International Business Machines Corporation

Juergen Scheffel

Wolfgang Guber

Friedrich Wotzka

The invention provides an arrangement for scanning bar codes applied to articles, such as UPC or EAN codes of goods in a supermarket cashier stand. A laser scanner is provided with a window through which the scanning rays exit before they impinge on a scanning area (11). The laser scanner (4) is arranged at the side of the transport flow and with its window (5) tilted to the rear and being above the transport plane (6). The different rays (20-23, 25-25c, 26-26c, 30a-30f, 31a-31f) of the cluster of scanning rays of scanner (4) are oriented such that they are concentrated and focused mainly on the scanning area (11) in front of the window (5), that they do not leave the transport plane (6) immediately opposite the window, and that generally a ray-free area is formed there where at least head and chest of an operating cashier (1) that sits opposite to the scanner (4) with its window ( 5), is situated. This arrangement, in which, for example, a laser scanner, such as the IBM 3687 model 002 laser scanner, can be used, ensures that the operating cashier sitting in front of the cash stand and essentially opposite of the scanning window is not struck by any ray of the cluster of scanning rays. This improves the acceptance of such an arrangement within the market place considerably.

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Sindelfingen, Germany

Juergen Scheffel