Abstract: Items associated with radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) tags sequentially arranged in a list are to be retrieved from a venue. A mobile RFID tag reader is jointly movable with an operator. The reader is controlled to non-sequentially read the tags from the list. The operator is guided to find any one of the items by reading the tag associated with the any one item. The operator is prompted to retrieve the any one item and to remove the associated tag from the list. The guiding operation to the any one item is discontinued after retrieval of the one item. The guiding operation, the prompting operation, and the discontinuing operation are repeated for any others of the items from the list in a non-ordered sequence.

Abstract: Systems, devices and methods for providing communications between a beamforming access point and a non-beamforming device are provided. The access point determines a beamforming steering matrix from a feedback matrix received from a beamforming device located at a given position, and controls the communication interface to beam form using the beamforming steering matrix to communicate with a non-beamforming device located at the given position. A beamforming device may receive an identifier and characteristics of a non-beamforming device in wireless communication therewith, determine, from the characteristics, a feedback matrix of the non-beamforming device, and transmit the feedback matrix to an access point.

Abstract: A mobile device locationing system that overrides the reported position with that of the charge room when the AC charge signal is detected by the device.

Abstract: A mobile device is described. The mobile device includes a housing having a pistol grip portion. A display is coupled to the housing such that the display is viewable by a user of the mobile device when the pistol grip portion is held in a hand of the user. A trigger-like control switch is located on the pistol grip portion of the mobile device. A pointing device is located on the trigger-like control switch such that the pointing device is accessible to an index finger of a hand of the user when the pistol grip portion is held in the hand of the user. The pointing device controls at least one function of the mobile device.

Abstract: Embodiment of the present invention generally relate to bi-optic barcode readers. In an embodiment, the disclosure describes a barcode reader for use in a checkout workstation having a surface. The barcode reader includes: a lower housing portion having a top portion; a first optically transmissive window positioned in the top portion, a top surface of the first optically transmissive window defining a horizontal plane, the top portion of the lower housing being substantially parallel with the surface of the checkout workstation when the barcode reader is used in the checkout workstation; a raised housing portion having a second optically transmissive window, the raised housing portion extending at least partially above the top portion; and a PCB positioned substantially upright relative to the horizontal plane, the PCB having a first imaging assembly and a decode assembly, the barcode reader having no other printed circuit boards with another imaging assembly.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting a bulk quantity of RFID tags in a presentation area such as a point-of-sale device. Bulk quantity of RFID tags may be detected according to input to the point-of-sale device including through input from a symbolic barcode scanner, a conveyor belt, a weight scale, and/or via an RF antenna driven at a first power level. After the bulk quantity of RFID tags is detected, the RF antenna is driven at a second, higher power level temporarily to increase bulk RFID tag detection accuracy. “Fringe” tags may be detected by the RF antenna when it is driven at the higher power level that are in the environment but not presented at the point-of-sale device. Fringe tags may be filtered based on RF characterization of the presentation area including driving the RF antenna outside of presentation sessions and/or filtering RFID tags detected across multiple presentation sessions.

Abstract: Targets to be electro-optically read by image capture are illuminated with illumination light emitted from an illumination light source and directed along an illumination path through a window to the targets, and return light from the targets is captured through the window and projected along an imaging path to an array of light sensors of an imaging system. An optical element is located in both the illumination path and the imaging path, and has a light-reflecting, non-diffusing portion for directing the captured return light incident on the light-reflecting portion along a folded imaging path to the array, and a light-diffusing portion for diffusing the illumination light incident on the light-diffusing portion along a folded illumination path to scatter and blur an image of the illumination light source, to increase an apparent size of the illumination light source, and to reduce a perceived brightness of the illumination light source.

Abstract: Spaced-apart light spots are projected in a light pattern on a target surface lying in a target plane. A range spot is projected at a position on the target surface to find a target distance to the target surface. An image of the target surface, light pattern, and range spot is captured along an imaging axis that is perpendicular to an imager plane of an imager. A controller determines an angular relationship between the imager and target planes based on the light pattern in the captured image, determines a scale relationship between the target surface and the imager based on the position of the range spot in the captured image, displays a compensated image of the target surface that is corrected in tilt by the angular relationship and in scale by the scale relationship, and determines dimensions of the target surface based on dimensions of the displayed compensated image.

