Claims
- 1. An improved scanner of a type having scanning means for repetitively scanning a code and for providing a scan signal repetitively corresponding to at least a fragment of said code; clock means for generating counts; storage means for repetitively storing said scan signal; and a processor for combining successive scan signals into an extended scan signal cluster; the improvement characterized by:said scan signal comprising a series of stored counts, each of which corresponds to a transition between code elements; and said processor further comprising: means for comparing stored counts from successive scan signals; means for detecting matching portions of compared counts; means for combining successive counts having matching portions into the extended scan signal cluster; and means for decoding said cluster.
- 2. The scanner of claim 1 wherein said processor further comprises means for determining when said extended scan signal cluster represents a complete code.
- 3. The scanner of claim 2 wherein said detecting means detects start and stop codes and said determining means is responsive to the detection of said codes to determine when said extended scan signal cluster represents a complete code.
- 4. The scanner of claim 2 wherein said clock means further comprises:a pulse width counter which generates counts pertaining to the width of said code elements; and an absolute position counter which generates counts pertaining to the location of said code elements.
- 5. The scanner of claim 1 wherein said processor further comprises means for calculating the width and location of said code elements from said stored counts.
- 6. The scanner of claim 1 wherein said processor processes a plurality of scan signal clusters simultaneously.
- 7. The scanner of claim 1 wherein said processor further comprises means for discarding said compared counts pertaining to a scan signal when said compared counts do not match.
- 8. An improved method of scanning a code setting utilizing a scanner of a type having scanning means for repetitively scanning a code and for providing a scan signal repetitively corresponding to at least a fragment of said code; clock means for generating counts; storage means for repetitively storing said scan signal; and a processor for combining successive scan signals into an extended scan signal cluster; the improvement characterized by:providing a scan signal comprised of a series of stored counts, each of which corresponds to a transition between code elements; processing said scan signal by: comparing stored counts from successive scan signals; detecting matching portions of compared counts; combining successive counts having matching portions into the extended scan signal cluster; and decoding said cluster.
- 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising determining when said extended scan signal cluster represents a complete code.
- 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:generating counts pertaining to the width of said code elements; and generating counts pertaining to the location of said code elements.
- 11. The method of claim 8 further comprising calculating the width and location of said code elements from said stored counts.
- 12. The method of claim 8 further comprising processing a plurality of scan signal clusters simultaneously.
- 13. The method of claim 8 further comprises discarding said compared counts when portions of compared counts do not match.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application No. 07/902,574, filed on Jun. 22, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,921, which is a continuation of Application No. 07/586,545, filed on Sep. 21, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,538, which is a continuation of application No. 07/237,517, filed on Aug. 26, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,772.
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Entry |
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Continuations (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
07/902574 |
Jun 1992 |
US |
Child |
08/482893 |
|
US |
Parent |
07/586545 |
Sep 1990 |
US |
Child |
07/902574 |
|
US |
Parent |
07/237517 |
Aug 1988 |
US |
Child |
07/586545 |
|
US |