Fujitsu Corporation

Hiroshi Watanuki

Kozo Yamazaki

Toshiyuki Ichikawa

Masanori Ohkawa

Hiroyuki Ikeda

Mitsuharu Ishii

Shinichi Sato

Toshimitsu Kumagai

Yoshitaka Murakawa

Yuuichiro Takashima

Fumio Yamagishi

Hiroaki Katoh

Takefumi Inagaki

Ichiro Sebata

A bar code reader having two reading windows, i.e., a bottom window and a side window. An increased number of scanning lines are used for constituting scanning patterns for scanning bar codes, and the arrangement of the optical system is contrived to decrease the whole size of the bar code reader and, particularly, to decrease the depth of the bar code reader. A source of laser light, a splitter for splitting the laser beam emitted from the laser light source into two, a reflection mirror for transmitting one beam from the splitter to a polygon mirror, the polygon mirror which rotates to scan the incident laser beam, a mirror system for emitting the beam reflected by the polygon mirror through the reading window, and a focusing member for focusing the beam reflected by the bar code onto a detector that detects the beam reflected by the bar code, are arranged on the same line in the bar code reader. By using a concave mirror, furthermore, the beam reflected by the bar code is folded back to one detector. The light-receiving surface of another detector is faced downward to receive the beam reflected by the bar code through Fresnel lens and mirror, thereby to decrease the depth of the bar code reader. Furthermore, the beam passage from the reflection mirror goes through the lower surface of the polygon mirror intersecting the axis of rotation of the polygon mirror.

Bar code reader

A multi-head optical scanning device used for a bar code reader having a reduced thickness and realizing more complete 360&deg; bar code reading. The scanning device includes a bottom part, a side part which is nearly vertical to the bottom part, a light source, a polygon mirror and a light detector contained inside the body of the side part. Light beams are emitted from the light source so that they are nearly vertical to the surface of the bottom part, and the polygon mirror has a rotation axis at a position which is nearly parallel to the surface of the bottom part. The optical scanning device eliminates the need for a mechanism which performs scanning inside the bottom part and the degree of freedom with which each of the pattern mirrors is disposed is increased, and provides a scanning pattern whose reading capacity can be upgraded by using a scanning pattern which is emitted from the bottom part.

Optical scanner, code reader and bar code reader having increased degree of freedom in placement of optical parts

An arragement for mounting a housing to a table. A mounting member includes a first wall adapted to be inserted into a housing and a second wall connected to the first wall and adapted to be secured to the table. The housing includes a guide for guiding the first wall into the housing. A positioning tab is provided on the second wall parallel to the first wall.

Housing including first and second housing halves, and an arrangement for locking thereof

An optical scanning apparatus, such as a bar code scanner, for reading 360 degrees of, e.g., tray commodities. A first scanning pattern is emitted almost in the horizontal direction to an installation surface of the apparatus, and a second scanning is pattern emitted from an upper portion to a lower portion of the apparatus, toward the installation surface, via a window provided vertical to the installation surface.

Optical scanning apparatus

A point of sale (POS) device, such as an optical scanner, reduces the beam diameters of two light beam components having been emitted from a common light source and split by an optical beam splitter. The optical scanner includes a light source emitting a light beam, a light beam splitter splitting the emitted light beam, a polygon mirror reflecting the split light beam components into mutually different directions, and groups of mirrors. The groups of mirrors are provided for each reading window, allowing the light beam components to be emitted therefrom. The emitted light beam components can then impinge on an object, whereupon the optical scanner detects by detectors and reads a bar code located on the object. The optical scanner also includes beam shaping devices, one of which is placed between the light source and light splitting device and the other of which is placed in one of the optical paths followed by one of the light beam components. Since the beam diameter of the light beam components are reduced, and since the light beams are emitted from multiple reading windows, bar codes with narrow spaces between the bars can be read more easily, even with varying orientations of the bar code on the object.

