Fixed-Mount Reader Scans Linear and 2-D Codes

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 4/1/1998

The new 2-D fixed-mount bar-code reader from Rockwell Automation can scan and decode both one- and two-dimensional codes such as PDF417. The unit is equipped with a programmable "smart raster" capability that dynamically adjusts the raster pattern to the PDF417 bar code's height.

The reader has a scan rate of 560 scans per second and a reading distance of up to 30 inches, depending on bar-code width. It also is "autodiscriminating" so that multiple symbologies may be read at the same time.

The scanner can be set up to work in an attended or unattended mode. In the attended mode, an operator can either present a bar code to the reader or physically trigger the reader using an external trigger switch. In the unattended mode, the device is activated by a software trigger command. It also can be set to the continuous-scan mode when bar codes move into the scan path.

The reader communicates with a variety of host devices via serial and keyboard connections. LED indicators provide reader status at a glance.