Hands free barcode scanner

[stubon]

I currently have a barcode scanner that with a trigger. I hold it in my hand, point it at the item and press the trigger. I have a string control on my front panel that is in focus and the barcode is automatically inserted into it. I monitor this string and when it changes I check to see if it is valid (LF and length) and then search my barcode database.

I would like to upgrade the system to have a hands free barcode scanner and so improve throughput. The idea is that like a supermarket when the item is placed infront of the scanner it would detect a valid barcode (and beep confirmation).

1. Does anyone know of a suitable scanner to do this?

e.g. Miniscan 4400, MG112041-001-412B, LS9208

3. I would prefer USB but can cope with serial and ethernet (I would prefer to avoid TTL outputs that would require a DAC board)

2. Does anyone have any example code for these or any other hands free barcode scanners?

3. Does anyone have any ideas of a "clever" way to implement this?

- I am hoping that the scanner itself will know if it has seen a valid barcode and will store it and that way I can poll the scanner for a latest string and status? Perhaps I am expecting too much?

Thanks in advance

Stuart

[nathand]

Many barcode scanners can be switched between keyboard and serial modes.  When acting like a serial device, you have a lot more control over it.  You can trigger the scanner to scan by sending it the right command, and some scanners support a mode where they attempt to scan continuously.  Unlike with a keyboard, any scanned data is put into the serial port queue, where you can read it whenever its convenient.  You can use a VISA event to wait until data is available.  I've used a 3800g from Honeywell and it worked well.  It plugs into a USB port and emulates a serial port (you need to install the right driver and then scan a special barcode to put it in that mode).  I don't have any easily-accessible sample code but serial communication is pretty straightforward.  Have you looked at the manual for your current scanner to see if it supports a serial interface?

[stubon]

Thanks nathand,

I have a cheap (£40) My-link barcode scanner and as far as I can find out there is no continuous scan or serial mode, it is just a straight keyboard emulator.

I have looked at a few scanners now and a lot of them seem to have a serial mode. (interesting how you can configure them by scanning barcodes from the manual)  I can't find any that describe how to use the serial data so I assume it is very simple.  Next step I'll buy one and give it a bash and see what data I get from the serial port and try and decode it into something useful.

[smercurio_fc]

Usually the data you get is simply a string of characters, which is the string of characters it scanned. The hand-held scanners we have here work that way. Some may strip out any header characters, depending on which symbology is being used.

[drjdpowell]

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@nathand wrote:

Unlike with a keyboard, any scanned data is put into the serial port queue, where you can read it whenever its convenient.  You can use a VISA event to wait until data is available.  I've used a 3800g from Honeywell and it worked well.  It plugs into a USB port and emulates a serial port (you need to install the right driver and then scan a special barcode to put it in that mode).  

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I've used the 2D-imaging Honeywell 4600g and it was also quite easy.  

[stubon]

In the end I got two scanners:

OPR-3201-BK-USB+STD

 This one is cheap and comes with a stand. When in the stand is automatically goes into continuous scan. When removed from the stand it needs the trigger to be pressed. This still communicates via USB as a keyboard emulator so is not really much different from my existing barcode scanner.

Cipherlab - 1400 Series OEM Integration Kit 1430

 This one is an mini OEM . It came with an integration kit so all i needed to do was cut the end of a serial cable and screw it on to the dev board. The devboard has a built in beep and LED's. I setup a very simple serial communication with it and just wait for the termination character. It is much easier, simpler and reliabile than the keyboard emulator.

Thanks for all you help, in the end there was nothing much to worry about it was far easier than I though to integrate both.

Stuart