Optical scanner and light source module with reduced light beam diameter

A light source module has a laser diode, and a circuit board. The circuit board includes the laser diode, a driver circuit for the laser diode, and a connector for receiving a power supply for driving the laser diode from an electric power source. A lens and an aperture shapes the laser beam emitted from the laser diode. A housing made of electrical insulating material contains the lens, the aperture and the circuit board except for a portion of the circuit board where the connector is mounted.

Light source module for a scanning apparatus and a scanning apparatus with the light source module

An arrangement for locking first and second housings, adapted to connect to each other, includes a pin provided on the first housing and a locking member, with a pair of arms which are provided on the second housing to engage and hold the pin when the first and second housings are connected.

An optical scanning apparatus which reduces operator workload at a checkout counter and configured to be inexpensive to manufacture. In particular this optical scanning apparatus is designed so that an operator can scan merchandise without tilting these commodities. Therefore, to use this optical scanning apparatus the operator spots the bar code and slides the merchandise along the checkout counter. The optical scanning apparatus emits laser scanning patterns from the side of the counter and parallel to its surface as well as from above. Therefore whether the bar code is located on the side or top of the merchandise the apparatus is able to read it without tilting the merchandise. This is particular useful when dealing with liquid products, such as beverages or soups, and delicate products, such as cakes. In the case of liquid products, tilting them would run the risk of spilling them on the counter. In the case of delicate products, tilting them runs the risk of disturbing their appearance. The optical scanning apparatus is also designed to have a low profile and thus not act as an obstruction to operator's vision or movement of merchandise to be scanned.

An optical reading apparatus includes an optical scanning unit for emitting upward a scanning light beam to be used to optically read information on an article; and a supporting mechanism for supporting the optical scanning unit so that the optical scanning unit is maintained in a space over a surface of a counter in a state where a distance between the optical scanning unit and the surface of the counter is a predetermined length. An optical reading apparatus includes an optical scanning unit for emitting upward a main-scanning light beam to be used to optically read information on an article, and for emitting a sub-scanning light beam in a direction different from a direction in which the main-scanning light beam travels, the sub-scanning light beam being used to optically read information on an article, and a supporting mechanism for supporting the optical scanning unit so that the optical scanning unit is maintained in a space over a surface of a counter in a state where a distance between the optical scanning unit and the surface of the counter is a predetermined length.

Optical reading apparatus having optical scanner for scanning information on objects

Multiple plane bar code reader for reading optically encoded data

Optical reading apparatus having optical scanner for scanning

An optical scanner for optically scanning a bar code includes a housing having a window formed on a selected surface thereof, a first scanning system, housed in the housing, for emitting a first scanning beam from the housing through the window and a second scanning system, housed in the housing, for emitting a second scanning beam from the housing through the window. The first scanning beam moves in a first scanning pattern and the second scanning beam moves in a second scanning pattern which is different from the first scanning pattern. Additionally, the second scanning pattern may be used for scanning a bar code having a selected special form.

Optical scanner having a plurality of scanning systems

Light-beam scanning apparatus mainly used for a bar-code reader in a point-of-sale system to identify sold articles. The apparatus includes a light-beam emitting device, a hologram disk having a plurality of hologram segments with different diffraction characteristics mounted along its circumference and being rotated at a predetermined speed, and a deflecting device for directing the emitted light beam from the light-beam emitting device to one side of the hologram disk in a first direction. The scanning apparatus has a first mirror group including a plurality of mirrors placed in a second direction corresponding to the other side of the hologram disk, each of which mirrors is arranged to receive a diffracted light beam from a corresponding hologram segment, and a second mirror group including a plurality of mirrors, each of which mirrors is placed to receive a light beam reflected by a corresponding mirror of the first mirror group and to reflect the incident light beam to a predetermined space positioned in the first direction where an article attached with a bar-code label is moved. In the apparatus, a light path from the other side of the hologram disk to the predetermined space has a predetermined length to form a predetermined scanning light pattern in the space.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Hiroshi Watanuki