Spectra-Physics Gmbh

Henry W Jones

Joseph F Rando

Howard E Morrow

Paul A Conrotto

Alfred P Hildebrand

A beam delivery system for delivering a laser beam from a stationary laser to a point in space under robot control has a universal or spherical shoulder joint which is free to rotate in any direction, a wrist joint which receives the beam from the shoulder joint and which allows the beam to be pointed in the required direction and a section of sliding tubes which couple the wrist joint directly to the shoulder joint in a straight line. The beam delivery system is constructed to be readily and effectively associated with a robot. The beam delivery system is mounted with the spherical or universal shoulder joint close to the vertical axis of the robot shoulder and with the spherical shoulder joint below the articulated arm mechanism of the robot so that the beam delivery system accesses a maximum volume beneath the articulated mechanism of the robot. The beam delivery system utilizes a minimum of internal mirrors to minimize power loss in the beam. The mirrors are close coupled and precision mounted in both the shoulder joint and the wrist joint to enable the beam to be transmitted in a long throw from the shoulder joint to the wrist joint through the telescoping tubes by a mechanism which minimizes the effect of inertial forces on the beam delivery system. The mirrors in the joints are front mounted and those in the shoulder joint may be adjustable so the mirrors can be easily positioned during initial set up and can also be readjusted or replaced, if necessary, during operation without the necessity to recalibrate the beam delivery system.

Beam delivery system for a CO.sub.2 laser

Method and apparatus for reading machine readable coded labels on merchandise at a check-out station. A window is associated with the check-out station, together with means for supporting merchandise for movement past the window. A laser source having an output beam focused at a plane slightly beyond the window produces multiple vertical beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3 having predetermined angular divergence and a horizontal beam H. Scanning optics, including a mirror wheel having a plurality of mirrors thereon, provides a raster location and a sub-raster location. Relay optics accept and inject the horizontal beam into the raster location movement of the wheel causing the horizontal movement of the H scan line at the window. The vertical beams impinge upon the sub-raster location from which the relay optics accept and inject the beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3 over to the raster location. The relay optics serve to transform the motion of the wheel at the sub-raster location into a vector cancelling the horizontal scanning component at the raster location while adding a resultant of the sub-raster scan into a point image with a purely angular scan component at the raster location. Gating means is provided for permitting only one of the beams V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3, or H to pass through the system at a time. Retrodirective viewing means receives reflective light from the area of impingement of the beam on the label, the reflected light being converted into electric signals indicative of the strength of reflection.

Method and apparatus for reading coded labels

Window structure in which the aperture incorporated in package slide is left open, the scanning window being recessed below and to one side of the aperture, making a substantial angle with the plane of the slide and located to join at one edge of the aperture. A removable receptacle located with debris catching portions below the scanning window can be provided for ease of cleaning.

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San Leandro, CA, United States of America

Henry W Jones