The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 09, 2003
Filed:
Sep. 11, 1998
Howard Stern, Greenlawn, NY (US);
Robotic Vision Systems, Inc., Nashua, NH (US);
Abstract
An illumination apparatus is provided for a hand-held imager preferably to provide diffuse illumination for encoded symbology carried directly upon an article (component, etc) or upon a substrate carried by an article. The illumination apparatus is disposed proximate the front of the hand-held imager and is configured to permit light reflected from the target to pass through the illumination apparatus and onto a CCD image receiver. An array of unlensed LED's is disposed to cast approximately or substantially lambertian illumination in a direction away from the target to be imaged and into the hand-held housing to impinge upon surfaces of an illuminator to receive the illumination and, in turn, project efficient and diffuse dark field illumination through the array of unlensed LED's and towards and onto a location where a target to be imaged would be disposed. The illumination apparatus further includes a bright field illumination source including a plurality of forward facing (towards the target) lensed LED's.