Portable battery operated optical reader for product codes - reads strip coded binary data from labels using hand held optical probe

摘要

The optical reader for data-handling installations can be used with the Universal Product Code marking system employed in stores and supermarkets for the rapid registration of large numbers of goods. The label carries a series of light and dark lines or strips which represent the binary-coded data (11). The reader is contained within a hand-held probe (10). A l.e.d. is used to illuminate the strips and a photo-transistor transducer converts the reflected light to electrical signals. An interface circuit (13) automatically energises the light source in a cyclic manner to conserve battery power and to ensure that only correctly-read data is registered in the memory. A microprocessor 'chip' can be used for controlling the code read-out and verification sequences.