Tuesday, September 04, 2007

US Patent 7264167 - Bar code scanner using MEMS array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7264167.html

This patent from NCR Corporation teaches an array of micromirrors which are cooperatively adjusted to change a focal point in barcode readers which makes the reader less sensitive to variations in bar code distances or orientations. Claim 1 reads:

1. An optical scanner comprising a scanner housing including a scan window, a laser light source, reflected light detector and a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) mirror array arranged to produce a scan line pattern, wherein the light from the laser light source is adjustably focused by the MEMS mirror array so as to enable auto-focusing of the laser light during the scanning of a bar code.

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