol character data representative of said read symbols; and an electronic weigh scale subsystem including a base portion having a plurality of load cells below the horizontal housing portion for (i) supporting said support frame and said system housing supported thereon, (ii) measuring the weight of produce items supported on said system housing, including produce items supported on or against said at least one reading window and produce items supported on said weigh surface, and (iii) producing data representative of said weight measurement of said produce items; wherein said load cells support the entirety of said system housing.