Tunnel or portal scanner and method of scanning for automated checkout

摘要

Systems and methods for data reading, which in one example configuration is directed to an automated optical code data reader in the form of a tunnel or portal scanner having an open architecture configured with front and rear inverted U-shaped arches, a plurality of cameras (some or most of which have multiple fields of view) in each of the arches for reading the top live sides of an item being passed by a conveyor through a read region formed by the arches, and a bottom reader including one or more cameras under the conveyor for reading a bottom side of the item through a gap in the conveyors as the item is passed over the gap. Also disclosed are specific imaging schemes for providing effective views of the items with a minimum number of cameras.

主权项

1. A scanning system for reading optical codes on items being passed via a transport mechanism through a read volume of the system, comprising
a front arch section and a rear arch section, each arch section having (a) first and second lateral leg sections, and (b) a top arch section connected to a top portion of each of the first and second lateral leg sections and spanning therebetween over a width of the transport mechanism, wherein the front arch section and the second arch section are arranged with lower portions of the front arch lateral leg sections adjacent to lower portions of the rear arch lateral leg sections, wherein the front arch section is slanted forwardly and the rear arch section is slanted rearwardly; a plurality of readers disposed in the top arch sections and the lateral leg sections for reading an optical code on any of five sides of a six-sided box-shaped item being passed through a read region formed by the arch sections.