Item checkout device including a bar code data collector and a produce data collector

Abstract

An item checkout device which combines a produce data collector with an optical bar code data collector. The item checkout device includes a housing, a bar code data collector within the housing, and a produce data collector within the housing. In a preferred embodiment, the item checkout device includes an optical bar code data collector including a first housing, a scale within the first housing, a weigh plate on the scale including a first window for allowing scanning light beams from optical bar code data collector to pass and a second window, and a produce data collector within the first housing including a second housing containing an aperture adjacent the second window, a light source for illuminating a produce item on the second window with substantially uniform light, a light separating element for splitting light collected from the produce item into a plurality of different light portions having different wavelengths, a detector for converting energy in the plurality of light portions into a plurality of electrical signals, and control circuitry which digitizes the plurality of electrical signals to produce a digital spectrum from the produce item which contains information to identify the produce item for the purpose of determining its unit price.