What are the functions of barcode readers?

Answer 1

There are currently four different types of bar code readers available. Each uses a slightly different technology for reading and decoding a bar code. There are pen type readers (e.g. bar code wands), laser scanners, CCD readers and camera-based readers. Pen type readers consist of a light source and a photo diode that are placed next to each other in the tip of a pen or wand. To read a bar code, you drag the tip of the pen across all the bars in a steady even motion. The photo diode measures the intensity of the light reflected back from the light source and generates a waveform that is used to measure the widths of the bars and spaces in the bar code. Dark bars in the bar code absorb light and white spaces reflect light so that the voltage waveform generated by the photo diode is an exact duplicate of the bar and space pattern in the bar code. This waveform is decoded by the scanner in a manner similar to the way Morse Code dots and dashes are decoded.

Laser scanners work the same way as pen type readers except that they use a laser beam as the light source and typically employ either a reciprocating mirror or a rotating prism to scan the laser beam back and forth across the bar code. Just the same as with the pen type reader, a photo diode is used to measure the intensity of the light reflected back from the bar code. In both pen readers and laser scanners, the light emitted by the reader is tuned to a specific frequency and the photo diode is designed to detect only this same frequency light.

Pen type readers and laser scanners can be purchased with different resolutions to enable them to read bar codes of different sizes. The scanner resolution is measured by the size of the dot of light emitted by the reader. The dot of light should be equal to or slightly smaller than the narrowest element width ("X" dimension). If the dot is wider than the width of the narrowest bar or space, then the dot will overlap two or more bars at a time thereby causing the scanner to not be able to distinguish clear transitions between bars and spaces. If the dot is too small, then any spots or voids in the bars can be misinterpreted as light areas also making a bar code unreadable. The most commonly used X dimension is 13 mils (roughly 4 printer dots on a 300 DPI printer). Because this X dimension is so small, it is extremely important that the bar code is created with a program that creates high resolution graphics (like B-Coder). For a good description of the different graphic file formats that are commonly used to create bar codes see: Raster vs. Vector Graphics CCD (Charge Coupled Device) readers use an array of hundreds of tiny light sensors lined up in a row in the head of the reader. Each sensor can be thought of as a single photo diode that measures the intensity of the light immediately in front of it. Each individual light sensor in the CCD reader is extremely small and because there are hundreds of sensors lined up in a row, a voltage pattern identical to the pattern in a bar code is generated in the reader by sequentially measuring the voltages across each sensor in the row. The important difference between a CCD reader and a pen or laser scanner is that the CCD reader is measuring emitted ambient light from the bar code whereas pen or laser scanners are measuring reflected light of a specific frequency originating from the scanner itself. The fourth and newest type of bar code reader currently available are camera-based readers that use a small video camera to capture an image of a bar code. The reader then uses sophisticated digital image processing techniques to decode the bar code. Video cameras use the same CCD technology as in a CCD bar code reader except that instead of having a single row of sensors, a video camera has hundreds of rows of sensors arranged in a two dimensional array so that they can generate an image. The factors that make a bar code readable are: an adequate print contrast between the light and dark bars and having all bar and space dimensions within the tolerances for the symbology. It is also helpful to have sharp bar edges, few or no spots or voids, a smooth surface and clear margins or "quiet zones" at either end of the printed symbol. All application programs support bar code reading as long as you have the right equipment. Bar code readers are available with two types of output - either "keyboard wedge" output or RS232 output. The bar code readers with keyboard wedge output plug directly into the keyboard port on your PC and they also provide a pigtail connector so that you can plug in your keyboard at the same time. When you scan a bar code with the keyboard wedge bar code reader, the data goes into the computer just as if it were typed in on the keyboard. This makes it extremely easy to interface the bar code reader to any application that is written to accept keyboard data.

The keyboard wedge interface is extremely simple however it has a few drawbacks. If you swipe a bar code, the cursor has to be in the correct input field in the correct application otherwise you end up reading bar code data into whatever application has the focus. This can cause all sorts of potential problems as you can imagine. The keyboard output also is limited in that you cannot modify the data in any way before sending it into the program that is to receive the data. For example, if you needed to parse a bar code message into multiple pieces or remove some of a bar code message or add in a date or time stamp you would not be able to with a normal keyboard wedge reader.

The other possible output option is to get a bar code reader with an RS232 or "Serial" interface. With these types of bar code readers, you connect the reader to an available serial port on the back of your PC. You would then need a program called a "Software Wedge" to take the data from the bar code reader and feed it to the application where you want the data to go. The disadvantage to this approach is that it is a little more complex however you gain much more control over how and where your data ends up when you read a bar code.

Answer 2

Bar Code Readers help the stores in a number of ways the first would be to keep an accurate record of in store stock.... another obvious answer would be to used to tell the store clerk how much a certain item cost.

Answer 3

It's mainly used to count stock. It instantly updates the computer system - so that the stote knows exactly what products have sold, without having to do a regular stock count. It also identifies every item in the store - as each barcode is unique.

Uses current are but not exclusive to ;

Reading product's bar code to sell an item in retail

Warehouse to allow for stock picking and inventory

Manufacturing to identify parts and inventory

health care like hospitals for patient records

Document warehousing for slot allocation (storage) and recovery

Retail, such as protocol checks = price/description against shelf edge and back office system

Airports for scanning baggage and redirecting the baggage to route specific flights (cargo the same process)

Medical dispensary for patient specific records

On books for ISBN recognition

Cheques(USA Checks) automatic deposit machines

Parcel delivery in and out of depot to customer

Information provision - where phones, ipads etc with on board readers can scan a code in a museum, art gallery or even historic site and the person gets information about an item, historic event etc

All can/do use readers to facilitate interpretation of a bar code and its attached data

Answer 4

My name is randy what is your name