Abstract: A mobile device with wrist neutral data capture is provided. The device comprises: a housing; a data capture component configured to change an aiming pattern; a display; an orientation sensor configured to detect an orientation; one or more touch sensors at the housing; a memory storing wrist neutral touch data associated with a wrist neutral grip corresponding to predetermined grip position locations at the touch sensor(s); and a controller configured to: when touch data received at the touch sensor(s) matches the wrist neutral touch data stored in the memory, control the aiming pattern of the data capture component according to the orientation detected by the orientation sensor; and when the touch data does not match the wrist neutral touch data, control a notification device to provide an indicator of the housing being out of the wrist neutral grip.

Abstract: An imaging module for reading targets by image capture is mounted as a unitary assembly within an imaging reader. An imager is mounted on a first printed circuit board (PCB), and an interface connector is mounted on a second PCB. The first PCB is in supporting contact with first chassis walls of a chassis and is positioned to lie in a generally upright, first predetermined plane. The second PCB is in supporting contact with second chassis walls of the chassis and is positioned to lie in a generally tilted, second predetermined plane that is inclined at a tilt angle relative to the first predetermined plane. The first and second chassis walls are constituted as a one-piece support that maintains the tilt angle between the PCBs.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for improving RFID coverage using an antenna array having an adaptive antenna beam. The apparatus includes an RFID reader including an antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements. Subsets of the plurality of antenna elements are selectively activating in order to direct an antenna beam to communicate with at least one RFID tag. The method includes transmitting an interrogation signal from an antenna array by activating one or more subsets of a plurality of antenna elements forming the antenna array. In this way, the interrogation signal is directed thereby improving antenna coverage.

Abstract: A control method includes: storing, at a control server, respective identifiers for a plurality of sub-regions in a facility; for each sub-region identifier, a location of the sub-region in the facility and an operational constraint associated with a mobile automation apparatus; at the control server: obtaining a job definition indicating a set of the sub-region identifiers and a task; retrieving the locations and the operational constraints corresponding to the set of sub-region identifiers from the repository; allocating the set of sub-region identifiers to a plurality of subsets of sub-region identifiers, each subset having a shared common operational constraint; for each subset of sub-region identifiers, generating a task fragment containing the subset of sub-region identifiers, and the common operational constraint; and sending the task fragments and an identifier of the task to the mobile automation apparatus for performance of the task at each of the set of sub-region identifiers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a co-located Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device and ultrasonic device includes an RFID reader loop antenna element oriented parallel to a reflector panel. An ultrasonic emitter is disposed through an aperture in the reflector panel with a horn that extends through the loop element. The horn can serve as a mounting structure for the antenna element. A diameter of the aperture is less than one-quarter wavelength of an operating frequency of the RFID reader loop antenna element. The aperture is located in the reflector panel near a minimum E-field area of the RFID reader loop antenna element.

Abstract: Successive products associated with targets to be electro-optically read are swiped, in their respective turns, past a window in a point-of-transaction workstation. A motion detector detects movement of each product. A reader electro-optically reads a target associated with each moving product. If the target associated with each moving product has not been read, then this event is deemed suspicious, and the event is flagged for a security investigation designed to deter product theft by sweethearting.

Abstract: An imaging reader captures and analyzes image data, including raw captured image data, and analyzes that capture image data to decode indicia contained therein. The indicia may be one or more two-dimensional barcodes. A dedicated front-end controller of the imaging reader generates decode data for the indicia and combines the decode data with the image data using a combinational protocol, after which a resulting decode enhanced image data frame is communicated to a host processor for processing.

Abstract: Ultrasonic transmitters periodically transmit ultrasonic ranging signals, and an ultrasonic receiver receives the ultrasonic ranging signals on a mobile device in order to locate the mobile device in a venue. A controller determines a noise level in the venue, and varies a sound level of the periodically ranging signals based on the determined noise level, thereby optimizing the position of the mobile device.